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Scott Ransom 2025 1st Look at Benji's Ultimate Do-It-All Bike
Oct 1, 2024
The Scott Ransom comes with 29in wheels as standard, but if you fancy a mullet, it can be ridden with a 27.5 rear wheel setup via a flip-chip in the chainstay.
Carbon or alloy or both?
The one we're featuring here is the top tier 900 RC model. It is the only Ransoms that is fully carbon - front and rear triangles - and as you can see, it has high end uncompromised build spec.
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0:00
Hi, I'm Benji from Singletrack Magazine and I'm here to walk you through the new Scott Ransom
0:22
What is the Scott Ransom? It's a mountain bike with 170mm of travel, progressive geometry and a 6-bar rear suspension
0:30
This top-tier 900 RC model is fully carbon. The models in the rest of the Ransom range are a mix of a carbon mainframe and alloy swingarms
0:41
Much like the recently revamped Scott Spark and Scott Genius, the new Scott Ransom has
0:45
moved to a hidden rear shock design. Unlike the Spark and Genius, the Ransom's rear shock is positioned horizontally as opposed
0:54
to vertically. So yeah, the Scott Ransom is a full suspension mountain bike with 170mm of travel at each end
1:02
170mm, what genre of mountain bike does that make the Ransom? In previous years, a 170mm bike would purely be an enduro bike, possibly a bike park bike maybe
1:17
I'd say that the new Scott Ransom can definitely still be pressed into enduro race duties
1:23
but it's possibly rather too sophisticated to be a bike park shredder
1:27
Yet, I think it would behave perfectly well as a trail bike, dare I say all-mountain bike
1:34
To some ears, a 170mm travel trail bike may sound rather eye-rolly
1:40
But honestly, with modern bike geometry and sorted suspension, it really is amazing how
1:45
normal a 170mm bike can feel just riding around. I'd make a strong argument that a bike like the Ransom is the true do-it-all mountain bike
1:57
It's not going to be ideal on an XC race course, but for everything from marathon
2:02
trail bikes, all the way through to enduro race duties, a long-travel bike like this
2:07
will do it all. A well-executed long-travel mountain bike can do things that short-travel and mid-travel
2:15
bikes can do. It does not work the other way around. It's bikes like the Scott Ransom that are the quiver killers in the real world, not
2:24
mid-travel machines with burlier parts swapped in. On a related note, the Scott Ransom has a trickle bit sleeve, or rather, on its handlebar
2:34
This item is the Track Lock Remote. It only controls the rear shock, not attached to the fork
2:41
The rear shock is a custom version of a Fox Float X called the Fox Float X Nude
2:48
With the Track Lock, you can switch the rear shock through three different behaviours
2:53
Position 1 is fully open. Actually, fully open, not the correct term
2:58
You can set the shock's rebound and low-speed compression circuits as with a regular shock
3:03
Position 1 is this setting. Position 2 closes off an extra air chamber that the Float X Nude has, which is essentially
3:13
like suddenly sticking a gigantic volume spacer in the rear shock. It firms things up significantly, reduces the available travel to around 130mm and also
3:22
makes the bike ride higher in its dynamic sag. Position 3 increases compression damping
3:30
You could call it a lockout, but it's not technically locked out in the traditional sense
3:34
There's still a bit of movement possible. It's just mega firmed up
3:40
Right then, onto the science bit. This rear suspension design is called a six-bar design
3:46
This means there are six rigid links in the array. You can kind of think of it as a horse link four-bar, but with a bar from the top rocker
3:55
meeting another bar that rotates around the bottom bracket. The chainstay bar also attaches to this around the bottom bracket bar
4:05
It's one of the more complicated designs out there. Why have Scott done it this way
4:10
Well, it gives them the suspension kinematic that they want whilst preserving the bike's
4:14
overall practical packaging. Whilst it may be possible to get this suspension kinematic via a relatively traditional four-bar
4:22
design, i.e. similar anti-squat, anti-rise leverage ratio, etc., it wouldn't be possible
