# 2018 Scott Spark 730 - 29” wheel swap



## flgfish (11 mo ago)

I have a 2018 Scott Spark 730. It’s been a good bike for South Texas singletrack trail riding. The bike runs 27.5+ Maxxis Recon 2.8” tires. Today, I cracked my rear rim, and this has me considering options for replacement. Obviously I could do a straight replacement size-for-size, but I'm considering putting 29" wheels on the bike instead. I have a 2021 Scott Scale as well, and the wheels appear to fit fine. I don't see any obvious places where the wheels will impact the frame. Fork is fine, and the rear suspension looks like it's clear for the full travel as well. I'd go run the Scale 29 wheels on the Spark but the rear wheel has a different hub & cassette system.

This bike has no "flip chip" that I can find, and nothing in the manual. I don't think it exists. My impression is that the frames are quite similar, but not exactly. Here's a screencap of what the manual says.

Someone please tell me what I'm not thinking of. I primarily want the 29ers for the ~1/2" extra BB clearance. When I measure the wheels radius with the tires, the Scale 29er wheels + Recon Race 2.25" tires are about 1/2" larger than the Spark 27.5+ wheel + tire. Pedal strikes on roots in the piney woods suck, and I've had a couple that sent me for a good spill. A little extra clearance would be swell.

Thanks in advance for feedback.

eta: Bike is a large, if it matters.


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## flgfish (11 mo ago)

I went ahead and just replaced the rim. Although, the 29er wheel swap appears that it would work just fine. 

Replying in case anyone finds this in a search. I also realize now I probably dropped this in the wrong area. Mea culpa.


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## MattSPL (Dec 28, 2021)

flgfish said:


> I have a 2018 Scott Spark 730. It’s been a good bike for South Texas singletrack trail riding. The bike runs 27.5+ Maxxis Recon 2.8” tires. Today, I cracked my rear rim, and this has me considering options for replacement. Obviously I could do a straight replacement size-for-size, but I'm considering putting 29" wheels on the bike instead. I have a 2021 Scott Scale as well, and the wheels appear to fit fine. I don't see any obvious places where the wheels will impact the frame. Fork is fine, and the rear suspension looks like it's clear for the full travel as well. I'd go run the Scale 29 wheels on the Spark but the rear wheel has a different hub & cassette system.
> 
> This bike has no "flip chip" that I can find, and nothing in the manual. I don't think it exists. My impression is that the frames are quite similar, but not exactly. Here's a screencap of what the manual says.
> 
> ...


I think generally a 27.5+ bike will work with 29ers, but tire width might need to be considered.
I had a trek Roscoe with 27.5 x 2.8’s and that would accept a 29 x 2.4


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## flgfish (11 mo ago)

Just posting in here because I finally got around to updating the Spark 730 with 29" wheels. Pretty much everything on the bike has been changed at this point except the frame.
I think the 29" change was absolutely worth it. Feels like a new bike.







Running 2.35" tires.


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