Scott Addict RC 20 review: maybe the most refined lightweight road bike I’ve ever ridden

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The Scott Addict RC 20 sticks in the mind because there’s not a lot I can criticise it for.

There are a couple of niggles, but this doesn’t ruin the Addict RC’s ride. It’s light and stiff yet compliant, and delivers excellent handling. It also feels every bit as fast as many of the best all-round race bikes on the market.

Above all, the Addict RC feels very refined. This might sound a little boring, but unless you specifically want something more extreme, the Addict RC proves that doesn’t have to be the case.

Scott Addict RC 20 frameset

The Scott Addict RC 20 features the Swiss brand’s second-tier carbon, known as HMX. This is applied for all-bar-one of the Addict RC’s models, with the frameset weighing a claimed 990g in a size M/54cm.

Scott’s HMX SL carbon fibre blend is reserved only for the £12,799 / $14,500 ‘Ultimate’ bike, which carries the headline 640g frameset-weight claim.

However, the same manufacturing techniques are applied here as on the top-spec frameset, which sees carbon and resin wrapped onto polypropylene mandrels, which are then removed from the interior of the cured form.

This is said to leave behind a neater (read stronger) layup for less material and less waste.

Scott says excess material has been cut from the dropouts and head tube, the latter of which results in the use of a smaller 1-1/8in upper bearing. Overall, this has cut 15 per cent from the previous Addict RC’s frontal area, leading to an unspecified aerodynamic gain.

Small aerodynamic improvements are said to have been made across the rest of the frame, but the rounder tubes (compared to the Foil RC aero bike, for example) are designed primarily to handle pedalling forces more efficiently with less material.

The net loss compared to the Foil RC is said to be 9 watts at 45kph.

Aesthetics are, of course, subjective, but the frame is among the cleanest-looking I’ve seen in recent times.

There are no style for style’s sake quirks, or unwieldy aero-driven flares, while the ‘hushed pink’ (really, it’s an off-white beige) colour with the classy graphics looks crisp and modern. Top marks here, in my book.

The frame has fully integrated cable routing, with the brake hoses running into a front port and inside the headset bearings, while the Shimano Di2 battery is housed in the proprietary Syncros seatpost.

The seatpost clamp has been remodelled, no longer relying on a carbon collar (which proved easily breakable if over-torqued) and now features a wedge design with a firm-fitting cover.

While many brands have opted to ‘revert’ to a threaded bottom bracket standard in recent years, the Addict RC sticks to a BB86 press-fit standard.

The Addict RC is on-trend for tyre clearance, at 34mm.

Scott Addict RC 20 geometry

The Addict RC's geometry is certainly racy – in a size L/56cm as tested, you’ll find a long 402.6mm reach and 564.5mm stack. An equivalent-sized Specialized Tarmac SL8 Pro is 7.6mm shorter, but with practically the same stack.

On this model, this is compensated by the slight rise to the tops of the handlebars.

In terms of design approach, the Addict arguably has most in common with a Canyon Ultimate (as an all-rounder but with greater focus on weight versus aerodynamics), but size comparisons are tricky because a large Ultimate is sized more like a 57cm frame.

This is most notable through the Canyon’s 15.5mm taller stack, but ‘only’ a 1.6mm shorter reach.

The angles are all in race-bike territory, too – only 0.1 degrees slacker at the head tube and a 0.2-degree slacker seat angle compared to the Tarmac.

Scott Addict RC 20 specification

The Addict RC 20 is fitted with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8100 groupset, complete with the latest RT-CL800 rotors (still not a guarantee in bike specifications).

Although it's a small detail, these rotors feature a slightly heavier, stiffer construction that’s less likely to warp under heavy braking. In our experience, they do a good job of reducing brake noise.

The crankset is the semi-compact 52-36 tooth model – some might prefer a compact crankset if they’re spending the majority of their time climbing, but the wide, 11-34t cassette goes a long way towards compensating for this.

This is our pick of Shimano’s current-generation performance groupsets, and it didn’t skip a beat in testing.

You won’t find a power meter here, which is a shame given you can buy a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX with a similar-level build with a 4iiii-equipped left crank arm for £5,599 / $5,699 / €6,049.

Some, like my colleague Simon von Bromley, might happily skip this in favour of a later dual-sided upgrade, though (albeit, you could also buy the Canyon and upgrade the driveside crank arm via 4iiii’s ‘factory install’ programme if desired).

The RC 20 features a two-piece Syncros cockpit, with the HB0-100-CF carbon handlebar featuring a 10mm rise at the tops.

