The new Scott Lumen eRide – introduction and testride of a Superlight emtb

The Scott e-Spark was introduced all the way back in 2015. It was a full suspension emtb with a 120mm rear suspension and a 130mm travel fork. But this bike disappeared after a few years. Short travel emtbs didn’t really catch on. They were perhaps too similar to the 150-160mm travel bikes. There wasn’t much much weight to be saved, so there any advantages of going short travel.

We rode the Scott Lumen eRide, check out the video review, or keep reading below.


No Scott is making another attempt with the new Lumen eRide. This bike too is based on the XC oriented Scott Spark. “Lumen” means light, and that’s exactly what this bike is. Light, as in lightweight. The Lumen eRide is a 29er bike with 130mm travel front and rear.


Fredrik is heading out for his first ride. Foto: MichalCerveny

Versions​

Scott Lumen eRide comes in 4 versions. We rode the very lightweight, top-of-the-line Lumen 900 SL. Weight is looking good for the cheaper models too.

Scott Lumen eRide 900 SL​

€15.999 / $15.999 / £14.699
No expenses are spared on the most expensive model. It has of course got a Fox Factory 34 fork and Sram XX1 AXS 12-speed wireless shifting. Scott also developed a new carbon wheelset where the rim and spokes are molded in one piece. Very lightweight, very costly.

Scott Lumen eRide 900​

€9.999 / $9.999 / £9.299
The 900 is significantly less costly, still it’s very well specc’ed. The Fox 34 Performance Elite is a nice fork, and the Shimano XT dual caliper brakes are just as nice. We’re happy to see a wireless drivetrain on this bike too, the Sram GX AXS 12-speed. Scott claim 16,3kg bike weight if set up tubelessly.

Scott Lumen eRide 910​

€6.999 / $6.999 / £6.499
This is the entry-level model, and I have to say price was a bit lower than I expected. Sure, the Fox 34 Rhythm fork isn’t high-end. But with just 130mm travel, it’s a pretty stiff fork with nice suspension action. The dual caliper Shimano Deore brakes are all I’ll ever need. The 12-speed drivetrain is a mix of Shimano XT and Deore. And claimed weight is still looking good at 17.6kg set up tubelessly.

Scott Contessa Lumen eRide 900​

€6.999 / $6.999 / £6.499
The women-specific Contessa 900 seems very similar to the eRide 900. To repeat myself; weight, specs and price is looking very good.

Geometry​

The Scott Spark always was a good descender, and the Lumen has a similar frame geometry. The 65.5* head angle is slack while the 77-ish degrees seat tube angle is steep. This is looking good, just as we expect from a modern trail bike. Wheelbase is 1.240mm for size Large. It is perhaps a tad longer than expected, and it is in part caused by the long-ish chainstays. They are longer than on the old electric Spark.


Frame geometry, click to enlarge.

Integrated shock​

Scott explain they had to slightly increase chainstay length to make room for the shock inside the frame. This looks cool we think, and tidy. It’s no surprise this bike comes with an integrated shock. Bikes such as the relatively newly launched Patron eRide, Spark and Genius all have an integrated shock. Scott say the location of the shock allows it to be attached to a very stiff part of the frame, no need for additional reinforcement. This design also allows for two bottle cages inside the main triangle.

Range extender​

Scott goes on to say this is the only emtb with room for two bottle cages, and this was important to them. The bike can be had with a 160Wh extender battery. The range extender sits on the downtube, where one of the cages is located. A range extender lets us do long rides, making it more important to bring a water bottle. And with the Lumen eRide, we can.


The integrated shock allows room for a bottle and the range extender.

Motor and battery​

The 360Wh main battery is fixed inside the downtube, making it non-detachable. We know many want an easily removable battery, but we see why Scott decided to drop it. A detachable battery can increase total weight by up to 1 kg. And the integrated shock appears to be in the way for a battery that slides out like on the Trek Fuel EX-e.


The 360Wh TQ battery is fixed inside the frame.

The TQ HPR50 is a small and compact 50Nm motor. We believe Scott needed s small motor such as this to be able to integrate the shock. This is of course not among the most powerful motors out there, but it still offers good assistance. The motor gives a nice amount of help if we keep the cadence up.


The TQ HPR50 motor

We like the anonymous nature of the motor. We barely take notice as the motor activates. It doesn’t interfere with our riding with unexpected surges of power. And we are rewarded with good help if we hit the pedals and keep the cadence over 70 rpm. The TQ HPR50 is a very silent motor. Check out our review of the motor if you want more details.

Thanks to the small motor, it’s not easy to see this is an ebike. The non-assist Scott Spark and the Lumen eRide are looking very similar. You need to be some sort of expert to tell which in is an emtb.

On the trails​

120-130mm suspension travel is very popular on non-assist bikes. We had come to accept there was no point going below 140-150mm on a lightweight emtb. But the Scott Lumen is here to prove 130mm makes sense on an emtb. The Lumen eRide 900 SL is less than 16kg, making it 2-3 kg lighter than the lightweight emtbs we’re used to riding. That can be felt!


Scott Lumen eRide 900 SL. Foto: MichalCerveny

The Lumen eRide feels so light on the trails. It’s easy forcing the bike through the sharp turns on the steep climbs. We almost come to a complete stop in the sharpest turns, and the motor is so easy to control when we start pedaling again. The 450mm chainstays ensures a good weight distribution in the steep ups. Lumen isn’t the ultimate climber the way a full power emtb can be. It feels more like a non-assist bike, except it’s climbs much faster.


Foto: MichalCerveny

This bike obviously isn’t a downhill specialist. It’s an all-round trail bike that will handle a bit of speed going down. We rarely have this much fun on the mellow trails. These lightweight bikes are perfect for the forest trails and the flow trails. We turn and pump through the corners. We use way less force both when setting up the bike going into a bend, and when picking a new line going out of the turn.


Fredrik riding the new Scott Lumen eRide. Foto: MichalCerveny

Conclusion​

We keep comparing the Lumen to non-assist bikes because it’s so different to many of the emtbs we usually ride. The small and silent TQ HPR50 enforces this impression. Its power delivery is so natural and almost unnoticeable.


Running the range extender battery, the bike reports more than 100% state-of-charge.

“It never gets easier, you just go faster”, they say. As we take a short rest on the trails, we think this saying describes the Lumen eRide so well. This bike inspires us to hit the pedals hard, the motor knows how to reward a good effort. This is a nimble bike that is fun to ride even if we’re riding a bit slow.