2019 Scott Ransom

Release & First Ride

2019 Scott Ransom

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos by Metis Creative/Scott Sports

About a month ago we got an email from Scott USA’s marketing manager asking us to meet them to check out a new bike they’d be bringing to town, the 2019 Ransom. We’d heard some mumbling about a new bike for several months now. It was something that “will be right up our alley” we’d been told, so when Scott came to Bend, OR to deliver the bike and film their latest edit, we jumped at the chance. We met with Garth Spencer at a local coffee shop and when he pulled the new Ransom out of his rental car I lit up. They were right, this thing looked bad ass and I couldn’t wait to get it on the trails.

The Scott crew were in Bend, filming the video you’ll see below. The video was shot with Metis Creative to support the launch of the new Ransom and after talking a bit with Kyle Jameson (KJ), Scott athlete, it’s pretty clear I’m not the only one who’s stoked on the new bike.

While KJ and Andrew Neethling were shredding for the Metis Creative lenses, I was forced to find trails without much traffic so I could test out the new rig in privacy. After a couple initial rides I was hooked.

2019 Scott Ransom

With 170mm of travel, a stiff chassis and sex appeal, I couldn’t resist bringing the bike with me to Crankworx Whistler. I knew the trails in BC would be exactly what this bike craved and pedaling around Bend just wasn’t cutting it for me.

Before we share the usual Press Release communications, I’ll start out with some input from the demo ride that got me in some trouble. Normally we try to maintain a certain level of casual professionalism, as I like to call it, but after riding this 170mm dagger on some rowdier trails, I could not resist the urge to put it on the chairlift at Whistler Bike Park, during the busiest week of the year.

I know, not a great decision and it earned me an email from Scott’s European HQ (I’m sorry), BUT if this thing rode the bike park trails as well is it rode everything else I’d ridden so far, then it would be worth the risk. For you, our readers – I broke the rules, in the name of science.

2019 Scott Ransom

Every year at Crankworx I test several bikes on some lesser-traveled trails that I session repeatedly. They blend what I view to be a truly well rounded and real world test session on terrain that most people will encounter. My test runs feature a few very steep double black sections with some solid technical blues, that when ridden at speed, are about as fun and challenging as it gets.

I’ve ridden a dozen bikes on this loop and knew if I could sneak the Ransom up there for just a couple runs I’d learn more about it than a month’s worth of riding back home. The apology email was worth it.

The new Ransom was probably one of the most impressive and memorable highlights of my test week at Crankworx. Sadly I didn’t get to do much more riding on it after the email as I promised to not pull it back out of the van until I got out of Whistler. Now I’m home and I can’t wait to ride it more.

The highlights so far include: an incredibly snappy and lively feel, lightweight, stiff chassis and buttery smooth suspension. Oh, and let’s not forget the Ramp Control lever. By reaching down to the shock and flipping a lever you can open or close air chambers on the shock, effectively adding or reducing volume on the fly! Something I tested at Whistler with surprising results.

On blue trails with a flatter gradient like Blueseum and Funshine Rollydrops I was able to pump, pop and slam the bike into places with less effort than some heavier, more sluggish bikes I’ve ridden. The stiffness of the bike welcomed my abuse and even met me with an acceleration out of the turns or rollers. Often times light and playful bikes sacrifice sensitivity and bump compliance, the Ransom was among the smoothest of bikes in Whistler’s blown out bike park this year. Braking bumps that have morphed into 8- to 12-inch drops were smoothed out and the bike definitely gave my hands a respite from the chop.

One notable downside however was the one piece bar and stem combo when mated with Scott’s nearly slick grips. I would have made a grip swap as I think the bigger issue was grips, but the mount for Scott’s TwinLoc lever is integrated into the grip’s lock ring so I’m still running the semi-slick grips until the parts arrive to swap out for something a bit grippier. Another area worth mentioning is the paint. I find it to be beautiful, however it scratches easily and I wish the clear coat was a bit thicker or more durable.

Now that the important stuff is out of the way you can check out the nerdy figures from Scott below. In the mean time we’ll be taking every chance we get to step away from the computer and put this bike through its paces to see if we can find something more notable to critique, ‘cuz right now we’re kinda shocked that we can’t think of much.

2019 Scott Ransom

Ransom 900/700 Tuned

170mm of Trail Munchin’, Climb Crushing, Stage Winning Mountain Bike Excellence

Scott first introduced the Ransom in 2006 and it has definitely earned its place in the history of our sport. Riders piloted this bike to impressive places after it first came out and we’re excited to see the 2019 Ransom primed to take back that honor.

With a progressive geometry, clever frame design and 170mm of front and rear wheel travel, the Ransom is going to answer the call for many aggressive riders looking for a snappy, high performing bike with big hit capabilities.

2,650g – At Scott, the weight of our bikes is always at the center of our engineering. Using our EvoLap Carbon technology, not only have we been able to design a frame, shock and hardware combo that weighs in at just 2650g, but we’ve also managed to make our strongest carbon frame to date.

FOX NUDE TR – For a bike of the Ransom’s nature, we wanted to make sure that we had suspension to match. We worked with FOX to develop the all new and exclusive to SCOTT FOX NUDE TR. This shock benefits from all the advantages of our TwinLoc Suspension System, and in addition allows you to choose how progressive your shock is on the fly. No need to add or remove tokens or spacers, just flip a switch and go from a more linear to a more progressive setting – easy as that.

One Frame, Two Wheel Sizes – Following in the Genius’s footsteps, the all new Ransom can fit either 27.5” or 29” wheels. All you have to do is flip a chip on the linkage, swap wheels and you’re good to go. You can fit up to a 2.6” tire in the 20” setting, or a 2.8” in the 27.5” option. Versatility is key.

Three Build Options – Starting with the base model 930, Scott offers a Ransom at several price points for riders of varying budgets and wheel preferences.

New Syncros Hixon iC Rise Handlebar – In conjunction with the Ransom release, for 2019 we’ve expanded our much-lauded lightweight Hixon integrated bar and stem combo that debuted on the Genius to include a wider and higher rise for the extra demands of the All-Mountain / Enduro rider.

To learn more, visit Scott-sports.com/page/ransom