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The 2025 Scott Addict road bike is one of the lightest production road bikes currently available, however, it's now the same weight as the original Scott Addict from 2005, so have things actually improved? How do two road bikes with the same name actually compare? In this video Sam Gupta gets hands on with both bikes and compares each bike against a number of different categories such as frameset technology, groupset, brakes, wheels, tyres and more. Let us know what you think, do you think bikes have gotten better or worse over the last 20 years?
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The original Scott Addict and the 2025 Scott Addict
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Two bikes that are nearly 20 years apart, yet they basically weigh the same
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So, what's changed? Have the bikes of today really improved that much
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In this video, we're going to find out. Before we get into the nitty gritty, a quick history lesson
0:27
Back in the mid-2000s, the original Addict caused quite a stir upon its release
0:33
The reason why? Weight. Or rather, the distinct lack of it. In its top-spec Ultimate build, a complete bike was claimed to weigh just 5.9 kilos
0:43
For the time, and even by today's standards, that was incredibly light
0:48
The lowest-spec builds were also light, with many flirting with the UCI's minimum weight limit of 6.8 kilos
0:54
Speaking of the UCI, from 2009 to 2011, some guy called Mark won quite a lot of races on board the
1:03
Addict. He's retired now, but by all accounts, I think he had a pretty spectacular career
1:10
And some of his best years were when riding an Addict. So not only was it light, but it was also
1:16
raced successfully at the highest level. Another Addict that's been raced at a pretty high level
1:22
is this one that I have before me. It's owned by John Bowman and he rode it, albeit with a slightly
1:28
tweaked spec, at the 2024 National Hill Climb Championships. It's a 2009 model and features
1:35
many period correct parts. You've got the original 10-speed SRAM Red groupset, an integrated seat
1:41
post and Zipps 202s with 23mm Vittoria tyres. Right, history lesson over, let's get back to
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present day. First up, let's talk about the frameset. As I've already mentioned, the original
1:54
Addict made a splash upon its release, and that's mainly down to the feathery weight of 790 grams
2:00
for the frameset. Incredibly light at the time, and still respectable in today's market
2:07
Looking at the frameset I have today, it has all the features you'd expect to find on a mid-2000s
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road bike. We've got that classic double diamond silhouette, rim brakes, externally rooted cables
2:18
and quick release axles and an external BB. It's also worth mentioning the original Addict
2:25
offers very little in the way of aero optimization. It was all about weight and stiffness back then
2:32
Looking at the modern day Addict and it's clear to see things have moved on in the intervening
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years. The tubes have the almost industry standard teardrop tube shape which is claimed to improve
2:42
aerodynamics and you also get the drop seat stays to help give you some extra compliance at the rear
2:48
In terms of cables well there aren any Or more accurately the brake hoses are hidden away inside the frame As this is a disc brake bike you get those neat through axles
3:01
instead of the quick releases found on the old bike. And the weight, believe it or not, it's actually lighter than the original
3:08
with a claimed weight of 640 grams in the highest HMX SL spec
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So I think it's safe to say the new model outperforms the old model
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in every respect. It's lighter, no doubt faster, and more comfortable. Things do become a little more nuanced when it comes to integration. The old Addict had very
3:31
little in the way of integration. All the parts could easily be swapped for other brands
3:36
and externally routed cables made home maintenance relatively easy. Looking at the modern-day Addict
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and it's a harmony of integration, all in an effort to make the bike as fast as possible
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You only have to look at the handlebars, headset, seat post and the aforementioned internally rooted
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hoses to see how neat this thing looks. Again, this makes for a very fast bike. However
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it also makes for a bike that can be tricky to work on at home and expensive when it comes to
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repairs or spare parts. Say you need to replace a brake hose. It's not going to be as quick as
4:11
replacing a cable on the old Addict. Its internally rooted hydraulic hoses will need to be rebled
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And say you wanted to try a different bar width. On the old Addict, you could find a cheap handlebar
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online and pop it on your current stem, which is basically what John has done with his Addict
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With the new one, you'd need to buy a whole new handlebar stem combo from Scott, which is likely
4:35
going to cost more. But Scott does have a huge variety of bar widths and stem length combos
4:40
and of course you do have the option of fitting one of the eight different size stems
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and then fitting any 31.8 millimeter bar that you like. And it's also worth remembering these bikes are designed to be raced at the highest level
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where ease of maintenance will always come second to performance out on the road
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Whichever way you spin it, I think we'll call this one a draw. We want bikes that are cheap and easy to maintain
5:05
but those desires aren't compatible with the modern day race bike. Let's quickly chat brakes. And I say quickly because we have gone over the rim versus disc
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argument many times on this channel and it does not need repeating. So I'll try and sum it up as
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succinctly as possible. In short, disc brakes offer far better braking performance, but they
5:27
weigh a little more. But with the 2025 Addict now matching the weight of the original, the weight
5:33
thing is kind of a moot point. Disc brakes will also be harder to work on when it comes to home
