http://www.scottusa.com Bike / Wintersport / Motorsport / Running Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:26:41 -0700 en http://www.scottusa.com http://www.scottusa.com/images/feedlogo.gif 144 25 http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2448/confidence_booster Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Bike Radar

Scott have kept the price of the Aspect 50 low by speccing rim brakes rather than discs. As a complete bike package, it’s still very reasonable value for money. The overall ride experience on the Aspect 50 was excellent for a bike at this price. The handling is confidently neutral, the fork works well enough in terms of helping you to tackle bumpy off-road terrain and it’s only really the rim brakes that remind you this is an entry-level machine.



The geometry of the Scott is a little more relaxed than that of many other bikes in this price bracket and this makes for a slightly lazier steering feel in twisty singletrack, but a lazier descending feel on rough terrain as well, which can be a confidence booster for riders who haven’t previously ridden off-road very much.



The frame is the highlight of the Aspect 50. It boasts lightweight double-butted hydroformed tubes and has disc brake bosses to cover the option of a later upgrade as well as luggage rack eyelets for utilitarian usage. While the shapely tube profiling, tapering almost to square on the top tube and biaxially ovalised on the big down tube, are pleasing to the eye, the practical emphasis is on achieving the ideal combination of low weight and high strength.



There’s plenty of mud room around the seatstays and chainstays and the machined head tube offers lots of reinforcement strength around the integral headset.

The neutral handling geometry is designed around a 100mm (3.9in) travel fork and the SR Suntour XCM unit provided is a better performing fork than we’re used to finding on bikes at this price. The lockout lever on top of the right hand leg works for progressive compression damping too.



The basic build of Acera gear mechs and the trouser guard equipped crankset conspire to show the bike’s lower budget against others costing just a little more. Still, the gears kept shifting efficiently throughout the test period and we’ve never found reason to complain about Shimano’s EasyFire shifters. The Scott Ozon tyres are fast-rolling and they don’t block in the mud.

Many riders will like the simplicity of the rim brakes. The rest of the finishing kit here is reasonable quality Scott branded stuff that does the job and makes all the contact points comfortable.

www.bikeradar.com
]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2445/sharp_new_footwear Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Bike Radar

Scott USA brings a sharp looking new line of mountain bike footwear to the 2010 season, highlighted by the top tier Team Issue shoe.

The race level shoe features the stiffest sole in the line, which is made from Scott’s proprietary HMX carbon fiber blend. The X-Traction sole, which combines three types of tread materials, is designed to maximize off-the-bike traction.



Scott also claims it provides a low stack height to best transfer power from foot to pedal. The sole includes replaceable toe spikes, and the cleat mounting hardware is also replaceable should it ever be damaged.

The Team Issue employs a nylon mesh and microfiber upper with two Velcro straps and an instep strap with adjustable micro adjust buckle. The shoe is finished with a three-piece insole that allows some adjustment to the level of arch support and the metatarsal zone.

The shoes are only available in whole sizes and run large, but narrow. We were able to step down a size-and-a-half from our normal preference. Our test sample (size 41) weighs 350g per shoe/700g per pair.

www.bikeradar.com
]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2444/affordable_freeride Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Whistler Mountain Bike.com

One of the perks of living in Whistler is that sooner or later most people that work for bike companies come to ride here, and sooner or later they convince head office to launch their new products in my backyard. Over the last few years it has started to intensify around Crankworx since there is tons of bike crazy people milling about when else would be better to show off the new goods?



Last year during I got a call from the Scott USA marketing department saying that there was a new Scott Voltage FR10 sitting in Whistler Village for me to try out, and Mike Hopkins was going to come up for a couple runs.

Now the FR line of bikes is being called the affordable freeride/bike park/slopestyle bike in the Scott lineup directly below the Gambler models. With adjustable travel of between 130-180mm, it is more than capable of taking on most of the trails in the bike park, especially jump based trails.

The FR10 shares some similar traits with its other siblings including: adjustable geometry & travel, straight welds and interchangeable dropouts. The dropouts are available in three different lengths from 415mm to 435mm and are available in QR, Maxle or 12mm axle configurations.



Spec for the FR10 goes down as follows: DHX RC4 rear shock with a 1 1/8" steer tube 36 Van R coil fork. Running a 1.5" reducer headset makes it semi-integrated and keeps the front end low and tight. Avid Elixir brakes front & rear, 170mm Truvativ cranks & a 73mm BB shell, Sram X9 drivetrain and DT Swiss rims mated to a Sun Jumping Flea rear hub and a Scott pro front hub. Geometry as tested was 66 degree Head tube with a 1150mm wheelbase.

