Scott Scale 30

The Scott Scale 30 is a lovely bike. It looks the business too in its black guise with striking white and grey graphics. It has also proved to be a very popular bike at the races. In fact down at the Shred race at Newnham back last month Pete Dawe the winner of the Vet's race had one and so too did Matt Loake of Southfork racing. The frame itself is to be found on much more expensive models so is pretty ripe for future upgrades. 

The frame itself is very light 1120grams and I've seen bare weights as low as 899grams(!) but since this bike is the mid-range model the components do add a fair bit of weight to upgrades it would be easy to knock a lump of weight off the bike. The groupset is made up of mainly SLX and XT bits with SLX donating the cassette, front mech, shifters, bottom bracket and XT supplying the all important rear mech upgrade and the excellent XT triple crank. Triple cranks are becoming so retro cranks these days. I stuck on a pair of XT pedals and my lovely Mt Zoom bar ends. The finishing kit is all good kit but fairly weighty mid-range stuff from Ritchey and the Scott bars and seat pin are fairly unexciting and, to finish off the package I put on one of my old Flite saddles. I reckon for those who want to lighten the bike even further some choice KCNC and MT. Zoom bits would shift some serious weight. The thing is when you're a couple of grams short of 13 stone shedding weight from your bike is all a bit silly since I should just dodge the Guinness and train more. It would be cheaper anyway. 

The Rockshox Reba is a lovely fork, fairly light and buttery smooth (still thinking of the Guiness with that cliché) and fully adjustable. The poploc is something new to me and has proved useful but I've never minded reaching down and turning the lock-out on. For me the remote lock-out is one more cable to clean! Lazy eh?

I like the feel of SLX and XT though, it is reassuringly solid and, although the shifting feels much heavier than Sram XO (obvious I know)it's far more robust and doesn't mind the odd embrace with rocks. The wheels are excellent but again I could see the serious racers upgrading the wheels to something lighter but for me they are a brilliant trade off with weight and strength. I've found some trails close to my house that have been built by the Dirt magazine boys and even I've managed to complete some of the jumps/ mild North shore sections albeit with a 75% pass rate and the wheels are still perfectly true. Sure you can get lighter but I'd keep them besides they've got white DT hubs!

The brakes are Avid R and although they are mighty powerful I always have problems eliminating drag with Avids but that's just me. It's personal preference I suppose. Very bomb proof though and if you can get rid of the drag they really are a fit and forget piece of kit. 

I like the Scale 30 and can understand why it is so popular. It is a thoroughly race ready and dependable package but for me there is just one problem. It's got small wheels! 

I've been very lucky the past 3 years and have been given the superb Gary Fisher/Trek Superfly to ride. Whilst it would be totally wrong to compare the component package since the Superfly is uber bling I fell in love with the big wheels. It took a while to get used to the wheels of the Scale. I can appreciate that the smaller wheels feel more manoeuvrable and that you can accelerate at the drop-of-a-hat. This with the Scott is just as much down to the stiffness of the frame. The bottom bracket area of the Scott is beefy and you can instantly feel the bike surge forwards. Some of the real steep, technical trails in the Forest of Dean are far more manageable on the Scale but as simply as I can put it I just felt faster on the bigger wheels. I've ridden other 29ers and can say that I am total convert to the 29er concept. It would be wrong to hijack this review with a diatribe of the merits of 29ers over small 'normal' wheels. So I'll just stop right there and get back to the Scott. 

All in all The Scott Scale 30 is a perfect package for the xc racer who doesn't want to break the bank with a race bike and who doesn't want to spend a fortune on repairs. The frame, fork and wheels are so good that they'd be worth keeping and upgrading as and when the need arises. The frame is so light but still feels rock solid. It is a fast machine and easily capable of cruising around the race course in mid-pack mediocrity (as I've proved on numerous occasions) or at the sharp end of the race as others, most notably Pete Dawe have demonstrated. For £2199 you get a serious amount of bike for your money and won't be disappointed. If anyone wants a go I'll be at Twentyfour12.

Score: On the podium

Reviewed by Matt Lewis

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