The Scott Sub 10 is just the kind of versatile transport/recreational vehicle you want a hybrid to be. It’d be tempting to save money and go for the cheaper Sub 20, but as it is it still outclasses most sports hybrids. Our only gripe is the grips, which you should upgrade in the shop.
- Handling: Quick and confident on smooth streets, despite its accessories. A carbon fork and better grips would improve matters for long rides or rougher tarmac.
- Frame & fork: A very light frame and fork for the money, with clearance and fittings for all your commuter essentials. That super stiff fork is pretty harsh though.
- Equipment: Good brakes, decent drivetrain and all the accessories that other hybrid manufacturers deny you (except lights and a better chainguard).
- Wheels: Weatherproof hubs and all-condition braking, with effi cient 700x32 slicks. The Allen bolted skewers are a bonus too.
The Sub 10 is Scott’s top-of-the-range urban hybrid, and like its stablemates it’s available with 26in or 700C wheels. The ‘City pack’ that we specified added £50 to the price.
On the road, the Scott is light and manoeuvrable for a fully-equipped bike.
Discount the 1.7kg of the City kit and its overall weight is comparable to the Marin Point Reyes, largely thanks to its light frame and fork. With bigger wheels it holds its speed better after you’ve gunned up through the gears.
Hydro-formed frame for stiffness & looks
The Sub 10’s aluminium frame uses tubing that’s very obviously hydroformed, particularly the top-tube and the down-tube. This is more to do with looks than function, though it’s possible that the shaped tubing at the front end adds some strength. Bigger tube profiles certainly add stiffness.
The frame is disc-only. It includes fittings for a carrier rack, mudguard and a kickstand, and it mounts the disc calliper to the chainstay to prevent interference with the rack. The fork is disc-only too, and it’s aluminium.
Forks can deflect much more than frames over rougher roads, but not if they’re super stiff like this one. Because of that stiffness, quite a bit of road buzz comes up through the heels of your hands when you’re riding.
Geared for city & country
The drivetrain is mostly Shimano Deore, with an XT Shadow rear mech and trekking-bike-sized chainrings.
The cassette is a wide range 11-32 number. If you’re planning to do hilly rides with loads, you’ll appreciate this.
Thirty-two spoke 700C wheels, particularly the dished rear, are not ideal for heavy loads.
The wheel skewers are semi quick release, undoing with an Allen key and a knurled nut, which is better for security than a standard quick release in town. Tyres are fast-rolling 700C Continental Sport Contacts.
Mudguards and a rack are almost always after-market purchases in the UK. Those provided with the Scott’s City kit are fine: the chromoplastic guards have breakaway safety clips, and if the rack’s parcel spring interferes with pannier clips you can always snap it off, and the rack itself is stiff and not too heavy.
The bike’s cockpit features an ‘adjustable threadless system’. Instead of a stack of spacer washers under the stem, the steerer has a single shim held in compression by the top cap. You can slide the stem up and down this, giving 40mm of easy height adjustment.
The flat bars let you go low enough to pick up the pace if you’re late for work, but the grips aren’t very comfortable and the stiff fork isn’t easy on your hands. Fit Ergon grips or Cane Creek Ergo bar ends.