Top Level Performer
Mountain Bike Magazine September 2010

If a performance-oriented 29er is what you’re seeking, you won’t be disappointed by the Scale 29, SCOTT’s least expensive 29er. The bike showcases just how well larger wheels can perform, and its price won’t break the bank.

The Scale29’s flashy graphics give it a need-for-speed look, and with the hydroformed 7000-series aluminum frame draped in solid components from Shimano, Avid and RockShox, there’s no reason to take it slow. By using house-brand bits to round out the cockpit, SCOTT offers a rig that’s good value—and a great frame that’s worthy of upgrades later.

What’s remarkable is how the frame makes this affordable bike a top-level performer on the trail. An integrated headset keeps things low in the front—good on a 29er—while a curved seat tube and short stays make for a bike that loves to carve turns. The Scale felt snappy on tight, twisty singletrack and accelerated quickly out of corners. The well-balanced bike ascended steep technical East Coast climbs without wavering or complaining, and it felt equally stable on wide-open descents of anytime speeds increased. Other nice touches include a Shimano XT rear derailleur, a remote lockout for the RockShox Reba fork and the 185mm front rotor on the Avid Elixir 3 brakes.

Triathlete Magazine July 2010

The Scale 29er is Scott’s first big-wheel mountain bike, and the brand came up with a winner. The all-aluminum Scale matches more expensive models in stiffness, weight and component specs. At 26 pounds equipped with a mixed Shimano kit, the Scale 29er is a lively, reliable bike at an entry-level price point.



The Scale 29er calmly plows through rough terrain, thanks to its slack geometry and big wheels. It provides many of the benefits of higher-priced hardtails at a fraction of the cost.

Fully UCI compliant and with wow-factor built in, we first saw Scott’s Plasma 3 this time last year, when HTC-Columbia successfully used it to win the team time trial at the Giro d’Italia, putting Mark Cavendish into the pink jersey.



And now that the Plasma 3 has proved itself in the year since its inception, Scott is to bring it to market for the rest of us.  Price is still to be confirmed, but what is definitely set in stone is that your’re getting one of the fastest bikes in the world, with every surface of this frame having been give the treatment by former Formula 1 aerodynamicist Simon Smart.



Design features include the stem sitting flush with the top tube and the rear caliper being neatly tucked away behind the bottom bracket, with the lack of exposed cables helping to add to its slippery-ness and clean lines.

Michael Rogers' Scott Addict. (Matt Pacocha)

More details pictures, Click here>>

When Michael Rogers wrapped up last week’s Amgen Tour of California, he did it on Scott USA’s stalwart road racer, the Addict.

Since its introduction as a 2007 model, the Addict has proven itself in competition, first under Saunier-Duval Prodir and now in its second season under the HTC-Columbia outfit.

Rogers’ large sized frame is said to weigh under 1kg with its integrated seatmast. The frame and fork have carbon dropouts, while Scott also mould the bottom bracket shell – which accepts Shimano’s BB86 press-fit resin cups – front derailleur mount and cable stops out of carbon.

Scott build the frames from their HMX-Net carbon fibre. HMX is their proprietary blend of carbon, while NET, or Naked External Tubeset, refers to the frame’s lack of a cosmetic carbon layer.

Possibly more important than the material is the IMP moulding process, where the front triangle is moulded as a single piece, allowing Scott to use 11 percent less material than they would with the tube-to-tube moulding method.

The front of Rogers' Addict has a small hole drilled so Di2 wiring can be internally routed

Rogers’ bike features exotic supplements to Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 electronic groupset. The main substitutions are the SRM Professional power meter with 7900 compatible spider, an additional bar top mounted electronic push-button shifter for the rear derailleur, and prototype blue brake pads from Shimano – a compound which first showed up at last year’s Tour de France. Prototype carbon-bodied Dura-Ace pedals finish off the Shimano drivetrain.

SRM manufacture a spider for their new crankset that perfectly matches the Dura-Ace 7900 two-piece outer chainring

The bike’s cockpit is fairly straight forward, starting with the round PRO Vibe carbon handlebar and carbon wrapped stem. Saddle is a custom team Antares with braided carbon rails from Fizik.

The wheels Rogers selected for the final stage of the race were Highroad-branded HED Stinger 9s – 90mm tubulars. The key to this wheelset, however, is the use of a 25mm Continental Competition tyre at the rear.

The large rear tyre is the key to preventing snakebite flats and keeping the rider comfortable

HTC-Columbia mechanic Joerg Wohlleben said that because the rim is wide, the team were suffering snakebite punctures. Now all they use at the rear is 25mm tyres, and flatting is no longer an issue.

Wohlleben also said that, because the frame is so stiff, many of the riders prefer the added comfort and improved handling offered by the larger tyre, which also has a stickier tread compound than the 23mm model. He said other teams are considering making the switch to larger tyres for racing, including Rabobank and RadioShack.