There are several scott road bikes in my LBS and they say they are the 'muts nuts' so to speak....erm...are they? I still lust after a Bianchi via nirone, but I have never ridden one, I have never heard of Scott bikes before...do they compare?
btfb - SCOTT are huge. Have a look on their website. I've been running a Scott SUB20 for a year and it's been fine on roads, trails and tracks. However I thought their road bikes looked a bit overpriced for the specs - low to mid range groupsets at next level up pricing. Not a lot different to TREK et al really. By the time you get to their top end (I feel) that a good UK builder would do better.
The only difference is that top end Scotts are ridden by pro cyclists. There are not many UK built bikes in the pro peloton. To answer the initial question - Scott is a big company making a wide range - some excellent, and some of lower quality. Compare them like with like and price with price and I think you can get better spec for lower prices elsewhere.
Top end pro cyclist SCOTTs are not generally at the LBS. I should have stated that I was referring to 'street' and non-pro bikes. This is Beginners after all. We seem to agree that the price/spec can be beaten.
Scott bikes tend to be stereotypically geared towards racing. Light weight frames, extreme geometries etc.
I know of one cycle shop who dropped the brand due to poor warranty support from Scott UK. They've been around for a very long time with an involvement in many different sports although their presence in the UK has been patchy. They weren't available in the UK for a long time. The bikes weren't available in the US for a long time for that matter but they have a big following on the continent particularly in Germany. Their top end carbon frames are spectacularly light and have been very well received by reviewers. Their carbon hardtail is at the very top of my wish list.
I have a Scott CR1 and it is awesome, but then again it's the only road bike I've ever owned so have nothing to compare it against. However spec-wise I would be hard pressed to do better since I got over £1000 off the list price.
Scott are about to part company with the 'partner' company responsible for the design, development and manufacture of their carbon frames. It'll be interesting to see what happens to their range.
I can definitely recommend scott... my road bike's a scott and it's great - light, and sturdy. Having had it for a year it's proved itself to be a great bike - I have ridden over countless potholes and the wheels are still millimetre perfect true (they're 'alexrims' rims on scott's own brand hubs). The only things I've had to replace are inner tubes (obviously), and cables (only just done them). Mine's a year old now, i bought it as a flat bar road bike and i wanted drops, and was thinking about getting a new bike but am glad I converted it now 'cos it's a great bike and i'm used to it and trust it. A guy at work's got a scott mtb aswell and says that's good aswell.
Another thumbs-up for Scott from me, got a 2007 CR1 at a discount at the end of the summer and can't fault it in any way (although, like Hambones, this is my first road bike). Had a Scott mtb for a few years too and despite me being a lazy b****rd when it comes to maintenance/cleaning it's still sweet as a nut. You see loads of them round my way despite there being no shortage of bike shops with varying brands, so they must be doing something right!
A mate of mine has got an Addict and loves it. But I don't think we're looking at that end of the market here are we? FWIW he's kitted it out with full Record and Cosmic Ultimate Carbon's (he races). Beautiful.
