Scott has revealed its new Addict endurance bike, which is intended unashamedly for recreational use and designed to be “long ride ready”.
The endurance bike follows the Addict RC 20 race bike, which was released last November. “This year, we wanted to bring the advancements learned on the RC to a larger range of customers on our most sold road bike, the Addict,” says Jean-François Boivin, the Addict’s lead engineer.
Boivin says it hasn’t always been easy for Scott to define what an endurance bike should be. “In the past, the Addict had been designed as the RC’s little brother,” he says.
But, despite learning from the RC, the new Addict is its own bike, with Scott focusing on four main areas: extra comfort, relaxed geometry, confident handling and practical features.
Greater comfort, but stiff where it counts
Boivin explains that when designing the new Addict, Scott worked carefully on frame compliance. The result is the new Addict has 25 per cent more compliance than the Addict RC, and it has 50 per cent more frame compliance over the outgoing Addict, which launched back in 2020.
“We achieved this by reducing the seat tube section underneath the seat stay junction to allow for additional flex,” says Boivin. “This way, the seat tube can flex forward a bit more. The top tube is also slimmer to enable upward deflection, and the drop seat stay will flex outward to contribute even more comfort.”
Julien Chauveau, marketing manager for road, gravel and triathlon at Scott, says the lessons for how to adapt the Addict’s tubes came from developing the RC race bike, where the team saw how the bike flexed in a fatigue machine at the company’s factory in China.
“At that moment, we really understood how we could improve the tube shapes and the design of the bike to actually increase the frame compliance,” says Chauveau.
However, the new Addict is really a balancing act between where compliance aids comfort and stiffness helps performance: the bike has the same stiffness as the Addict RC in the bottom bracket area and head tube.
As soon as the moulds for the Addict were ready, Scott asked for frames with different layups and levels of stiffness, going from very soft up to the stiffness levels of the Addict RC.
After blind testing, Chauveau says everybody loved the stiffer bikes: “The main reason was the head tube stiffness. They all felt the handling was more precise and gave them more confidence. With a bike like this we want the rider to feel at ease, even when you go fast. The stiffer bikes were much better for that.”
“Bottom bracket stiffness was less easy to feel, but still the riders preferred the stiffer version for sprints and climbs,” he adds.
38mm tyres and geometry tweaks
The balancing act between comfort and performance continues with the Addict’s ample tyre clearance and geometry tweaks.
The bike can now fit 38mm tyres, which is 4mm wider than the tyre clearance of the Addict RC and 3mm more than the previous Addict.
“Not only will you benefit from the added vibration damping of lower pressure tyres, but you will also get added confidence in grip,” says Boivin.
Yet Scott seems aware that although tyre widths and clearances are increasing, running 38mm tyres on an endurance bike might still be a niche desire; the Addict’s geometry is optimised for 34mm tyres and models in the new range are specced with this width.
Scott also wants the bike to be accessible to the average rider, and for that reason the bike’s stack is now 5mm higher and the reach is 5mm shorter. Although the bottom bracket drop and fork rake were adjusted to accommodate the wider tyres, Scott shortened the chainstays by 2mm to make the bike feel more playful.
This geometry is also a big reason why the Addict fits into Scott’s new ‘ride’ bike category, whereas the RC fits into its new ‘race’ category, alongside the Foil aero bike.
“It’s not uncommon to see riders take the RC and add many spacers to fit their [body] or riding style,” says Boivin. “But in fact, if you were to use 35mm of spacers on the RC, you would actually get to the same position as on the Addict without spacers.”
“If you use more than 30mm of spacers on the RC, you would probably be better suited with the new Addict,” he adds.
Scott Addict geometry
| 47cm | 49cm | 52cm | 54cm | 56cm | 58cm | 61cm | |
| Seat tube length (mm) | 425 | 445 | 465 | 485 | 505 | 525 | 555 |
| Top tube length (mm) | 511 | 521 | 536 | 551 | 566 | 582 | 597 |
| Head tube length (mm) | 104 | 115 | 139 | 161 | 182 | 201 | 201 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 71.3 | 71.8 | 72 | 72.2 | 72.5 | 73 | 73 |
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 75 | 75 | 74.5 | 74 | 73.5 | 73.1 | 73 |
| Chainstay length (mm) | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 984 | 991 | 1,000 | 1,009 | 1,016 | 1,022 | 1,036 |
| Stack (mm) | 522 | 534 | 557 | 578 | 599 | 619 | 638 |
| Reach (mm) | 372 | 378 | 382 | 386 | 389 | 394 | 402 |
Storage and hidden extras
To help make the Addict ‘long ride ready’, Scott has equipped the bike with extra storage and accessories.