First stop was right to the top of Garbonzo chair for a ride down Freight train, nothing fleshes out a freeride bike better than 3000ft of jumps and berms. The first lap was a little tentative, as I don't really get along with single crown forks in gravity situations but towards the end of that lap it started to feel a bit more natural. With the FR10 setup in long travel mode (180mm) with 425mm dropouts (standard length) it was eating up the bumps and jumps with ease. Despite previous reservations/crashes with single crown forks the Fox 36 Van worked out pretty good. Ideally I would prefer to see a longer travel TALAS version for the bike, so that you could dial down the travel to match any changes that you made for the rear.

With the standard length dropouts mounted to the rear, the bike handled predictably and consistently. My preference would be to run them longer than shorter, but I can see the slopestyle kids putting the short ones on for hucking about. Listed weight is under 37 lbs and that felt dead on as I found it easy to flick around the trail and still keep traction when necessary.
Rating: 4.5/5

www.whistlermountainbike.com

]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2443/electric_slide Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Mountain Bike April 2010

Scott’s Voltage FR line Brings Park Bikes with Adjustable Travel and Geometry to the Masses

Crankworx in Whistler, B.C. was the defining event in the creation of the Voltage FR, recalls Scott mountain bike product manager Adrian Montgomery, who traces the beginnings of the company’s new-for-2010 park and Freeride line to the legendary event’s 2007 edition. “Organizers had started making these huge drops and rough courses, so riders needed rear travel for the impacts if they cased a big jump,” he says. Thing was, Scott didn’t make a full-suspension dirt jumper at the time.



A Bike is Born
That same year, Scott team rider Timo Pritzel showed up at the annual gravity fest ready to compete in the slopestyle on a hardtail. “Timo had been very staunch in using a hardtail, but decided he wanted to test a full-suspension bike,” says Montgomery. So for the event, Scott gave Pritzel an all-mountain Ransom with a slack 67-degree head angle. Pritzel still ended up crashing on the huge road gap—one of many painful and disappointing results for him at Crankworx over the years. But it was a seminal moment for Scott’s development of the Voltage FR line that helped the company fill a void between its Ransom and DH Gambler bikes. “We had taken an all-mountain bike in the Ransom and adapted it to this kind of riding which didn’t make sense,” says Montgomery. So throughout 2008 Scott began to test geometry and shock setups with a “team-only” prototype using tubesets from its discontinued, Freeride-oriented Nitrous platform, then mimicked the front-triangle geometry and tubesets from its established Voltage line of hardtail dirt jumpers (hence the name Voltage FR). And by spring of 2009, Scott had a prototype version for its team riders.

DH to DS Adjustability
To meet the demands of today’s park rider, Scott wanted to make a bike that was at home on DH runs, jump runs and park features, and also capable of handling events like 4X, dual slalom and slopestyle. That’s why the geometry and travel on the Voltage FR line is adjustable. Accommodating three different shock lengths(805, 8.75, and 9.5 inches) with two different shock positions, and utilizing Scott’s Interchangeable Dropout System (IDS), the Voltage FR has anywhere from 140mm to 180mm of rear travel, and chainstay lengths of 415 mm to 435mm. On the front end, the Voltage is designed around 160mm- to 180mm-travel forks. Scott says that, with the bike’s multiple setup and travel options, the Voltage is a bike you can ride on jump trails all day, then shorten its chainstays and change its shock position of fork length to use it in a slopestyle competition of 4X race the next day.



Dropping in…on Price
Sure, a sponsored athlete and the big Crankworx slopestyle event spawned the new Voltage line, but the FR is ultimately a bike for the everyday park rider. And if the 10 will wipe out your bank account, opt for the FR 30—it has identical adjustable geometry, and provides a great point entry to the sport.

“We wanted something that was competition grade, that would give athletes an edge,” says Montgomery of the FR10. But because top-level competition is such a niche part of the market, he says, Scott also wanted to make a bike like the FR 30 that someone new to park and slopestyle could use for a number of applications. “We are seeing park culture around the world grow, and new demands are being made on bikes. We feel like the Voltage addresses these demands.”—David L’Heureux

]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2431/triathletes_garage Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Triathlete Magazine
by Liz Hichens

I am often asked to test triathlon bikes from a variety of bike companies, but I usually have to turn down the opportunities because my petite 5’3” frame makes it difficult to be properly fit to most bikes on the market.



A few weeks into training for Ironman Arizona, I had the chance to try out a brand new 2010 Scott Contessa Plasma. I was excited to learn that the Contessa Plasma came in an XXS frame (47 cm). But I was less excited to see that even the XXS frame came with 700c wheels. So far, the only bikes I had been comfortably fit on had 650c wheels. So I was a bit hesitant about how the bike would fit.

