The Scott Scale 10; all-pro carbon hardtail

In the age of bicycle specialization it sometimes feels like some bike formats receive more attention than others. An expanding selection of frame materials, advancements in component and wheel technology and reductions in frame and component weight have made the road bike a slim, powerful shell of what existed only ten years ago. In mountain biking, adaptation of suspension and braking technologies from other industries has upped the performance and dropped the weight of full-suspension off-road bikes so much that it seemed the traditional hardtail was about to be placed on the endangered-species list.

But riders (especially in the elite racing ranks) will tell you that for certain terrain and situations, there's nothing better than a light, stiff, snappy little hardtail to get you around the track so Scott USA, by listening to the needs of pros like Thomas Frischknecht and Walker Ferguson, and bringing every available technological advancement to bear, has stepped in to produce a proud family of racing hardtails; the Scales.

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The Racing Scale family has eight siblings. From the sub $1,000 aluminum Scale 70 with a Rock Shox J2 fork and Shimano Deore RapidFire to the $6,000 Scott Scale Carbon Limited made with CR1 HMF Technology and spec'd with a Rock Shox Reba and top-of-the-line Shimano XTR kit, there's a member for anyone. For our test, Scott sent us a Scale 10; the closest family member on the list to the Limited but with a slightly more affordable build.

The very fist impression the Scale makes is in how light it is. Out of the box and built, pedals and all, the bike weighs a scant 21.6 pounds and feels like nothing to lift onto a roof rack. Most of this weight savings is in the frame (985 grams). Made from the process and material that Scott used to create what they call the world's lightest production road bike (the CR1, which refers to Scott's Carbon for Racing frame tubing and construction process using their proprietary Ten-Tech Composite), the frame is a thing of beauty.

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