The Voltage FR is an all-new bike for freeride, bike parks and slopestyle. The bike's two key features are the extremely low frame for maximum clearance (there are two sizes but they differ only in top tube length) and two rear travel settings, 135 or 180mm. The Voltage FR is designed to take 160 or 180mm forks, so there's quite a lot of versatility - Scott riders were apparently racing Voltage FRs in the DH at the recent World Championships in Canberra.
There'll be three models, the Voltage FR 10, 20 and 30, all sharing the same frame (although the 30 comes fitted with conventional QR dropouts bolted on rather than the 12mm through-axle items on the 10 and 20) but with varying spec. The top dog FR 10 has a Fox 36 Van R fork and DHX RC4 coil shock, DT FR600 rims, Avid Elixir R brakes and SRAM X9 transmission.
Elsewhere in the Scott range is mostly revisions and spec changes. There's a handy new gizmo on the Spark and Genius full suspension bikes in the shape of the TwinLoc remote lockout lever. One of Scott's big selling points is its multi-adjustable shock technology, with fully open, Traction (short and taut) and locked out modes operated from the bars. The TwinLoc lever makes that much more useful by operating the fork lockout at the same time - one click puts the shock into Traction mode, another click locks out both ends at once.
Less expensive models in the Spark and Genius ranges don't have three shock modes, so the TwinLoc lever simply moves between fully open and locked out. The cables to the fork and shock are independently adjustable, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep working.
The main news in the Genius range is the appearance of a new entry level Genius 60. This being 2010, with all of the price challenges that that entails, "entry level" means "just under two grand" with a RockShox Recon fork, Deore/SLX transmission mix and Avid Juicy 3 brakes.
Just spec changes for the Spark range, with DT Swiss shocks now being found across the range - M210s (with remote lockout) on the cheaper bikes, and the exclusive-to-Scott three-position Nude on the spendy ones. The Ransom all-mountain and Gambler freeride bikes carry on into 2010, although the Ransom is down to two models (one carbon fibre, one aluminium).
In the world of hardtails, Scott still has the recreational Aspect range and race-oriented (or, in the case of the cheaper ones, race-inspired) Scale range. The most noticeable change here is that the lower-end Scale bikes now get riser bars - once you get into the carbon fibre frames it's flat bars all round.
Elsewhere in the range, our eye was caught by the new CX Comp, a cheaper (£999) start point for Scott's cyclocross range. Unlike some CX bikes at this price, the CX Comp retains a race-friendly double-chainring setup but adds mudguard eyes for extra versatility. It's also splendidly red.
And if you're gripped by a mid-life crisis and feel that learning to jump is suddenly very important to you, then take a look at the Voltage YZ 0.1. Super-short back end, robust yet not crazily heavy construction, singlespeed (although the dropouts bolt on, so you could fit gears if you wanted) and, most importantly, brown and gold and £1,099.
All these bikes and more will be reaching the shops over the next couple of months. Full details at www.scottusa.com.
Matt Hollywood