My first impression of the built bike was how beautiful it was. Scott does the best job of creating female-specific bikes that offer a feminine look without going overboard with flowers or pink paint job. The neon green and electric blue on the white background are fun and spunky without being too flashy.



Next up was getting fit to the Contessa Plasma at Nytro Multisports in Encinitas, Calif. The fit was much quicker and smoother than I had anticipated. Nytro’s Walt Downey took all of my measurements and got the bike to fit me perfectly.

The biggest difference between the Contessa Plasma and other bikes I have ridden is that the bike’s geometry lends to a more comfortable aero position. I have had similar fitting on other bikes but have never felt so natural in the aerobars.

Now with several training hours and two long-distance races logged on the Contessa Plasma, I am thankful I gave the bike a chance. Not only is the bike good looking, comfortable and efficient, the 47 frame on the 700c wheels has allowed me to share race wheels and avoid the frustrating experience of searching for equipment for 650c wheels.

Click here to follow Liz on her Contessa Plasma as she previews  the 2009 Kona Ironman on TriCenter.

]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2426/best_new_freeride_bike Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Bike Magazine January 2010



The Voltage FR is a new bike designed to occupy the space between the company’s Voltage hardtail and its Gambler DH bike. It can be set up to deliver between 160 and 180 millimeters of rear-wheel travel, depending on shock-stroke length. Three chainstay-length options allow riders to further dial in fit and feel. The Voltage FR 10 shown here comes with a Fox 36 Vanilla R and a Fox DHX RC4 rear shock—combining for one buttery-smooth ride.



The Voltage FR features an ultra-low 118-mllimeter headtube with semi-integrated headset, 29.5-inch-wide bars, a low 30-inch standover height and short 16.7-inch chainstays. In this setup, it feels like a big BMX bike. It is fun and flickable over all sorts of jumps and obstacles—perfect for Whistler’s bike park.



The Voltage had no problem devouring technical terrain either. It was smooth over slow-speed drops and confident on steeper terrain, thanks to the short chainstays. The long cockpit added stability on wide-open, high-speed sections of trail. Change to the longer wheelbase setting and throw on a longer fork and the bike would be well-suited for old-shool steep-and-deep Freeride terrain.

Scott also makes two less-expensive models based on the same frame—a solid investment considering how adaptable and easy-to-upgrade the platform is. The Voltage FR series makes a great choice as a do-it-all freeride bike for anyone who wants to ride everything, but prefers to be airborne.
]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2421/this_thing_is_a_rocket Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700 Mountain Bike Action April 2010

SCOTT Scale RC

Scott takes cross-country racing seriously. They offer ten models of their Scale hardtail and nine models of their Spark dual-suspension cross-country race bikes. That’s 19 models specifically designed for cross-county racers. Many bike companies don’t offer that many choices in their entire lineup.



Who is it made for? Cross-country racers. Period. That’s it. There is no gray area with this bike. Ride it for anything other than cross-country racing and you are using the wrong tool to get the job done.

The Scale RC frame is made from carbon fiber. Scott has a number of proprietary material blends and manufacturing techniques that are claimed to allow the company to hit their weight goals while still offering a ride that is compliant and laterally rigid. This includes CR1 Technology, the SDS Shock Damping System and HMX-NET carbon fiber.

The most unique feature of the frame is its integrated seat tube. This tube does not accept a seapost. Instead, the seat tube is cut to fit the rider, and a saddle clamp supplied by Ritchey clamps to the outer diameter of the seat tube.



The white Rocket Ron tires catch your attention, but it is the XX components that hold it. The only part of the XX ensemble (reviewed in our March 2010 issue) that Scott doesn’t use on the Scale RC is the RockShox XX fork.

The Scott Scale RC centers its rider so that subtle shifts in riding position are all it takes to get your weight exactly where it will most benefit the bike’s performance for climbing, descending or powering along the course. All cable are fully housed and routed perfectly along the frame to stay clear of all rider contact.

An experienced professional racer or a brand-new rider will come to the exact same conclusion after dropping the hammer on the Scale RC: “This thing is a rocket!” This bike doesn’t just accelerate, it blasts off. The XX drivetrain seems to have been designed and engineered just for this bike, because everything works so well together. There always seems to be just the right gear, and all your energy goes into forward momentum.



The Scale RC has textbook cross-country race steering. It is quick to the point of being nervous. The meaty Rocket Ron tires help calm down this nervousness, but the rider still needs to keep a light touch on the handlebar. The upside of this quick steering is the way the bike can be whipped around trail obstacles and slower riders. It also makes the bike a real weapon should your race end in a sprint, where lightning-quick directional changes can be the difference between gold and silver.

