First Ride: Scott Voltage - The Electric Genius

I've been riding the Voltage eRide 900 tuned both in Spain (pictured) and on my home trails in Scotland. Let's dig into the details and how it rides.



Frame & Motor

Impressively, Scott managed to squeeze a motor, battery and a shock inside the frame while leaving room for a range extender and a water bottle (or two water bottles) within the front triangle. It certainly helps that the TQ motor is one of the most compact on the market, but Scott had to put the lower shock mount slightly further forward than it is on the Genius and add a shock extender to the other end to make it fit.


Because the shock is hidden inside, the sag indicator is built into the rocker link, and measures the true sag percentage at the rear wheel, as opposed to a percentage of the shock stroke that you'd usually measure. For most bikes, 30% of the shock stroke corresponds to a bit more than 30% of the wheel travel, because the axle moves further for every millimetre of shock stroke at the beginning of the travel than at the end. Therefore, you may want to aim for a slightly higher sag percentage than usual with Scott's system. There is a small rubber port for accessing the upper shock bolt, but this doesn't let you see the shock shaft, so the external dial is the only way to see if you're using full travel.


A small door under the downtube with a quarter-turn latch allows access to the shock's compression and rebound dials, plus the air valve. This is a little fiddly especially if the bike is muddy. To access the battery, there is a larger cover secured with four bolts. The 360 Wh battery is not designed to be removed in a hurry or charged off the bike. An additional 160 Wh range extender is included with the top-spec 900 SL model (bringing the total capacity to 520 Wh) and is compatible with all other models.


A top-tube-mounted display can indicate the precise battery percentage (a useful feature when doing longer rides, especially when compared to Shimano's five-bar guess-o-meter) or current motor and rider power output, among the other usual metrics. As we've come to expect from Scott, cabling runs through the headset and internal cable guides. The headset also offers +/-0.6° of head angle adjustment.

---

Geometry

As you'd expect, the Voltage's geometry is very similar to the Genius. The main differences are a 15 mm longer chainstay (in all sizes) and a 6 mm higher bottom bracket. At 63.9 degrees in the slack setting, the head angle is fairly slack for the travel, while the seat tube is reasonably steep - but neither figure is an outlier.

Unusually, both the (effective) stem length and crank length are size-specific. Stems go from 40 mm to 50 mm in the larger two sizes; cranks go from 170 mm to 175 mm. I'd rather have a 40 mm stem in all sizes and shorter cranks across the board.

---

Suspension

The rear suspension delivers 155 mm of travel (5 mm more than the Genius) via one of two shocks. Two models use a Fox Nude 6T shock, which has an inline architecture (no reservoir) and TwinLoc adjustment. Here, switching to the middle mode on the handlebar remote firms up the compression damping in the fork and shock, as well as reducing the shock's air volume to make it more progressive. The third setting locks-out the fork and shock's compression adjustment. This shock is paired to a Fit4 fork with three damping threshold modes to match the shock.

The 900 Tuned model (tested) uses a Fox Float X Nude shock, which has a piggyback reservoir to help with heat management and damping consistency. It only reduces the air volume in the middle setting (no change to the damping) and adds a compression threshold in the third setting. This is paired with a Grip2 fork which is not connected to the handlebar remote. Simple, right?

Although other shocks may fit, Scott say that no others are approved for use.


Despite the unusual suspension packaging, the kinematics that dictate the suspension performance aren't too left field. The leverage that the rear axle has over the shock starts high for a soft initial stroke and drops throughout the travel to firm it up towards bottom out. The change in leverage ratio from 0% to 100% travel (AKA the progressivity percentage) is pretty typical these days, so it should provide decent support and bottom-out resistance without being overly harsh. The 55 mm stroke is short for the rear wheel travel, meaning the average leverage ratio is pretty high (2.82). This isn't necessarily a problem so long as the shock is well-tuned for it, but could make heat fade more an issue on long rough descents, especially when combined with the lack of airflow to the shock.

Scott don't appear to be relying on the handlebar remotes to prop up the suspension, as anti-squat levels are high by e-bike standards, especially in the harder gears. This should mean the suspension stays high in its travel under power, but it may inhibit suspension sensitivity when pedalling over bumps.

---

Models

---

Ride Impressions

The TQ motor delivers a very different experience to its rivals, even some of the mid-weight options. It's whisper quiet, which combined with the sleek futuristic look means you could just about hide the fact you're riding an ebike. The downside is that even in the most powerful mode (which I used about 90% of the time) there isn't a lot of support. That's great if you want it to feel closer to a normal bike, but it certainly doesn't have the cartoonish indifference to steep slopes of a full-power e-bike. Of course, it will still get you up much quicker than any mountain bike, but if you've ridden full-power e-bikes (or even some of the mid-power units like Bosch SX) it's worth being aware that it's not the same ballgame. It's like comparing a bracing cup of tea to two cans of Monster.

On the launch in Spain, I noticed the power starting to drop off during a prolonged fire-road climb. On the display, I could see the motor was producing way less than 300 W even when I was producing significantly more than that and using the maximum assistance mode. The same thing happened to another heavier-than-average journalist, while lighter riders started pulling away. TQ explained that the motor limits its power output when it reaches a certain temperature. The motor became hot to the touch (though not scalding) on steep climbs. It seems less than ideal to have such a source of heat so close to the shock (air shocks are affected by temperature), but I can't say I noticed any dramatic changes in suspension performance after steep climbs or descents.

Without a range extender, I was getting about 700 m of climbing out of a full charge in Scottish winter conditions using only the strongest assistance mode. Mathematically, that would correspond to just over 1,000 m with the range extender (which I didn't get to try out in Scotland). That said, you could get more range with less assistance or milder weather, and the Voltage is very pedal-efficient, so it's not a big deal to ride it without any assistance at all if required. As for the TracLoc, I only used it to try it out. I don't think it's necessary.


On the descents, it's not indistinguishable from an unassisted trail bike, but it's pretty close. The longer chainstay and extra frame weight make it a little harder to pop the wheel off the ground, but they also aid with traction and stability on loose turns. Either way, it's not a dramatic effect and a far cry from the 25 kg full-power e-bikes that do take some getting used to.

The rear suspension is supple but does get to the end of its travel easily on fast hits. Bottom outs aren't clunky, but it's not the most reassuring on heavy landings. I also didn't gel with the 50 mm (effective) stem length of the one-piece bar/stem. To me, this makes the steering feel a little awkward on tight, steep turns. Aside from those gripes, the Voltage is easy to ride fast on rough and technical terrain. One trail in Spain had a mix of chunky rock chutes, tight turns and pinch climbs; the Voltage was in its element here, with a good mix of maneuverability, stability and intuitive assistance for the technical uphills. With a shorter stem and perhaps a bigger volume spacer in the shock, it could be a very competent descender indeed.

---

Posted In:
eMTB Reviews and Tech First Rides Trail Bikes Scott Scott Voltage