Review: Scott Addict CX

By Scott Mares | Published Sep 19, 2010

Right Out of the Box

First Impressions

I was really impressed with the way they packed this thing. I could tell that they really did not want anything to happen to the bikes that they ship to dealers or customers. The frame is beautiful! Long, sleek and sexy lines with striking graphics. The front end has plenty of room for big tires and dealing with the muddiest of days with the Ritchey WCS straight fork. After unpacking the bike, I took a little bit closer look at things. The first thing that caught my eye was the frame, of course. It is really a piece of art with the detailed graphics and smooth lines that transition from one tube to the next seamlessly. Time to get down to business. Cable routing and adjustability. First the front end. When they built the bike, they put plenty of stack on the steerer tube for adjustability. I elected to put mine down just a bit. The end cap was easy enough to pop off. With a quick pull of the stem and a spacer, I put the stem back on replacing the spacer and end cap. Done! Next the cable routing. I would like to preface this part. There are a couple of schools of thought on how and why to route the cables. Personally, I am of the "put the cables on top or to the side of the top tube" school. It appears that SCOTT USA is not of the same school as they chose to route the rear brake underneath the top tube. Quite frankly, I'm really not looking forward to putting a cable stop on my shoulder.

Ease of Assembly

Most of the bikes that are shipped arrive about 85-90% pre-assembled, and this bike was no exception offering standard assembly. With the correct tools on hand (pedal wrench & allen wrench set), putting this bike together should take about 30 min. once you open the box, including minor adjustments.

Bling Factor

This bike definantly has the bling factor. The frame and fork are both really impressive and SCOTT USA didn't stop there. The cockpit is also blinged out with Ritchey carbon goodies as well.

Road Test Ride

Climbing

There are a few of things that help a bike to climb, with weight and gearing being the most important. Out of the box, this bike is sub 17 lbs. So check that box off. The Addict CX has a 46 x 36 with a 11-27 in th rear, so it will spin up just about anything that I could find. Another factor that helps with climbing is how stiff the bike is. The bottom bracket is very, very stiff and so all of the power goes right to the wheels. We can check that off as well.

Cornering

I was really surprised at the cornering of this bike. It was very stable with out being twitchy. Ritchey got it right with this CX fork. No chatter on the brakes and the ride is really nice.

Handling

The bike is stable AND precise. Some bikes with very aggressive head angles can be unstable as they are easy to over steer and are very difficult to control. SCOTT USA was dead on with this one as the precision handling will inspire confidence in its rider.

Ride Feel

Solid, comfortable and lively on the road. It does not feel like a carbon or an aluminum bike.

Dirt Test Ride

Climbing

With the Addict CX's lightweight and low gearing, you will be inspired to attempt to climb more that you normally would. It wants to go up hill.

Cornering

The bike corners very well, partially due to the Continental SpeedKing 35c tires. They have a low rolling resistance center tread. The outer tread is very aggressive and allows for aggressive cornering or edging.

Handling

The handling is very positive and predictable. The bike is not squirrely at all and inspires confidence in the rider's ability.

Ride Feel

The bike felt stiff and stable. No shutters, chattering, or other quirks.

Trainer Test Ride

OK, so why this? Well if you race cyclocross, a lot of the time you will work out on the trainer. It may ride well on the road, but what about the trainer? The Addict CX had the same feel and quietness as out on the road. The bottom bracket is uber stiff, which is very noticeable on the trainer. Looking down, you can hardly see any lateral movement of the chain rings within the front derailleur cage.

Race Test Ride

I was finally able to race the Addict on 11/1 at the local Cross Crusade series. The Cross Crusade is a long time old-school series that has been around for 15 years. The night before, they had a massive downpour and it was very muddy. I would say a lot of the places on the course were downright treacherous. There were plenty of off-camber situations with slick mud to deal with on this course. The Scott Addict performed excellent in this environment. The Conti SpeedKing tires that were shipped with the Addict had aggressive knobs on the sides, so edging was manageable. Another really nice thing was the Ritchey bars. They have a great feeling about them in the drops. Having a nice stiff and light bike was a big plus, as I had to get out of the saddle and re-accelerate back up to speed several times a lap. The course had a total of 13 hairpin turns per lap. Each one of them was either in slick mud, off-camber, or a combination of the two. This was a turning course, and this bike was the perfect choice, as it was stable and predictable in the turns.

We Liked

We loved the graphics and the attention to detail in the frame and fork. It's very stiff, light, and handles really well. We like the cockpit component selection.

We Didn't Like

So if we could go back and tweak this bike?  I would have the cables routed on top of the top tube.  The website listed the stock brakes as TRP Euro X carbon, but ours came with the Euro X.  I am personally not a fan of the sloping top tube because its hard enough for rider in smaller sizes to shoulder the bike.

Upgrades

This bike is race ready as is.  However, if you  traded the wheels out for some light weight tubulars, you would have one really light race machine.  The stock wheels that come with it are fine for training and club racing.   The crank is a great crank for the money.  But it just looks out of place on a $4,000 cross rocket. We recommend upgrading to the FSA SLK  or Shimano Ultegra Crank. After all you wouldn't put a super model in a burlap sack.

The Final Say

The Scott Addict CX is an excellent cyclocross bike for the seasoned racer that can appreciate the technology that has gone into it's development. Even though the price is just under $4,000, it is nothing short of a race bike that will perform at the highest levels. I would recommend this bike to anyone serious about cyclocross. The individual that buys this bike will no doubt already have a set of light race wheels to toss on it, making the 16.5 lb. out of the box weight drop even further. Throw in a few more lightweight components and the bike could approach single digits.

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