The short chainstays tuck the rear wheel up under the racer, and that forces the rear wheel to dig in and drive the Scale uphill. The fork has a remote lockout lever for intense climbing efforts out of the saddle (and sprinting). Since the fork showed minimal suspension movement while climbing, we seldom used the lockout feature. Finally, a 20-pound bike that has the lateral rigidity of the Scale RC feels more like a 15-pound bike. Just amazing.


]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2403/editors_pick Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700
This may well be the year of the production cyclocross bike. Previously, most major manufacturers’ cyclocross bikes were better described as hybrids or touring bikes with knobbies. Product managers were building utility bikes with compact cranks and rack mounts. With the growth of cyclocross in the U.S. as its own discipline in the past few years, the industry’s idea of a cyclocross bike has evolved somewhat from that of a utility rig to a bike with legitimate racecourse prowess. This year, stock race bikes at all price points are better than ever before.



Last year the Time ProCross was our top pick for an over-the-top cyclocross bike. This year we offer congratulations to Scott USA for putting together a package that could win a World Cup race right out of the box (with the right rider, of course). Scott uses its HMX carbon fiber and IMP molding process to produce a sub-1,000 gram frame. Ritchey alloy cockpit components should resist crash damage better than carbon parts. Carbon TRP EuroX brakes—with a custom uni-directional finish that’s only available through Scott—take care of stopping duties. Wheels are purpose-built with DT Swiss hubs and Ritchey carbon rims. We would spec all of these components on our high-end ride for their performance and durability. All told, this thing weighs just over 15 pounds, complete.

Ritchey Pro fork, SRAM Red transmission, FSA SL-K crank, TRP EuroX Carbon brakes, Ritchey WCS alloy cockpit components and carbon tubular wheelset built with Ritchey’s 38mm carbon rims, DT Swiss 240s hubs. Revolution spokes and Tufo Flexus Primus 32mm tubular tires.

]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2393/full_fledged_all_mountain_rig Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700
Scott brought its Genius 150mm trail bike into the domestic fold in 2008, allowing Ransom the freedom to devolve from a dual-purpose trail bike into a full fledged all-mountain rig. In years past, we saw Ransom’s weight dip well below 30 pounds; in 2010 its weight drifts well above that number, but its downhill capabilities increase as well. The front triangle is still molded from carbon using Scott’s CR1 technology and its HMX carbon. It’s mated to a set of solid 6061 chainstays, which house a 12mm Maxle thru-axle and the carbon seatstays make the run from above the chainstays to the shock linkage. The Ransom is a single pivot bike that’s sprung and damped by Scott’s high-pressure Equailzer shock, which features three distinct modes: Lock out, traction control with 90mm of travel and the full 165mm travel mode. The 2010 Ransom is outfitted with all of the all-mountain extras, including a Crankbrothers Joplin adjustable seat post and Hammerschmidt internally geared two-speed crank.


]]> http://www.scott-sports.com/de_de/news/product/0/2392/another_category_leader Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 -0700
The Scott CR1first came to the cycling marketplace in 2004 and it was an instant success. It was one of the stiffest frames ever made while still being very light and responsive. Since 2004, Scott has released its new top of the line Addict, and moved the new CR1 into the performance comfort bicycle catagory. While the Addict has become their full force race bike.



So who is the new 2010 Scott CR1 designed for? The racer who has graduated to become classified as a “Master” racer. This is someone who needs a fast bike to crush the local road race, yet still needs a comfortable bike for that once-in-a-while century ride, the rider who is looking for a fast, secure, confidence building, easy on the body, high performance machine.



So what is different on the new CR1? For one, the seat and chainstays have been redesigned to help absorb shock. Scott claims that they are basically a suspension system, helping to increase rider comfort while still being stiff enough to have good power transfer. The top tube has remained unchanged, but the head tube is now taller, creating a more upright riding position and thus a more comfortable ride with less back strain.



We had the bike for over a week of rides and were very pleased with the bike’s overall ride. Even though the CR1 is no longer a hard core racing machine, it is still snappy and can handle most of the fast rides you can throw at it. The comfort of the bike is where it really shines. On one long Sunday ride of over 80 miles of rollers the CR1 was so forgiving that we were sad to see the ride end. On a weekday club ride the bike held its own with the “big boy” racing bikes, and even got a few long looks from the other riders.

While not being a full-on race bike, the CR1 is a perfect combination of speed and comfort. We truly enjoyed riding the CR1 and found it to be a great all-around bike with super performance and better comfort. Scott has developed a reputation for making bikes that define and then lead a bike category, and the CR1 is just that. A true class leader that is sure to please the most picky of bicycle consumer. The new CR1 should be another category leader for Scott.
www.bicycle.net


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