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22 March 2006

Scott CR1 SL Reviewed

How does the CR1 Ride?

When Signor BiciRace.com (my editor) ran into Adrian from Scott USA at the Saunier Duval-Prodir team presentation in Milano and the two agreed on a CR1 test, I was literally licking my chops at the prospect of test riding this already legendary steed. And with my travel plans to the Tour of California just around the corner, the timing couldn't have been better. It would give me a chance to hook up with the boys in yellow and compare notes.

I'm not going to bore you by going on and on about how the CR1 weighs in at just 880g. We all know that the Scott CR1 is the lightest frame out there. But the lightest bike in the world won't amount to much if it's not comfortable to ride. So how does the Scott CR1 ride?

Immediate Comfort

Let's just say that when the bike arrived on my doorstep, it almost rode out of the box on its own. I put it together and threw my leg over it for the first time. I felt like I had found the bike that I had been longing for all my life. Normally I take a period of adjustment to get used to a new steed. Not so with the CR1. It immediately felt comfortable and familiar within the first few minutes, and I was not expecting that.

My initial impression of the Scott CR1 (and one that continued to stick) was of the incredible stiffness of the frame, coupled with absolute road dampening comfort. It felt as if every ounce of pedal stroke went directly into the drivetrain. More about the performance of the CR1 a bit later though...

Saunier Duval-Prodir Team Machine

"It is the best bike I've ever ridden; I love it!" - Marco Pinotti, Saunier Duval-Prodir

My BiciRace.com colleague and I rolled into San Francisco for the prologue of the Tour of California to meet with Saunier Duval-Prodir. We spoke with BiciRace.com Inside Scoop writer Marco Pinotti after his prologue ride.

"Marco, how do you like your Scott CR1, and how does it compare with aluminum frames you've ridden in the past?" Marco looked me square in the eyes and said, in his Italian accent, "It is the best bike I've ever ridden; I love it! With an aluminum bicycle, at the end of the year, you need a new one. This one is strong year after year. It is very stiff, and good on the climbs. And the new Scott Plasma is very nice for the time trials."

This is right about the time that I hooked up with Adrian Montgomery, the Marketing Director of Scott USA, who is responsible for me reviewing this frame. Adrian explained to us how the CR1, despite its appearance, is actually not a monocoque frame. The carbon is soft and pliable as it's wrapped around a mandrel, which is then removed and a bladder is inserted. The tube is then baked with the bladder expanded on the inside and a mold on the outside to give the tube its shape. Each tube is then mitered to precision to fit with the lugs. They are joined with a process Scott USA refers to as "carbon welding". The precise mitering of the tubes is how they cut down on the need for excess epoxy at the joints, which as Adrian points out, is one way the CR1 saves some weight. The tubes, after being mitered, are put into a frame-shaped template where they are joined by heated epoxy. Once this stage is complete, the frame is sanded and heated again for curing. The entire process takes around 26 hours, from mandrel through curing.

What does this mean for longevity of the CR1 frames? Presumably, most of us don't have the luxury that the pros have... a stable of bikes waiting for us if we break one. Therefore, knowing that a frame will last longer than one season provides a lot of peace of mind. That's where the EFBe test comes in handy. Since 1995 EFBe Prüftechnik GmbH (Engineering For Bikes) has been developing quality and safety standards for bicycle frames using a metric that can be applied across the board to all bikes. I would recommend checking out their website (www.efbe.de) for more than you would ever want to know about frame load and stress tests. Adrian informed me that when the CR1 was put through the EFBe test, it successfully completed 300,000 cycles (the standard for the test is 100,000 cycles).

Continuously Amazed With the Ride

The Scott CR1 continuously amazed me with how comfortable it was, how fast it felt climbing, how smooth it descended and how responsive it was to out of saddle accelerations. - CR1 rates well overall

I had this bike long enough to get a strong feel for how it performed, and well after its novelty should've worn off. I say "should've" because normally you get used to a piece of equipment, and it tends to lose some of its luster. The Scott CR1 continuously amazed me with how comfortable it was, how fast it felt climbing, how smooth it descended and how responsive it was to out of saddle accelerations. Every time I went into my garage and saw her sitting there, I got a smile on my face and a little jump in my step.

Now, I'm no Gilberto Simoni, but I felt like a mountain goat riding the CR1. It's not like I'm usually dropping people in the hills. Actually it's usually about survival. But climbing aboard the Scott CR1 was an absolute pleasure! Sure it's light, but the real joy was the incredible responsive qualities of its ride. Nothing was lost from the pedal strokes, and when you accelerate hard out of the saddle in a switchback, it's all there right underneath you.

Descending on the Scott CR1 was smooth. It handled like a dream and felt super tight bombing through corners. The stock Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels combined with Continental tires were a perfect compliment to the frame/fork.

A lot of justifiable interest was generated anywhere I went with this bike. Everybody wanted to know how it handled and what it weighed. According to the Scott website, it weighs in at 6.9Kg (15.2 lbs) without pedals. The bike I rode is the SL model, which is the classy CR1 frame/fork built-up with Dura-Ace gruppo, rather than Campagnolo Record as found on the Team Issue.

My advice is to add the Scott CR1 to your corral. You will not be disappointed.
- Franco

More Photos:
Scott CR1 with Golden Gate Bridge, photo: BiciRace.com
Chain Stays, photo: BiciRace.com

Visit the Scott USA website for full specifications on the CR1 and where to purchase this fine machine.