The bike has storage integrated into the down tube, which is accessible via a hatch near the bottom bracket. This is fitted with a flat tyre ‘Save the Day’ repair kit, which consists of a mini pump, tyre levers and a TPU inner tube, held in a fabric sleeve. The kit is included on the top two Addict models, and is an optional upgrade for others.
The location of the storage is supposed to be unnoticeable (because nobody likes to think about getting a flat tyre), but the position makes sense from an engineering standpoint, too.
Chauveau says the total weight penalty for the storage is only 40g, with the door weighing just under 10g and only an extra 25g of carbon required to reinforce the frame. The door only has to support its own weight, but if it was under water bottles, as on other bikes, it would have to be far more substantial, and therefore heavier.
The mechanism to lock the door is the same design Scott uses for its mountain bikes. “We know it’s going to work and last a long time,” says Chauveau.
The bike also comes with a frame bag, which attaches to mounting points that are recessed in the top tube. This is so they don’t disrupt the clean lines of the bike if you’re riding without the bag.
Like the Addict RC, Scott’s new endurance bike has a small multi-tool hidden in the handlebar, which can be used to adjust any of the bolts on the bike or remove the wheels.
The Syncros seatpost also has an in-built bike light, which can provide illumination for up to 20 hours, depending on the mode.
Syncros compatibility
Boivin says bike fit is “paramount” for long rides, and so Scott has ensured there is a large range of fit components from its in-house brand Syncros that will fit on the Addict.
“Most of the Addict’s small parts are compatible with the RC. This means that you get access to a range of parts that are interchangeable between the two bikes,” says Boivin.
While the Addict comes with a -6˚ stem, this means you could also fit the RC’s -11˚ stem or its one-piece Syncros cockpit.
“You'll notice that we don't have any road in the round handlebars anymore on the Addict lineup. All you will find are smooth surface handlebars for best in class ergonomics,” he adds.
Keeping the weight down
While the focus of the new Addict is comfort and long-distance performance, Boivin says “a lot of effort” was made to keep the weight of the bike as low as possible.
The new bike’s frame is available in two carbon fibre options – Scott’s premium HMX or more affordable HMF carbon.
At 780g, Boivin says the Addict HMX is one of the lightest endurance frames on the market.
He says the HMX frame is only 50g heavier than the previous-generation Addict RC, while the Addict HMF frame is 70g lighter than the previous Addict.
The top-spec Addict Premium, with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and Fulcrum Wind 42 DB wheels, weighs a claimed 7.4kg. The rest of the range weighs between 7.8kg and 9kg.
“Attractive and accessible”
As well as plenty of fit options, Scott has provided a wide range of complete builds.
“We want the Addict to be attractive and accessible to the largest possible span of people,” says Boivin. “So this is why the bike builds go from the very affordable mechanical shifting to the high-end electronic group sets.”
In keeping with the ‘long ride’ philosophy and the focus on recreational use, Scott has specced the Addict with smaller chainrings and larger cassettes than you would find on racier bikes.
The bottom gear on the new Addicts will be a one-to-one ratio with Shimano groupsets and 0.92-to-one with SRAM groupsets.
The bike is also compatible with SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger, so it’s futureproof and compatible with as many drivetrains as possible.
“The rest of the components go from affordable alloy parts to light carbon components and wheelsets. We think everybody will be able to find what they are looking for,” says Boivin.
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Scott Addict range overview
Scott Addict Premium
- Frame: Addict HMX
- Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Wheels: Fulcrum Wind 42 DB
- Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One, 700x34c
- Weight: 7.4kg
- Price: £6,499 / $7,699 / €7,499
Scott Addict 10
- Frame: Addict HMX
- Groupset: SRAM Force AXS
- Wheels: Fulcrum Wind 42 DB
- Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One, 700x34c
- Weight: 7.8kg
- Price: £5,499 / $6,699 / €6,399
Scott Addict 20
- Frame: Addict HMF
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra
- Wheels: Fulcrum Wind 42 DB
- Tyres: Schwalbe One, 700x34c
- Weight: 8.3kg
- Price: £4,299 / $5,499 / €4,999
Scott Addict 30
- Frame: Addict HMF
- Groupset: Shimano 105 Di2
- Wheels: Syncros Capital 1.0 40
- Tyres: Schwalbe One, 700x34c
- Weight: 8.5kg
- Price: £3,299 / $3,999 / €3,799
Scott Addict 40
- Frame: Addict HMF
- Groupset: Shimano 105 Di2
- Wheels: Syncros RP2.0 Disc
- Tyres: Schwalbe One, 700x34c
- Weight: 8.9kg
- Price: £2,749 / $3,399 / €3,199
Scott Addict 50
- Frame: Addict HMF
- Groupset: Shimano 105
- Wheels: Syncros RP2.0 Disc
- Tyres: Schwalbe One, 700x34c
- Weight: 9kg
- Price: £2,249 / $2,799 / €2,599
