The new Scott Scale 899 caused quite the stir when it was unveiled at Eurobike in Germany last month, with the flock of people gathering around it making it near impossible to get close to. So we waited for the UK launch just a couple of weeks later to get a proper close look. And boy were we in for a surprise.
Is it the lightest carbon fibre hardtail currently available? It’s certainly a serious contender, with the latest developments in carbon fibre meaning a weight of (as the name rather implies) just 899g. This is some 70g lighter than the previous Scale.
The loss of weight is due to a series of refinements that each save just a small amount of weight, but together add up to create quite a difference. For a start Scott have moved from a tube-to-tube construction process to a monocoque, moulding the top, head and down tube in one-piece eliminates unnecessary carbon inside the tubes (see this picture for a comparison of old vs. new).
Other weight savings come from removing a lot of the aluminium hardware from the old Scale. The bottom bracket now uses the press-fit BB30 standard, SDS chainstays and seatstays are now one-piece with carbon dropouts and disc mounts and an integrated seat clamp alone saves 16g.
But the new Scale isn’t just about being as light as possible. Scott told us that ride comfort was a key criteria in designing the new frame, based on feedback from its racing team including that of Nino Schurter. Nino wanted a frame that delivered on all the usual weight and stiffness requirements but one that would be more forgiving on rough terrain. The result is new Shock Damping System (borrowed from the CR1 road bike) rear stays, which are designed to flex a small amount and reduce high frequency vibration getting through to the rider.
More feedback from the professional race team has led to changes in the measurements of the Scale frame. The bottom bracket is now 10mm lower, the top tube has been extended by 10mm and the tapered head tube is 5mm taller, bringing it into line with the Spark, so switching between the two bikes (if you have that luxury) is a smoother transition.
This is a bike that you just know is begging to have a race number attached to it. What do you think? Let us know in the forum below.
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