The Addict has remained Scott’s race machine of choice since 2007. While the competition has moved to oversized head-tubes and BB30 bottom brackets, the Addict has remained remarkably unchanged since its debut. And we can understand why. The high modulus carbon fibre frameset impressed us with its sub 800g weight back then, and not many bikes can match that even now.
At over two and a half grand, the Addict certainly isn’t cheap. We do like the no nonsense approach to the kit though: a full Ultegra groupset with a Dura-Ace bottom bracket upgrade makes for a slick, smooth and lightweight drivetrain; Mavic’s excellent Ksyrium Elite wheels are shod with Continental’s Ultra Race tyres, and finishing the package are Ritchey’s WCS Logic curve bar, 4-Axis stem and Carbon Pro seatpost.
This all adds up to a remarkably light package; at 7.17kg for the complete bike it’s within a couple of hundred grams of the UCI limit. That’s impressive for a bike with this level of kit, but not unexpected when paired to the Addict frame, which shaves plenty of weight through some clever touches like the use of carbon dropouts and even a carbon fibre front mech mount.
The Addict wears its racing heart on its sleeve, with a shallow head-tube and long top-tube combined with a slacker than standard seat-tube leading to a shorter wheelbase. Out on the road the Addict’s racing prowess is very evident. That long top-tube and the layback seatpost put you over the rear and in the prime position to really get on top of the standard 53/39 gearing. The low overall weight makes climbing almost fun and despite the standard double we never felt the need for lower gearing, even on the hills on our test route where we’re normally reaching for them.
You’d expect a frame with such little weight to be found wanting when it comes to sprints, but it’s worth remembering that a certain Mark Cavendish made his name winning aboard an Addict. The Manx Missile didn’t have any issues with it on his way to his multiple stage wins, and neither do we, especially with the way it responds under power. In fact we absolutely love the way it reacts. The shorter wheelbase and sharp steering makes it easy to throw around, yet the long reach and over-the-rear weight make descending a joy too.
The long riding position won’t suit riders of a more recreational nature, but the smoothness of the ride will. It’s not as cosseting as its stablemate CR1 that we tested last month, but it does have a good ability to cope with harsher surfaces like broken, frost damaged tarmac remarkably well.
If you have any aspirations to race, whether in a crit or road race, or even in a time trial with a set of clip-on TT bars, then we would highly recommend the Addict. In this spec it’s ready to race straight out of the shop. And if you can’t stretch over the two grand mark then it’s worth remembering that the R3 model has the same sub-800g carbon frame and lightweight all-carbon fork, built up with Shimano 105 and Mavic Aksiums, for £800 less. At £1999.99, it actually looks like the better deal.
