New, 'twice as comfortable' Scott Addict doubles down on versatility

The Scott Addict is a road bike that, historically, has enjoyed a reputation as a lightweight road racing platform. It has been around for a long time in various incarnations and has been used to win some of the world's biggest races in years gone by.

Scott continued this tradition with the launch of the sub-6kg (in top spec form) Addict RC late last year, a bike which features on our best road bikes list. It isn't an all-out aero race bike, though and would be a climber's dream.

Now, Scott has released a brand new version of the Addict, and I'm hesitant to call this the 'regular' Addict. This model loses the 'RC', which stands for racing concept and focuses on something different.

This new version of the addict is, in Scott's words, 'built for the spirit of adventure and the love of the riding experience, no matter how fast you are'.

In short, it's been designed to be a more comfortable, versatile and user-friendly road bike designed to tackle pretty much everything, while doubling down on the outgoing model's endurance credentials.

Comfort is a major headline; compliance or comfort boosting appears to have been a focus for Scott, and it claims the new Addict is "twice as comfortable" as the outgoing model, and 25% more comfortable than the Addict RC.

There are also a host of quite clever-looking features that appear to make this a strong do-it-all option that promises to maintain a racy, exciting feel.

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Scott says it has reshaped various frame tubes to increase comfort. The seat and top tubes are slimmer to promote vertical compliance. The seatstays have also been dropped more visibly than on the previous Addict model to further dampen buzz.

Tyre clearance has grown by a few millimetres up to 38mm, so riders will be able to fit a wide range of sizes. Scott cites the advantages of larger tyres, boosting comfort and lowering rolling resistance. Something we also found in our CN Labs gravel tyre rolling resistance test.

Geometry has also followed in the same direction of travel; the new Addict is 5mm higher and 5mm shorter than the previous model, and the chainstays have been shortened by 2mm, which should make for a marginally more exciting ride.

For a simple comparison, Scott claims the new Addict with no headset spacers has the same stack height as the Addict RC (quite an aggressive bike) with 35mm of them added.

In a similar way to the Pinarello F series bikes, which also launched this week, the Addict will be available in two different carbon layup versions. A HMF version and a top-tier HMX option, which uses more high-modulus carbon fibres. Despite the focus on comfort, headtube and bottom bracket stiffness are said to be the same as the Addict RC.

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Clever new features

Many of the best endurance bikes now have at least one smart feature, typically a frame storage compartment, and the latest Addict is no exception.

The new bike features an integrated repair kit in the down tube, which is accessed via the bottom of the down tube, making for a neat look. There is, of course, a cover, but it's also an area that's going to get covered in muck in bad weather. Its position means added weight is low down on the bike, which should mean handling isn't negatively affected.

There's a medium-sized frame triangle bag, which looks pretty neat, and will surely be handy for stowing all kinds of spares on big days.

Two seatposts can be used; the Addict and the RC share the same seatpost shape, but the Scott 'comfort' seatpost, which features an integrated light, can also be fitted.

A T25 Torx key is also fitted inside the handlebar drop, and allows riders to adjust the majority of key fasteners on the bike. A move that is very similar to the one Canyon made with the latest version of the Aeroad CFR, which also comes with a T25 tool that you can adjust a lot with.

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The Addict range is comprised of six models with a mix of Shimano and SRAM componentry. Four feature the HMF carbon frame, and the Addict 10 and Premium feature the high-end HMX carbon fibre.

The base Addict 50 model will start at an accessible €2,599 / $2,799, and the range through Addict models 40, 30, 20 and 10 models up to the top-end Premium model in 'Whale Grey', which comes in at €7,499 / $7,699.