August 22, 2005

Decline Tests The Voltage YZ 0 Limited

Decline Magazine June 2005

The Voltage is Timo Pritzel’s weapon of choice when arming himself to go ride. For those of you who don’t know Timo, he is one of the most innovative and creative riders to hit the mountain bike scene. Do yourselves a favor and get a copy of the September/October issue of Decline and read the cover story on him. This will give you a bit of insight as to why he has a signature bike with SCOTT. There are two versions of the bike to choose from; the higher end Voltage YZ 0 Limited and lower end YZ 0. The two models provide the buyer with an option based on how much money they are looking to spend.

The Limited can be stabled in your garage for $1962.99, or if you have your own parts kit in mind the frame is available for $691.99. Now, this is a bit higher than most of the other hardtail jumpers being offered on the market right now, but you must consider the parts spec on this bike compared to most. Scott spared no expense when hooking up Timo’s signature ride, so this is why they offer a second budget-minded model.

Timo’s frame features a super stiff 6061 aluminum Octagon mainframe, Hydra-formed chainstays, disc dropouts, integrated ISCG mounts, and a replaceable derailleur hanger. The YZ 0 Limited is available in two sizes, a small and a large. Measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the top tube, the small is roughly a 12” frame and the large, which is the one we tested, is about a 14”. The top tubes come in around 21.6” and 22.6” measured effectively and chainstays measure out at 16.6”. The head angle is a bit slack at 68.5 degrees, but if you like a relaxed head angle then this will work well for you and put you right at home. The rear end comes in a bit long and with the slack head angle, it creates a long wheelbase that is noticeable at the park or on the street, but feels quite stable on the dirt at speed.


Marzocchi assumes the main role in the suspension department and does quite a good job with the Dirt Jumper III. This fork features a dual SSVF damping system, 100 mm of travel and dual external air preload, which is nice because you can set the fork up soft for some off road use or super stiff for street/park use. The 32 mm stanchions and 1-1/8” steerer tube are reinforced steel so you have a little insurance when you come up short or over-jump anything, and the fork isn’t too hard to handle even though it weighs in at five pounds.

The cockpit of the bike uses a Scott 31.8-mm oversized bar, a TruVativ Hussefelt 40-mm stem and a Scott post and saddle. The oversized proprietary bar looks a bit like a flat bar when you first glance at the bike because of the low rise, but all the angles feel correct when holding onto them. The post didn’t quite have enough adjustment range to get the nose of the saddle correctly pointing upward, so this was easily remedied by flipping it around and running the saddle all the way back on the rails. This mode put the saddle a bit more forward on the bike, giving it a more centered feel for pinching the seat.

Stopping the bike is easily handled with a set of Hayes HFX-9 hydraulic brakes using six inch rotors both front and rear. What can you say about Hayes that hasn’t been said before? They just simply work well with a good solid feel, dual piston caliper and adjustable reach levers. There isn’t too much room for improvement here.

Shimano makes the drivetrain run smoothly using the XT mid-cage rear derailleur, a nice tight 12-25t nine-speed cog stack and a Deore shifter. It’s good to see Scott using a road cassette to tighten up the gear ratio on the back of this bike. It keeps the shifting a bit crisper, the chain a bit shorter, and the weight down a bit. Most riders generally only use about three gears on most dirt jump bikes anyway.

Race Face has the cranks covered with their new Diabolous crankset using a 38-tooth DH ring. These cranks are made of Optim-AL, which is a form of aluminum that Race Face says is stiffer and stronger than standard aluminum grades. These cranks certainly felt just that – stiff. There wasn’t a bit of give on these when hammering out of a turn, dropping to flat on stair gaps, or hanging up on coping. They also feature a unique, removable granny gear spider so you don’t have to grind off the tabs when running a chain guide. There is virtually no chance of stripping the pedal bosses out thanks to the I-Lock reinforced steel pedal inserts too. The bottom bracket shares the same type of design as the newer Shimano models, utilizing an outboard bearing design with 35% more thread engagement and bearing size over conventional bottom brackets. The bottom bracket also happens to be interchangeable with the Shimano offerings as well. All these features are packed into a package that still comes in at a feather light 115 gram weight. We have to mention the anodized gold cups that match the gold accents on the frame. Bling, Bling playa.

All these parts bolted onto the frame are rollin’ on a set of mached-out 26’s. The hoops are brought to you in the form of 32-hole Sun Singletracks laced onto a Shimano rear hub with 10 mm quick release and a Formula 20 mm thru-axle front hub using DT spokes all around. We didn’t have any problems with these wheels when riding. The rims feature a double wall, single eyelet design that is welded together – not just pinned – for added strength. The wheels are wrapped in a Cheng-Shin generic tire that worked great on the dirt and concrete. They had a tread pattern that was a cross between the Maxxis Larson TT and Mimo tires. The small, low tread hooked up great and had a very low rolling resistance to them as well. The rims stayed true despite trying to accidentally blow them up when one of our riders hung up on the coping of a four-foot quarter. That would have put flat spots in a lesser quality rim for sure.

Scott’s re-entry into the U.S. market is certainly a welcome change and should be able to shake things up a bit. The Voltage YZ 0 Limited ads some legitimacy to their line of dirt jump hardtails and should be marked down on anybody’s list. If you are looking to drop some coin on a new ride, the balanced geometry and killer parts spec should make this bike an easy choice.