2 Affordable Alloy Versions of Scott's New Gambler DH Bike Coming This Fall

Scott's all new Gambler Tuned topped the World Cup podium shortly after its debut this year and now they've followed their full-carbon elite level DH racer with two new models which will offer the same geometry, adjustability, and dual-wheel-size options at two more affordable price points. Reportedly, the Gambler 910 model will use a carbon front section, with aluminum suspension components, while the Gambler 920 and 930 will feature all aluminum frames. Prices start at €3,699 and according to Scott, the hybrid carbon/aluminum model will launch around November this year, with the alloy models following in December. This should be great news for Scott fans. The official press release follows below:

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Introducing the All New Scott Gambler Alloy

PRESS RELEASE: Scott

The all new Gambler was designed for one thing only, pure, unadulterated speed. Alongside our carbon Tuned model, we have three other models available - a hybrid (carbon/alloy) model and two alloy models.

When designing the MY20 Gambler alloy and hybrid models, we didn’t want to just recreate the carbon bike in alloy form. we wanted to design a standalone Gambler that has the quality to be raced and ridden at the highest level. we also wanted to do so in a way that is attainable for everyone. So, how did we get there? Considering the bike as a complete system we broke things down into four main factors: construction, adjustability, geometry and integration.



Construction

Stiffness is a hugely important topic for all downhill bikes, carbon or alloy. We really wanted to have an alloy version that performed as well as the top-notch carbon bike. While carbon is a very tunable material compared to aluminum, once we hit our strength values we were able to play with tube shapes and wall thicknesses to get a frame that resulted in nearly identical stiffness/flex ratios as the Tuned version. This is also the case for the Hybrid Carbon/Alloy Gambler 910. Using our stiffness backbone concept that is present on all our full suspension MTB’s, we avoid putting any loads on the top and downtube. All loads sit on the forged parts, which also allows us to not overbuild seat stays, further reducing weight.


Lightweight

We also wanted this bike to be light, and to have desired stiffness / flex values like the carbon version. By working cleverly with aluminum, we gave ourselves a very aggressive weight target that we were able to hit without risking any sacrifice in terms of strength / functionality. Over the past few years, we’ve advanced our alloy development techniques just as much as we have with carbon. The idea with the Gambler was to take away all material that wasn’t needed. Through optimizing forged parts, and utilizing as much tube to tube construction as possible, we were able to save over 600g compared to the previous Gambler. There is 26.4% less forged material volume on this Gambler compared to the previous Alloy model.


Adjustability

Our downhill bikes have always pushed the boundaries of adjustability. Both a rider and a bike need to be able to adapt to tracks, weather conditions and choice of shock (air or coil.) The new Gambler allows you to switch between wheelsizes without changing any other components on the bike. Chain stay length can also be adjusted, independent of wheelsize choice. Short with 29”, sure thing. Long with 27.5? Yep, that too. The Gambler also comes with spare angled headset cups, so that you can adjust head angle relative to wheelsize, fork choice etc.

We also have a 4-way chip to allow not only bottom bracket height adjustment relative to wheelsize, but more importantly for geometry/kinematic tweaks depending on tracks, shocks or rider preference. We want the bike to be optimizable for each shock and rider given the track.



Integration

Integration is becoming a more important topic at Scott as time goes by. We spent a lot of time here looking at previous concepts and asking ourselves if we really wanted to grandfather into the new bike performance compromises due to old standards – we didn’t. Enter our proprietary chain guide / bash guard solution.

It seems like it shouldn’t make a huge difference on the bike, but it turns out it does. We even joke saying that it dictated the design of the entire bike. Why make this a proprietary piece? Chain devices are normally made to work with many different bikes and are therefore compromised. We only need to make it work for this one frame and a specific range of chainring sizes, so it can be easier to setup, better performing, lighter and allows us to gain some advantages on the frame construction, further reducing weight and increasing reliability/durability.



The new Scott Gambler Alloy models 910, 920 and 930 will be available by November (910) respectively December (920, 930) of 2019. More information on Scott-sports.com by September 2019..com by September 2019.


Scott Gambler 910


Provisional price €5,999

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Scott Gambler 920


Provisional price €4,399

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Scott Gambler 930


Provisional price €3,699

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Update: Prices added