Plus, what’s claimed to be a prototype SRAM Transmission derailleur. Is it actually?
Piper Albrecht and Scott-SRAM
This weekend is the last time we will see Nino Schurter taking to the race track at a World Cup. Extremely unique for the sport, the Swiss legend has won all 36 of his World Cups and 10 World Championships aboard Scott bikes equipped with SRAM drivetrains, so the two brands have combined to create a custom bike for his last outing at his home race here in Lenzerheide (following a big celebration at the recent World Championships race).
To say mountain bikes have changed a lot since Schurter won his first World Cup in 2010 is an understatement. Fifteen years at Dalby Forest in the UK, Nino rode a 26-inch Scott Scale hardtail; it had a rigid carbon seatpost, 100 mm of suspension travel up front, tubular tyres (a rare choice then) and a front derailleur. It would have weighed roughly two kilograms less than the Scott Spark RC 120 mm full suspension 29er he’ll take to the track on Sunday.
A celebration bike 
Riding a medium-sized frame, Schurter will line up to his last World Cup on a bike painted in the colours of the Swiss flag. The Spark RC runs 120mm of travel with a Rockshox SidLuxe Ultimate shock hidden in the seat tube. Up front sits a matching 120 mm Rockshox SID Ultimate fork that bucks the trend of some XC racers using the marginally lighter and skinnier 110 mm SID SL in the front. As the first to use the system in a World Cup, Schurter continues to utilise Rockshox’s Flight Attendant, which automatically unlocks and locks the suspension on the fly.
Stopping duties are covered by SRAM’s relatively Motive mineral-oil brakes, these too have received the custom treatment being decked out in white with the rainbow stripes. As is pretty common these days in the XC world Schurter has a Rockshox Reverb AXS dropper post fitted (100 mm of drop).
Just a small handful of brands are featured on Nino’s bikes.
The colour-matched Wheels are from Scott’s own Syncros brand. The Silverton 1.0s aren’t the lightest wheels offered by the company, with that title rather going to the full one-piece carbon Silverton SL wheelset. Rather, it’s common to see the Scott-SRAM team using the more traditional, steel-spoked option that comes with a claimed 85 g weight penalty. These wheels are likely to offer more compliance and better ride feel through rough terrain than the stiffer platform the full carbon Silverton SL provides.
Mounted to the rims are the Maxxis Aspen ST tyres with some TestPilot logos that suggest these are different to what’s currently available for sale. These are Maxxis’ fastest rolling tyres in the Aspen range. With the same bikes required to run in XCC and XCO, these tyres might be swapped out for the main race on Sunday, but with a good weather forecast, there’s a chance they could be left on, depending on how the track develops.
Blackbox Transmission
Nino has a long history of being SRAM’s top pick to help tease new products. And yet again, SRAM’s prototype branding, Blackbox, has made an appearance.
Hanging off the back of the bike is a new Blackbox Transmission derailleur from SRAM. It could be a new XX SL variant. Or it could just be SRAM sneakily merging an existing SRAM GX AXS Transmission derailleur with a lighter XX SL cage, some paint, and a special sticker. Such a combination of existing components is easily put together and is lighter than an existing XX SL derailleur.
Gold for the former Olympic champion and Red for the home crowd.
It’s tough to tell as the images do make it look a little more svelte than an existing GX AXS Transmission derailleur. Either way, it’s safe to assume it’s flashed with the latest firmware update that brings a modest shift speed improvement.
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