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maintenance but they will require less regular maintenance compared to rim brakes So there you go Let me know if I simplified things too much down in the comments Next up we gonna talk wheels
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Back in the mid 2000s, it was possible to buy an aero wheel set, but they would often come
5:59
with a significant weight penalty, which relegated them to flat or sprint stages
6:05
Lightweight climbing wheels were available. However, their sole focus was usually reducing weight
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at the expense of any serious aero credentials. The Zip 202s on this bike being a prime example
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nice and light, but not very aero. So riders would often choose between the two
6:22
depending on the terrain that they were riding. Without stating the obvious, the wheels were rim brake only
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And as a sign of the times, they would feature a relatively narrow rim profile
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to match the narrow tires, but more on tires in a minute
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The wheel set on the 2025 Addict has moved on considerably from the wheel sets
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of the mid-2000s. We now get a wider 25 millimeter internal width
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hookless and tubeless technology, and a 40 millimeter depth. This depth strikes a decent balance
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between keeping the weight low while maintaining some aero credentials. And of course, these wheels are also disc brake only
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The wheels I have on this bike have a claimed weight of 1,170 grams
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So basically, they're as light as some of the lighter rim brake wheel sets of the mid 2000s
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Not only that, but I'd wager there are more balanced wheel set, offering a better mix of speed, handling and weight
7:20
Tyres are arguably one of the least sexy parts of a bike, but they probably affect the performance of said bike
7:26
more than anything else. Looking back at the original Addict, it came with 23 millimeter tires
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and the bike shop you bought it from probably punt them north of 120 psi. I know that's what I did at least. The prevailing wisdom at the
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time was that a thinner and harder tyre would offer the lowest rolling resistance and thus more speed
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Fast forward to today and we now know this is not the case with wider tyres at lower pressures
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offering less rolling resistance along with a bunch of other benefits. These include added comfort
7:59
from the larger tyre volume, more grip in the corners and less chance of pinch flats if you're
8:04
running a tube. Speaking of tubes, the 30mm wide Schwab tyres that come on the 2025 Addict can also
8:12
be run tubeless, something that didn't really exist on road bikes back in the mid 2000s
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The pros and cons of tubeless tyres probably needs its own video, but I'll try and sum it up
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as best as I can. Tubeless tires will lessen the chance of you getting punctures
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but they will take more time to set up. They'll also offer lower rolling resistance
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in certain cases but that can be down to the brand of tire and the pressure that you running them at So to repeat what I said at the start of this segment while the 30mm tyres on the 2025 Addict
8:47
are probably not the sexiest part of this build, they have one of the largest effects on how quickly
8:53
and how comfortably the bike will be to ride. Compared to the original Addict
8:58
this is one place we can see some of the largest improvements
9:06
Finally, we are going to talk group sets. The original Addict came out just before the beginning
9:12
of the mass adoption of electronic group sets in the pro ranks. So as you'd expect, it came with a
9:18
good old-fashioned cable group set. And depending on which model you bought and from what year
9:24
that might have been from Shimano, SRAM or even Campagnolo. As you'd expect, the modern day Addict
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has the latest and greatest in electronic group sets, with the model before me being equipped
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with SRAM's Red Axis groupset. Now, you only need to read the reviews to know how good electronic
9:42
group sets have become. Quick, accurate, and hassle-free shifting means that in terms of pure
9:47
performance, they're a huge upgrade on the group sets of nearly 20 years ago. Again, they come at
9:55
a weight penalty compared to the lightest cable-actuated group sets of old and can sometimes
10:00
be trickier to set up, but for me, the benefits outweigh any negatives
10:06
Gearing on modern road bikes is another important consideration. Looking at our original Addict
10:12
we've got what was fairly standard gearing of the time, with a 53-39 chainring and an 11-26 cassette
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On our 2025 Addict, we have something far more contemporary, with a 46-33 at the front and a
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wide range 1033 cassette at the back. That is a much wider spread compared to the original bike
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so you should have no problems spinning up the steepest of climbs. By now, it should be fairly
10:42
obvious that even though these addicts weigh the same, a lot has changed in the years between them
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The bikes we're riding now are faster, more comfortable, and with better handling
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So what's not to like? There are some small costs though in the form of trickier home maintenance
11:00
and some extra proprietary parts that can make swapping components more of a headache
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The key thing for me though is we're now at a point where you can get all the benefits of a
11:11
modern road bike at a similar overall weight to the lightweight bikes of old. And remember that
11:17
That hasn't always been the case. It wasn't that long ago that choosing a modern aero road bike often meant a significant sacrifice
11:26
in terms of weight. But with bikes like the new Addict, that's not the case
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And for me, that can only be a good thing
#sports