Scott has debuted its latest triathlon bike, the Plasma 6. Unlike the Plasma 5, which conforms to UCI rules and is therefore inherently more restrained, the 6 is a tri-only machine with extreme aero styling and tri-specific features.
The bike has huge amounts of onboard storage and massive fit adjustability.
The Plasma 6 will be available in two complete builds costing and £8,099 / $8,999 / €8,999 £13,499 / $14,999.99 / €14,999 or as a $6,999.99 / €6,999 frameset (UK pricing not available).
Speed, storage and adjustability
Scott doesn’t make specific claims about seconds saved over a certain number of kilometres, but aerodynamics were apparently the primary consideration in the Plasma 6’s design.
Scott says the ideal position for the downtube would be directly behind the front tyre, but this falls apart when the wheel moves slightly, so in the real-world it works best to allow a significant gap between the two.
This design creates perhaps the deepest (front to back) headtube we’ve ever seen.
The rear wheel is obviously fixed side-to-side, so Scott says getting it as close to the seat tube as possible is best, and hence has given it a six-position dropout so you can tweak it with different rim and tyre combinations.
The entire frame looks sculpted for speed, with radical shapes throughout and flap-like protrusions at the bottom of the fork legs to smooth airflow.
In fact, the legs themselves are almost comically wide compared to what we’re used to seeing on road bikes.
Triathletes racing long-distance events such as Ironman need lots of onboard storage, and the Plasma 6 is certainly not lacking in this department.
With a bottle (575ml on XS and S sizes, 620ml on M–XL) housed in that immense headtube, a 400ml gel bottle above the bottom bracket, a ‘nutrition box’ attached to the cockpit, a large general storage box behind the seat tube, and mounts for one or two bottles under the saddle, it has approximately as much storage as a standard family car.
Getting the right fit is essential too, and the Plasma 6’s Syncros cockpit has a wide range of adjustments, including height, extension angle, pad position and width. The saddle has an extensive fore-aft range of movement too.
We mainly focus on bikes used in UCI-sanctioned racing on BikeRadar, but we can’t help but appreciate how purposeful (and mad) something like the Plasma 6 looks.
Do you wish the UCI would relax its rules to allow more extreme designs like this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Scott Plasma 6 specs and prices
Scott Plasma Premium
- Frame: Plasma 6 Disc HMX carbon
- Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS
- Wheels: Zipp 808 NSW Disc carbon clincher
- Price: £13,499 / $14,999.99 / €14,999
Scott Plasma RC
- Frame: Plasma 6 Disc HMX carbon
- Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2
- Wheels: Syncros Capital 1.0 50 Disc carbon clincher
- Price: £8,099 / $8,999 / €8,999
Scott Plasma frameset
- Frame: Plasma 6 Disc HMX carbon
- Price: £TBC / $6,999.99 / €6,999