4:28
to have the frame look like this. The dropper post insertion would be compromised, as would the standover, and you'd be unlikely
4:35
to fit a full-size water bottle in that front triangle. And yep, you wouldn't be able to have the hidden shock
4:44
Which brings us to a commonly asked question. Why have a hidden shock
4:49
I'm sure there are some pure aesthetic reasons. It just looks cool and unique, which is something that's harder to achieve these days as more
4:57
and more mountain bikes start to look the same. But as any UK mountain biker watching this will probably already have thought of, hiding
5:05
the rear shock away keeps it away from filth. Not having the rear shock continually exposed to the elements will have a genuine effect
5:12
on the shock's longevity. As well as the seals of the shock itself, there are bearings in the eyelet of the shock
5:19
that will last exponentially longer due to them being protected from regular dowsings
5:26
In terms of the potential extra faff involved in having a hidden shock, well, for a start
5:31
how often do you actually access the rear shock once you've set it up over the course
5:34
of a couple of rides? Not very many. When you do need to adjust or set up the rear shock, it's probably easier than you think
5:42
The cover on the underside of the down tube pops on and off very positively
5:47
No tools, no faff. When it comes to setting sag, it's not done via an O-ring on the rear shock
5:54
There's a sag indicator built into the main BB pivot housing. Let's get nerdy for a moment
6:02
Sag measured via an O-ring on a rear shock shaft is often inaccurate
6:08
This is because the amount of shock stroke is not equally commensurate with the amount
6:12
of rear travel at the wheel. E.g. 30% of sag at the shock can often mean nearly 40% of sag into the actual wheel travel
6:24
Why links and levers and stuff? So ultimately, the sag displayed via the Scott Ransom's little dial is actual, accurate sag
6:33
To continue the nerdy theme, let's talk about suspension kinematics. The leverage ratio is 25%, and looking at the curve of how it is delivered, the Ransom
6:43
6-bar is fairly leveragy around sag point, but quickly ramps up and then plateaus
6:49
What does that actually mean? It means it'll be supple at sag for decent traction, but quickly offer up some support
6:55
in the mid-stroke for decent bike handling at velocity. Anti-squat numbers never dip below 100%
7:02
The range goes from 104 to 139% throughout the gearing range. Again, what does this mean
7:09
It means it should be an efficient pedaller in all gears. The anti-rise is perhaps the most interesting number
7:17
Anti-rise is how much the action of braking compresses the suspension. The anti-rise on the Scott Ransom ranges from 58 to 71%
7:26
This is a rare quality on a mountain bike. Usually the anti-rise figure drops and drops severely once into the travel
7:33
What does all this mean to the rider? Ultimately, the suspension stays active and supple, even with the anchors slammed on
7:41
Clearly, the rear suspension design is something of a modern marvel, but as we often say, a
7:47
mountain bike lives or dies by its geometry. Duff geometry equals Duff bike
7:55
To quickly wriggle off some numbers about this large-sized Scott Ransom, the head angle
8:00
is 63.8 or 64.4 with a neutral cup or 65.0 with the cup flipped around
8:09
Seat angle is 77.4. EB drop is 25. Seat tube length is a dinky 440
8:16
Seat stays are also 440 and the reach is 483. This top tier Ransom 900 RC with the HMX series carbon frame is £9,799
8:29
The one down from this is the Ransom 910 with HMF carbon mainframe and an alloy swingarm
8:35
That's £7,799. Then we have the Ransom 920, £5,899 and the entry level Ransom 930, which is £5,099
8:48
What else before we conclude this video? The Scott Ransom comes with 29-inch wheels as standard, but it can be ridden with a 27.5
8:57
rear wheel via the flip chip in the chainstay. Oh, and that hatch for the rear shock access is also where you'll find some internal frame storage
9:08
So that's the new Scott Ransom. Head over to singletrackworld.com for a full rundown of all the Ransoms in the range and
9:14
keep an eye out for an in-depth review of this particular Ransom on site very soon
9:20
Bye for now
#Mountain Bikes