Cycling Watts

The Lightest Road Bike In The World: Scott's Addict LTD

Every year, the major bicycle manufacturers around the world thumb their collective noses at one another and swear that their flagship model is the lightest bicycle frame in existence. Then, the numbers are presented, and an American manufacturer, Scott, waltzes in with a complete road bike, lays it on the scale and smiles as it walks out to a chorus of silence.

At just a hair over thirteen pounds with the right components, Scott's Addict LTD road bike is the lightest bicycle in the world. The frame itself holds the honor of being the lightest bicycle frame in the world at a scant 1.74 lbs, or 790 grams. For diehards, this road bike is the pinnacle of what they wish to own. It is the Ferrari of the bicycle world.

This road bike, available in six sizes from extra-small to extra-extra large is built around the premise that a bicycle can be built almost entirely of carbon fiber. Its road race geometry frame with integrated seat tube is built with Scott's IMP Carbon technology, one of the highlights of which is the fact that there is no finishing material on the frame to prep it for paint. In the quest for the ultra-lightweight, Scott has very effectively eliminated the "middleman" as it were between the frame material and the paint. All this has built up to a bike which is actually illegal to race in UCI competition. While it may be hard to imagine a half-pound making that much of a difference in road bike racing, imagine if Dale JR shaved four hundred pounds from his NASCAR racer. That would be an approximation of the ratio of the weight reduction.

Nearly every part of this road bike is a carbon piece, from the frame itself, the fork, headset, derailleurs, shifters, crankset, rims, pedals, stem, and handlebar. The remaining parts, right down to the chain are spec'd to the bike with the intention of shaving weight.

With some manufacturers, weight is removed at the cost of ridability, and in particular carbon bikes are known to be unforgiving and harsh riding- It's one of the tradeoffs that make carbon bikes so suited for racing, but the reason many carbon racers have steel or aluminum bikes for leisure riding and touring. Reviews of the Addict have been generally glowing, but what more do you expect from a bike which retails for in excess of $12, 000? Two major magazines were given test bikes from Scott, and both reported that the Addict LTD is an amazing climber, and a road race bicycle which is fast and efficient to ride, as well as offering a decent level of comfort despite being a race-spec road bike. Is the Scott Addict LTD for you? Probably not, given that a little more muscle will overcome the $10, 000 price difference between this and a well-built aluminum bike, but then, a Ferrari's not for everybody, is it?