Introducing the All-New SCOTT Gambler Alloy Downhill Bike 6

As racing fans, we love to geek out on the top-level builds under our favorite riders but the reality is, not many people have the side cash for those wonder rigs. There remains a strong demand for alloy downhill bikes and SCOTT has answered that call with three new models for their Gambler line. The Gambler 910 uses a carbon front triangle and alloy rear while the 920 and 930 go full alloy. Dig into the press release below to garner all the details for yourself. 

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.

Givisiez, Switzerland – 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 stand alone 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.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Gambler 910 uses a carbon front triangle, mated to an alloy rear end. It is built out with a FOX 40 Performance Elite fork, FOX DHX Performance rear shock, SRAM GX DH 7-speed drivetrain and SRAM Code R brakes. The claimed weight comes in at 36.8 pounds (16.7 kilograms)
• Gambler 920 goes full alloy on the frame but keeps the FOX 40 Performance Elite fork but uses a FOX Van RC shock out back. Brakes change to Shimano's new BR-MT520, four piston stoppers. The claimed weight comes in at 37.7 pounds (17.1 kilograms)
• Gambler 930 is the entry level, full alloy framed offering with a RockShox Boxxer Select fork, X-Fusion Vector R shock and a SRAM X5 drivetrain. The weight penalty is marginal, tipping the scales at 37.26pounds (16.9 kilograms)
• Regardless of frame material or parts spec, all Gambler models share the same geometry

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 wheel sizes without changing any other components on the bike. Chain stay length can also be adjusted, independent of wheel size 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 wheel size, fork choice etc.

We also have a 4-way chip to allow not only bottom bracket height adjustment relative to wheel size, 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.

Choose between two chainstay lengths, and 4 different BB positions to always have the perfect setup for each rider, each track, each type of shock etc.

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 will be available this winter. Be sure to take a look back at our coverage of the new SCOTT Gambler Tuned, you know, just in cased you missed that drool-worth World Cup goodness.