Competitive Cyclist

SCOTT SCALE 10

2006 & 2008 U23 Cross Country World Champion. 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Bronze Medalist. 2009 Men’s Elite Cross Country World Champion. Nino Schurter’s palmares are awe-inspiring. Equally impressive is the Scott Scale he blazed to glory in each of these races. Naturally, it was the top-of-the-line Scale RC, but the Scott Scale 10 is hardly a lesser bike. It uses identical tube shapes, and differs only slightly from the World-Cup proven RC. And, at just 980g, the frame weighs less than the fork you'll hang on it.

One of the first things you'll notice is the use of a standard seatpost on the Scale 10. While the integrated mast on the RC allows the frame to be stiffer and a few grams lighter, we can still appreciate a seatpost that is easily adjusted and can be removed for travel. The second major difference between the Scale 10 and the RC is the carbon that they're made of. Where the RC uses their HMX super-high modulus material, the Scale 10 uses a slightly less expensive yet potentially tougher HMF carbon. Composite construction is a tricky business. The higher the modulus of elasticity for a material, the more resistant it will be to elongation (read: less flex). However, stiffness has a limit, with the extreme end being bounded by increasing brittleness of the carbon fibers. That's why the Scale 10 is such a great bike. It has Scott's World Championship winning design and geometry, with the inherent toughness of their HMF carbon fiber material. And it's plenty stiff -- perfect for those irresistible times when you must lay the smack down.

To achieve the sub-1kg frame weight, Scott builds the Scale 10 using its proprietary CR1 technology developed for their pro-tour bikes. The process involves mitering each tube to fit perfectly together, bonding the joints in a frame jig, then wrapping each joint with successive layers of carbon to further strengthen the connections. The process yields a degree of compliance in Scott's ability to produce an array of sizes, and their layup schedules for each and every tube can be finely tuned to produce particular ride qualities in the complete frame. This is the basis for their SDS shock damping system in combination with carbon fiber's inherent vibration damping qualities.

An easily overlooked detail in the rear triangle is the drive-side chainstay. If you look closely, you'll see that it runs roughly parallel to the ground as you follow it backwards from the bottom bracket. Then, just before the dropout, the chainstay angles up to make the connection. It reminds us of a similar design on Paramount silver-brazed MTB frames in the mid-90’s. The importance is that the change of angle effectively moves the chainstay down and away from the slapping chain. You'll get a quieter ride and the frame will suffer less abuse. All of the cables are routed through full length cable housing to minimize openings in the system. Your cables will be better protected and remain in a better working order for longer.

The Scott Scale 10 is available with a Carbon/Orange color scheme and comes in six sizes -- XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL, and XXL. It comes with a Ritchey Pro 1-1/8" semi-integrated (zero stack) headset and a Ritchey WCS Carbon 34.9mm seatpost. It requires an E-type front derailleur (we offer a compatible SRAM XX 38.2mm high clamp derailleur for XX builds) and has a standard 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell. The Scale 10 is recommended for use with a 100mm fork. It has a replaceable aluminum derailleur hanger.

Scott warrants the Scale 10 against defects in materials and workmanship for three (3) years. You'll have the option of extending this period to five (5) years by maintaining a service and maintenance interval as set forth by the information in the owner's manual. All service must be done by an authorized Scott dealer. It will be necessary to keep original purchase and service records.

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2010 Scott Scale 10 Pricing