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Scott Scale 750


We continue to swap over our different wheel sized sparing partners and returning to the 750 from a lap on the Scale 950, immediately, the smaller wheel and thus smaller fork means there's extra stiffness up front. It's still not as stiff as we'd like, a bolt-thru axle here would still be appreciated, but hitting the first few berms is more accurate and thus a touch faster.

What's still lacking though is all-out grip. We've equalised tyre pressures across the two bikes, and while there's only a small theoretical difference in contact patches, there's noticeably less grip available from the Maxxis Ikons on this smaller wheel. Pushing through the loose material at the bottom of a berm leaves us scrabbling for more grip until we hit the harder banked bit of the corner.

To your corners
It's in the corners where the difference in handling between the two wheel sizes is most noticeable. While the 29er Scale's far from sluggish in changing direction, it can't compete with its smaller-wheeled brother. The merest drop of the shoulder sees the Scale 750 change direction instantly, making it the faster of the two bikes in twisty, tree-lined singletrack.

The lower front end afforded by the smaller wheel allows us to weight the front tyre better too, with a more attacking stance, which compensates a little for the difference in wheel size grip.

Between corners we're sprinting to compete for a clean line into the next set of turns. While the big wheels smooth out the trail ripples, it's the smaller wheels that are more eager to accelerate. In an all-out sprint we'd all rather be on the Scale 750. Smaller wheels mean less rim, tyre and tube material, so the wheels are lighter at the outside, where it counts most.

Carbon frames take a lot of R&D, but Scott hasn't forgotten its aluminium ones. The generously sized tubes flare to the press-fit BB71 bottom bracket, giving plenty of zing to the already aggressive feel of the bike, there's minimal loss of energy here. Despite this, the flattened seatstays give a ride that's more forgiving than you might think.

With the tighter sections out of the way we're back on the climb, and again that lower front end means we're keeping pace with the 29er Scale on the switchback singletrack climb. Where the 29er needed muscling round to keep within the boundaries of the trail the Scale 750 is more compliant, so we can focus more on keeping our legs spinning.

Remote controlled
We reach for the bar-mounted RideLoc Fox CTD remote lever a little sooner than on the big-wheeled Scale. The lever is built by Scott - it's smaller than Fox's remote, and lets you go between modes one by one in both directions, unlike the Fox which drops you from Climb straight to Descent, missing out Trail.

The 29er continues to pull away over the rocks and roots but the smaller wheels tackle them perfectly acceptably, but we' lose our pedalling rhythm a bit more as the leading edge of the tyre takes more effort to climb over impacts.

Smaller wheels don't have the same speed carrying potential as 29in but they're fast through the corners.

FRAME Scale Alloy 6061
FORK Fox 32 Evolution CTD Air, 100mm
WHEELS Formula hub (F), Shimano hub (R), Syncros GX19 rims
TYRES Maxxis Icon, 650bx2.2in
CRANKS Shimano M625, 38/24
GEARS Shimano SLX shifters, SLX mech (F), XT Shadow mech (R)
BRAKES Shimano M447, 180/160mm rotors
HANDLEBAR Syncros 6061 700mm
STEM Syncros 6061
SEATPOST Syncros
SADDLE MTB Race
SIZES XS, S, M (tested), L, XL
WEIGHT 11.5kg (25.3lb)

Price 1650$
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