Scott’s new Genius 700 Tuned Plus bike gets 40mm rims (internal width) and 2.8in Schwalbe tyresScott / Markus Greber
Rob Weaver puts the new Scott Genius 700 Tuned Plus through its paces in ItalyScott / Markus Greber
Taking care of the 130mm of rear wheel travel is Fox’s new Nude DPS rear shock with EVOL air sleeveScott / Markus Greber
Scott has used SRAM’s BOOST standard and reworked the rear triangle to accommodate the wider 148mm hub spacing – and have enough clearance to take up to a 3in tyreScott / Markus Greber
The new, single ring specific TwinLoc remote is designed to run under the handlebar on the left hand side, replacing the left hand shifterScott / Markus Greber
The new rear end comfortably fits the 2.8in tyres that Scott specs as standard, and although the Tuned model comes with a 1×11 setup, it will accept a front derailleur should you want to run a double ring setupScott / Markus Greber
Fox’s newly revised 34 Factory fork with 15x110mm axle gets the new FIT4 damper and has three modes, all controlled via the TwinLoc remote leverScott / Markus Greber
Scott’s longer travel Genius LT 700 Tuned Plus offers up 160mm of travel at the front and rearScott / Markus Greber
Even with 2.8in tyres in place, the LT 700 Tuned still only weighs 12.7kg (28.04lbs)Scott / Markus Greber
Fox’s burly 36 Float Factory fork has adjustable low speed compression adjustment and can be fully locked out via the bar mounted TwinLoc remoteScott / Markus Greber
Schwalbe worked closely with Scott when designing the 2.8in tyres. The LT uses Nobby Nic EVO tyres front and rear, mounted to 40mm (internal width) Syncros TR1.5 Plus rimsScott / Markus Greber
Scott’s Scale 710 Plus bike is more trail orientated than its skinnier tyre Scale counterparts, boasting a slacker head angle and 2.8in tyresScott / Markus Greber
Internal cable routing keeps the frame looking clean and tidy and there’s even routing ready to take a stealth dropper post should you wish to add oneScott / Markus Greber
With just the Fox 32 fork to control at the front, the Scale uses Scott’s RideLoc (rather than TwinLoc) Downside remote, which is mounted below the barScott / Markus Greber
The Fox 32 Float Performance fork offers up 120mm of travel with the latest FIT4 damper and uses a 15x110mm axleScott / Markus Greber
The E-Genius 710 Plus boasts Bosch’s Performance CX 250w e-bike motor and 3in rather than 2.8in tyresScott / Markus Greber
There’s plenty to fettle with while you ride, including a the TwinLoc suspension remote and RockShox Reverb remoteScott / Markus Greber
Scott developed its own motor cover to facilitate maintaining the 490mm chainstay length with enough clearance to run the wide tyres, as well as move the main pivot to help improve suspension performanceScott / Markus Greber
While there’s 130mm of travel at the rear, the Fox 34 Float Performance fork with FIT4 damper pumps out 140mm of travelScott / Markus Greber
While it seems some manufacturers are approaching the new ‘plus’ wheel size with a little caution, Scott appears to be fully committed, launching 11 new plus bikes across its mountain bike range. Established models including the Scale, Genius and Genius LT all receive the 27.5+ treatment, along with Scott’s new electric full suspension offering, the E-Genius.
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We headed out to Massa Vecchia, Italy to find out all about the bikes and see how they behave on the trails.
The details
“Go for Plus and find an entirely new riding experience”, Scott Sports claims. But what are the contributing factors that could, potentially at least, sway people towards these fatter beasts?
Tyres
Scott worked closely with German tyre company, Schwalbe on this project and tested a variety of different widths before settling on the 2.8in tyres seen here. “In the beginning we had 3in tyres. That’s what we started with. When we started doing test rides, we decided that this wasn’t the best size because they have a negative effect on the agility of the bike”, says Schwalbe’s head of product management Marcus Hachmeyer.
Settling on 2.8in tyres meant wheel weight and rolling resistance was reduced (compared with the early 3in prototypes) and the bike became more nimble on the trail. In fact, Schwalbe claims the rolling resistance of the new 2.8in tyre is only one percent higher compared with a 2.35in tyre.
