Scott Addict CX10 review

Scott relaunched the Addict CX last year, claiming that the 1280g combined weight of the frame and fork made it the lightest cyclocross frameset on the market. It’s racked up some results too, with Hope Factory Racing riding the Addict frame this year.

The CX10 is the top spec Addict with an all-carbon components list – and a price tag to match.

Frame

The Addict CX frameset is designed with plenty of clearance fore and aft, including behind the bottom bracket, where sideways space can be tight on some frames due to the constraints of the shell width. But the wide PF86 bottom bracket means this isn’t an issue and provides wide bearing placement for pedalling efficiency. The chainstays also have sloped top edges to encourage any mud which does settle on them to roll off.

The frame has flattened sections to the top tube and the front of the head tube to make carrying more comfortable. Cables are routed internally and there’s a port for a dropper post, while a chain guard attached to the front mech hanger helps to reduce the risk of chain drop.

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Specification

Scott has decked out the Addict CX10 almost exclusively in carbon. So there are carbon bars and stem, a 27.2mm carbon seatpost and Scott’s Fabric-like Syncros saddle.

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Wheels too are carbon and come from Syncros, with a 12x100mm thru-axle at front and 12x142mm at the rear. They have a quite deep 38mm section, are tubeless ready and come with Schwalbe X-One 33mm Tubeless Easy tyres. Scott quotes a weight of 1500g for the wheelset and they come with DT Swiss spokes and star ratchet freehub. Although essentially a road wheel, they work fine for cross.

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But with a narrow 16mm internal rim section, when setting up the tyres tubeless I found that I had to tape the valve stem to get a seal, as there was not quite enough space between the tyre beads to seat the valve. Once this was sorted, the tyres sealed using just a track pump: they’re a tight fit on the Syncros rims, making them a struggle to get off and on.

The gearing and brakes are SRAM Force 1 with a 42 tooth chainring and 11-36 cassette offering a wide enough gear range for steep banks and longer off-road excursions. The Force hydraulic disc brakes are also very effective.

Ride

I was at first a little nervous about taking such a delicate-feeling machine off-road. But my confidence has grown as I’ve ridden the Addict CX over increasingly technical terrain. With a low overall weight and carbon wheels, it spins up fast and is easy to manoeuvre over and around obstacles. It’s less fragile than it appears.

Setting up tubeless paid dividends too, as an early spate of punctures was not repeated. The tyres are effective off-road, although there’s a tendency to clog in muddier conditions.

SRAM’s Force 1 groupset is its top single ring offering. With carbon crank arms it looks smart and the combination of the wide-narrow teeth on the chainring and the clutched rear derailleur meant that chain slap or chain loss were never an issue. Scott’s plastic chain catcher did rub the chain in the lowest gear though and there’s limited scope to adjust it.

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In summary

The Addict CX feels like an out-and-out race bike: there’s enough compliance built into the frame and carbon components to soften the ride somewhat, but it’s still more jolting over bumpy terrain than some of its rivals. However, the gently sloping top tube does help smooth the ride, as it allows plenty of extension of the skinny carbon seatpost.

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Handling and agility are spot-on for racing, with a fast, direct feel and that light weight is evident on steeper climbs and when shouldering over obstacles while the SRAM Force 1 mechanicals provide assured shifting and stopping.

But the light weight and high spec come with a price tag to match and all but the cyclocross fanatic or sponsored rider are likely to think twice about spending close to £5000 on a machine to be ridden through mud.

Forego the carbon add-ons and single ring groupset and you could get two of the next-down Addict CX20 for the same price – and give your pit crew something to do during races cleaning the second bike.

For more detail visit the Scott website.