Scott Addict RC 30 road bike review

It’s not too often that I’ll ride a bike at speed while humming Hits From the Bong. I’d best explain myself. About 20 miles into my first ride on the Scott Addict RC 30, the road tightened, nicked through a country park, and rose ahead of me like Evel Knievel’s take-off ramp.

Knowing the local climb of Launde Abbey fairly well, I put the bike in the little ring (for fear of otherwise snapping the chain), got out of the saddle, and prepared for a minute or two of maximum heart-rate exertion.

What actually happened was that, by the time I was halfway up the hill, I’d changed all the way up the block to the point where I needed to put it in the big ring. Boy, can this thing climb! Hence, if you follow my logic, the instant earworm of Cypress Hill opining, ‘I want to get high, so high…’

Light on its feet

Keeping the bulk of the Scott Addict RC 30 to a minimum was at the heart of its design brief. ‘To decide upon the frame design, the first thing we looked at was how we could save weight,’ says Scott product manager, Frank Oberle.

‘Then we looked at integration and aerodynamic lessons we could apply from the Scott Foil and Scott Plasma.’

It’s a design approach that echoes that of companies such as Specialized, who this year ditched the aero Venge in favour of the Tarmac SL7, a bike that’s an aero and rapid all-rounder.

Oberle suggests there are no plans to do something similar at Scott in the foreseeable future when he confirms the purpose of the Scott Addict RC 30: ‘The Addict is a lightweight climber’s bike but it has some aero benefits. Still the most aero bike we have is the Foil. But the Addict RC 30 is also designed to appeal to fans of the Foil…’

Frameset and match

How has Scott achieved that lightweight frame, which contributes to the 7.88kg all-up weight of a size medium Addict RC 30?

‘We use our best fibre type for the whole Addict RC range,’ says Oberle. ‘The HMX SL Ultimate carbon-fibre has a hollow structure which allows a super-clean internal structure, and saves weight in key areas. Having fewer bonding points also helps to save some weight.’

In practice, it shows, with the Scott Addict RC 30 propelling me up local hillocks in a Strava segment-bothering fashion (and given the number of times I’ve reached for this bike in recent months, I’m a little miffed not to pick up a few Local Legend segments, too…).

The frame itself is girder-rigid, offering sure-footed descending ability as ably as it ascends. The handlebars, however, flex a little too much for my liking when attacking a short climb on the drops… it detracts from an otherwise guided missile of a climber.

This characteristic is more welcome when devouring rolling roads at 30kmh+ speeds, however, where it serves to dampen vibrations at the front end. The carbon Syncros seatpost deals admirably with isolating your rear end from road vibes.

Equipment check

The Scott Addict RC 30 is graced by a near-complete Shimano Ultegra groupset. The only moving components to stray from the pack are a Shimano 105 chain and cassette, the latter of which offers a spread of 11-30 – more than enough range to play with when matched to the Shimano Ultegra 52/36 mid-compact chainset.

Hydraulic Ultegra hoods and flat-mount calipers grip 160mm rotors front and rear, offering both finessed slowing performance and arresting 30-0kmh stopping power.

Magnetic fork bottom covers can be removed for easy access to calliper bolts, while maintaining the bike’s clean appearance. The neatness and integration of the Scott Addict RC 30 is topped off by one of the easiest to fathom integrated stem setups I’ve experienced.

Channelling the mechanical cabling through the bars and under a cap on the stem to then escape down the steerer provides an uncluttered finished product.

‘The benefit is that it’s more aero and has a cleaner look, but it was really hard to get right,’ adds Oberle. ‘We spent a lot of time finding the solution, especially for bikes with mechanical shifting. The goal was to make it mechanic-friendly.’

Winding it on

As well being more than adequately equipped for uphill and down dale-type rides, this is a bike I’d happily line up on for a crit race.

Its confidence-inspiring cornering prowess is already excellent when wearing 28c Schwalbe One rubber, and I’ve no reason to believe it wouldn’t rocket if puncture resistance was sacrificed for rolling resistance.

That said, the tyres are a great fit for the build in its current state, rolling through scattered grit and over deep imperfections on parlously maintained B-roads.

Turning reaction from the Scott Addict RC 30 is aided by a 72.5° head angle and wheelbase of 992mm. It devours corners, especially downhill turns, like a particularly gnu-deprived lion.

This bike will do it all. With the exception maybe of being the ideal tool for a club 10 TT nonetheless it is aero, light and rapid. Fit an Ultegra cassette for a little more weight saving; maybe even a close-ratio block to promote more seamless progress, and you’ve got yourself the one road bike to rule them all.

Spec