'09 Scott Speedster S40

Ricey77

I spent the whole of last summer dragging a MTB around the roads of North Devon, and this year have decided to get a road bike on the cycle to work scheme. Mainly going to be using it to keep fit and commute, but may look to join a local club.
What are your thoughts on the Scott as my first road bike ??

Phil92

I have the '08 Scott Speedster FB.

I believe the FB stands for Flat-Bar. It's a pretty solid bike, however the S40 is going to be a lot better as mine is the bottom of the line model.

I'm not an "experienced cyclist" but I can comment on the quality of the Scott specific parts - they're very good! Lots of Scott branding on almost everything which gives it a nice feeling of class and the overall build quality is very good!

However a lot of sites are putting on some good offers at the moment and looking at the components side of things, you can get a better bike for a similar if not cheaper price.

If you look at the Focus Variado Expert 2009 £629 and full 105. Or the Giant SCR 1 - full Shimano 105 for £623, both at Wiggle.

I'm not sure about the specifics of the C2W scheme and online retailers but the S40 seems to the going for around £800 and is equipped with Tiagra.

If you're not too sure of the 'hierarchy' components, here's a little extract from the Shimano Wikipedia page which helped me a bunch.

Road bicycle groupsets

For 2006, road bicycle groupsets include:

* Dura-Ace (10 speed)
* Ultegra SL (10 speed)
* Ultegra (10 speed)
* 105 (10 speed)
* Tiagra (9 speed with redesigned "10 speed" hood shape for 2007)
* Sora (8 speed) 9 speeds since 2008
* 2200 (8 speed)
* A050 (7 speed)

Ricey77

For the C2W scheme i am limited to 3 local bike shops, so buying online isnt an option. I have been in to the shop i used last year to buy the MTB, and the Scott bikes look extremely well made. I was just fishing for some other opinions !!

MkyDPky

i bought the scott speedster s40 2008 towards the end of the year second hand from someone who had used it mainly during the 2008 triathlon season. he said that it has served him well and he only sold it due to upgrading to a more triathlon specific bike.
i have since used the bike for a lot of commuting and some training rides and it has suited me well. it is an extremely well made bike and the only part that i am looking to possibly upgrade is the shimano tiagra components to some shimano 105 components but other than that it is a very good bike.
for commuting i have attached some removable mud guards which have served very well.
i have recently starting using the bike for some longer training rides and am hoping to use it to compete in some sportives this year. i have invested in upgrading both the handlebars and saddle for this to increase the comfort for spending consecutive hours on the bike.
i would highly recommend this bike though! do any of your local bike shops have boardman bikes? i was very interested in their bikes as they seem to be higher specced, however coming from a less well known company i wouldn't know their build quality

MkyDPky

i bought the scott speedster s40 2008 towards the end of the year second hand from someone who had used it mainly during the 2008 triathlon season. he said that it has served him well and he only sold it due to upgrading to a more triathlon specific bike.
i have since used the bike for a lot of commuting and some training rides and it has suited me well. it is an extremely well made bike and the only part that i am looking to possibly upgrade is the shimano tiagra components to some shimano 105 components but other than that it is a very good bike.
for commuting i have attached some removable mud guards which have served very well.
i have recently starting using the bike for some longer training rides and am hoping to use it to compete in some sportives this year. i have invested in upgrading both the handlebars and saddle for this to increase the comfort for spending consecutive hours on the bike.
i would highly recommend this bike though! do any of your local bike shops have boardman bikes? i was very interested in their bikes as they seem to be higher specced, however coming from a less well known company i wouldn't know their build quality

185nick

Hi, I don't knwo much about road bikes so can't give you any advice on what the bike's like, but I just wanted to say that my LBS has stopped stocking Scott bikes because they have rocketed up in price this year because of the weak pound. I know that everything has gone up in price this year, but it appears that Scott products have more than others.

SimonSteer

I tried out a Scott S20 at SouthFork cycle shop in Braunton. Nice bike, but more to the point I can recommend the shop, if its on your list

CiB

I've been riding a Scott S20 for the last 2½ years. It's the one with carbon forks + carbon seatpost, so a bit blingy, with the full 105 g/set and Shimano RH500 wheels.

Overall impressions are that it's a great bike - well put together, looks the part and good to ride, certainly over my 20 mile commute. Downside was the saddle snapping and revealing itself to be a bit of cheap plastic, and the wheels aren't highly rated apparently. My rear went out of true when I hit a pothole at some pace and was never right again (now replaced).

They're a good make though overall, and if you look after it should reward you with decent ride.

Ricey77

SimonSteer wrote:

I tried out a Scott S20 at SouthFork cycle shop in Braunton. Nice bike, but more to the point I can recommend the shop, if its on your list

That is the shop i will be using, good guys down there !!

Ricey77

Job done, ordered S40 in large along with some Look Keo Classics, some Shimano shoes and some other bits and bobs. Just gotta wait for my Cycle Scheme voucher to come now... :x

man2wolf

I have an '08 S60 road bike which I bought 6 months ago. I only had a budget of £500 and didnt want to buy S/H - it came in at under £480 excl pedals. The '09 model is £599 for almost identical spec!

Anyway, although I have nothing to compare it with, it seems decent enough and I have had no problems. Its being serviced this week so I'll soon find out!

DoubleTop

Hi

I set my self a budget of around £650 and didn't mind buying 2nd hand (ebay or private) if you can find anyone to sell an old bike. I spoken to people who are always thinking about selling bikes, but never do so they have a collection of 5 or more.

I test rode this exact bike, Scott S40, Trek 1.5, Trek 1.7, Giant Defy 2.5, Bianchi C2C and a Scott CR1 Comp. To understand the difference in quality and how that reflects to money.

I found the S40 a hard/stiff ride on the mainly bad roads around where I live, when I got to a rare smooth piece of road it was very nice. I liked the Trek bikes, the 1.5 Limegreen colour scheme is different. The Giant was good and was my selection until I road the Scott CR1 Comp - I know your talking about a bike almost double in price to the others.


I am buying my bike via C2W, my company run the scheme so I get the maximum saving possible. I am getting my Scott with the 40% C2W discount that taking the price I pay to £700 - just £50 over spend.

You really need to ride a selection of bikes and put in the time & effort to source the right one for you. No body can tell you that this bike or that bike is right for you, only after riding a selection will you know.

Good luck with your search.

Cheers
DT