These are also ovalised, ostensibly for grasping comfort. The stem sees hoses routed through its underside and into the frame.

This is great, and I suspect a more practical solution than the non-rising one-piece setup of more expensive models, but Scott won’t swap the bar or stem for a better-fitting size for free – it will for the one-piece cockpit on more expensive bikes, though.

Scott also doesn’t supply its integrated Syncros RR iC computer mount with the bike, which represents something of a faux pas given the standard out-front Garmin Edge 1050 and Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 mounts won’t fit flush in between the oversized stem faceplate and the start of the bar rise. It costs a not-insignificant £69.99.

Running my computer at a wonky angle was an annoyance I put up with for testing, but not something I’d tolerate on my own bike. My K-Edge mount fitted better (thanks to its narrower clamp), but that’s still an extra to shell out for.

Contrary to the general norm, the default seatpost is an inline version, which in theory helps to open the hip angle for more efficient pedalling.

This is ideal for me, but as with all things bike-fit related, it may or may not suit you. A 15mm-setback version is also available for £274.99.

Mid-range 30mm Schwalbe One TLE tyres are fitted to a Syncros Capital 1.0 wheelset – but the latter is notable for its progressive 25mm internal width and hookless rim design.

The rest of the finishing kit is also from Syncros, with a Belcarra Regular 2.0 saddle and well-cushioned bar tape.

For further context, the Orbea Orca M20i costs £5,999 / €5,799 / $5,999, but offers a greater degree of spec flexibility through the brand’s MyO customisation programme.

The Specialized Tarmac SL8 Expert (£6,000 / $6,000) is similarly priced, but features a lower-tier SRAM Rival eTap AXS groupset that increases the overall build weight to a claimed 7.77kg.

Scott Addict RC 20 ride impressions

The Scott Addict RC 20 is an impressive all-round race bike – in terms of its core performance, it’s hard to criticise.

It’s light and stiff-feeling, and among the most efficient bikes I’ve tested to climb on. The 7.36kg total weight isn’t to be sniffed at, and unless you’re a true weight weenie, it’s plenty light enough to enjoy tackling tough hills.

You could easily cut 150g or so from that weight simply by switching to higher-end tubeless tyres too, because the stock Schwalbes aren’t competitive in that regard.

The handlebar’s tops are very well thought-out – the ovalised shape is much more comfortable to grasp than the flatter one-piece cockpit found on a CFR or SLX-grade Canyon Ultimate, for example, which is a real plus on longer climbs.

The plush bar tape is also a positive, making the drops easy to settle onto and hold for longer stints on the flat.

Overall, the ride feels extremely refined – it smooths out road buzz and bumps very well, which is also in no small part down to the wide tyre and rim combination.

Although they're weighty, the Schwalbe One TLE tyres deliver decent all-round feel and performance – good enough that I’d be happy to wear a set out before upgrading to a set of the best road tyres, as the bike justifies.

This contributes to an air of predictability, but is enlivened by the bike’s keen handling. It’s lively and responsive, but is a long way from feeling twitchy; I quickly found my comfort zone and was happy to push hard into corners and descents in short order.

While I could detect a little more drag at higher speeds than I’ve felt on dedicated aero bikes, such as the Foil RC, the Addict RC felt competitive for an all-rounder – in a similar ballpark to the Colnago V5Rs I had a taste of earlier this year, the ENVE Melee, the Canyon Ultimate CFR (with deeper wheels) and the Cannondale SuperSix Evo.

The Addict RC’s core raison d’être is as a lightweight race bike, so it’s understandable that even lighter builds are enticing.

That said, given the performance on show here, I’d struggle to justify upgrading any further than the Addict RC 10, which for around £900 extra delivers the one-piece cockpit (and ability to swap it) and a slightly uprated wheelset.

Go even higher than this and the (relative) value proposition becomes weaker.

Scott Addict RC 20 bottom line

The Scott Addict RC 20 delivers a fantastically well-rounded ride experience.

As with any all-rounder, you must accept some level of compromise for weight, aerodynamics, compliance and so on – the Addict RC 20 is similarly compromised compared to more extreme bikes, but it hides it well because everything is simply very good.

It’s an annoyance that Scott won’t offer free swaps of the fit-sensitive components, while the lack of an included out-front computer mount feels like more of a shame than it otherwise would, because the cockpit combination doesn’t suit commonly used out-front mounts.

That said, the Scott Addict RC 20 is certainly among the leading pack of lightweight-leaning all-rounder race bikes.

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