SCOTT LUMEN eRIDE 900 SL REVIEW

When it came time to review the Scott Lumen eRIDE 900, our crew was equal parts excited and nervous. With a crazy high price tag, one-piece carbon fiber wheels and the most “XC” geometry and travel of the group, we were anxious to see what our testers would feel on the trail. The SL eMTB World is constantly growing, and the spectrum of offerings for riders from all disciplines is awesome to see, even if it’s a category we’re not finely in-tune with. Queue the XC-focused Scott Lumen eRIDE. Most of the eBikes we review are geared more towards aggressive, downhill-biased riders who want to get more laps and elevation, whereas the Scott Lumen is essentially a pedal-focused, lightweight electrified version of the Spark trail platform. Regardless of the category, the Lumen eRIDE 900 is a real head turner thanks to its hidden rear shock and neatly integrated TQ HPR50 drive unit and 360Wh battery. Impressively the Scott Lumen 900 weighs just 34.7lbs. Let’s dig into what makes this bike so unique and what we thought of it on the trail.

2023 SL EMTB SHOOTOUT SERIES – The Scott Lumen eRide 900 SL was one of the eight eMTBs we tested in our inaugural lightweight eBike group test. We’ve seen a rapid and impressive growth in this category and after fielding so many requests and comments in our well established, annual full-power EMTB SHOOTOUT series, it only seemed natural to give this category the attention it deserves.

This group review was made possible thanks to the amazing support of Schwalbe Tires and their brilliant new Tacky Chan tires, which we outfitted each and every bike with for a consistent test platform.

We’d also like to thank Ninja MTB and Glade Optics.

Our crew did plenty of testing around Central Oregon before heading down to one of our favorite places to ride, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Thanks for the hospitality Discover Klamath and the beautiful Running Y Resort.

THE LAB

The Scott Lumen eRIDE is a lightweight eBike version of their Spark trail bike, with 130mm travel on both ends and a TQ HPR50 motor that delivers 50Nm torque to the rear wheel. With a lightweight carbon fiber frame using their Integrated Suspension Technology to hide the rear shock from sight, the Lumen eRIDE is one of the more visually interesting bikes in this shootout, so let’s dive into the details.

DRIVE UNIT AND ELECTRONICS | The Scott Lumen is one of two bikes in this shootout to use the TQ HPR50 drive system. This features the lightest motor on test at just 4.07lbs (1.85kg), which can produce 50Nm Torque and up to 300W power. The motor uses a very cool Harmonic Pin Ring system (hence the HPR name) to deliver a very quiet operation. TQ supplies a 360Wh battery to power the system, bringing overall weight to 8.59lbs (3.9kg), and there’s an optional 160Wh Range Extender that can supply extra juice to support longer rides, bringing total battery capacity up to 520Wh.

TQ uses a neatly integrated top tube display to show vital information and form the control center. It’ll connect with your phone via Bluetooth or a cycle computer via ANT+, and there’s a remote on the bar to offer quick selection of each power mode or to activate walk mode. The TQ system offers three power modes: ECO, MID and HIGH; letting you tailor the level of support to your preference of range or power.

FRAME AND FEATURES | The Scott Lumen eRIDE 900 is made with their top-tier HMX Carbon Fiber, giving the lightest frame and builds as low as a claimed 34.2lbs (15.5kgs). It has a host of interesting features, with the obvious being the hidden rear shock thanks to its Integrated Suspension Technology system. This rear shock can still be accessed through a removable hatch in the downtube, facilitating adjustments to pressure and rebound and letting you change the cable for the TwinLoc system. The cables are routed through the headset with the Syncros Cable Integration system, reducing clutter on the bar to an absolute minimum and preventing rattle. The headset can be replaced with the included angle-adjusting cups to tailor the headtube angle by 0.6 degrees in either direction. The layout of the suspension allows for two water bottle mounts to be present inside the front triangle, which lets riders double up on hydration or carry both a water bottle and the range extender. The bottle cage on the downtube can be replaced by an included quick release plate, letting riders quickly swap out the bottle cage for the range extender and obtain a secure attachment.

SUSPENSION | The Lumen eRIDE’s Integrated Suspension Technology rear end sees the rear shock hidden within its HMX Carbon Fiber frame. This shock is driven by a link internally to deliver the 130mm of rear travel, with a flex stay in place to cut down on the amount of hardware and minimize overall weight. The Lumen receives the classic TwinLoc treatment as you might be used to seeing on Scott bikes, with a handlebar-mounted lever giving remote lockout capabilities for the fork and shock simultaneously. This system offers Lockout, Traction or Descend modes to let you tailor the feeling of the bike to the trail ahead and unlocks some extra efficiency and range for the longest days in the saddle. The NUDE 5T shock produced by Fox for Scott offers this TwinLoc functionality, with simultaneous compression and travel adjustment. The Traction mode reduces rear travel down to 90mm, increasing efficiency but retaining some movement to obtain grip on the terrain, whereas the Lockout mode effectively prevents the suspension from moving at all to really maximize efficiency and range.

GEOMETRY | The Scott Lumen eRIDE has geometry very similar to their Spark XC/trail bike, which is aggressive for a bike in this space but still very much on the agile side of things compared with the more aggressive bikes in this test. The exception to that rule is in the 450mm chainstay length – longest on test – which aids in steep terrain climbing abilities and also allows the rather steep head tube angled XC bike to feel comfortable at higher speeds.

BUILD SPECS | Scott offers a range of models beginning with the $6,999 Lumen 910 and topping out at our staggeringly expensive Lumen 900 SL at $15,999. For that $16k, you do get an impressive build kit which lets the weight stay down at the equally impressive 34.7lbs. Suspension duties are handled by the TwinLoc-equipped Fox 34 Float Factory Fit4 fork and custom Fox NUDE 5T Factory EVOL shock, and they are matched by the Fox Transfer dropper post. The drivetrain is a SRAM XX1 Eagle affair, with an FSA carbon crankset in 175mm length. Braking duties are provided by Shimano with their XTR 4-piston brakes and a pair of 180mm Centerlock rotors. The cockpit is an integrated unit by Scott’s in-house component brand, Syncros, with their Fraser iC SL DC Carbon bar and stem combo to match the clean aesthetic and minimize weight.

One of the standout products and an undeniable contributor to the 900 SL’s weight and price tag, are the Syncros Silverton SL2-30 wheels. Works of art for sure, but these one-piece wheels feature a carbon rim, spokes and hub shell that are molded together. DT Swiss hub internals offer reliable services, and they’re equipped with SRAM TyreWiz units to keep an eye on tire pressures. Speaking of tires, as standard the Scott Lumen eRIDE 920 SL is provided with a pair of Schwalbe Wicked Will Super Race tires, but for this shootout we equipped all bikes with a set of big and burly Tacky Chans, which made this svelte and sexy XC machine look a little more menacing.