In some ways the Aspect is a reminder of an earlier, simpler age of do-it-all mountain bikes. While some manufacturers’ offerings are overtly pitched as budget race bikes or slackened-out trail bikes, the Scott keeps everything in the middle of the road.
- Highs: Hugely versatile frame design, solid component spec, pleasingly agile at sensible speeds
- Lows: Fork can start to get out of its depth, nervous handling at high speeds, on the heavy side
Frame and equipment: mostly a strong showing for this price point
We don’t expect massively innovative design and construction at this price, and the Scott’s frame is an entirely straightforward mechanically-shaped alloy number. We’d have liked to have seen a head tube ready for a tapered steerer, just to ease future fork upgrades. Heading back from there the key word is ‘stout’ – the main tubes are distinctly chunky, with a squared-off top tube and a subtly flattened down tube. The rear stays are generously proportioned too, especially the deep chainstays.
The Scott’s oversized tubing means good stiffness but also a bit of surplus weight
The kickstand mount on the non-driveside chainstay isn’t something that we’re used to seeing on mountain bikes, but the Scott is designed in mainland Europe, where people use bikes for more than just arsing around in the woods. The Aspect is intentionally designed to work well as an urban runaround too, and even has eyelets for a rack. All its cables are routed along the top tube.
The Aspect's specification is a pretty good example of what you can reasonably expect for at this price level. It’s got a mostly Shimano Deore-based build, with non-series Shimano brakes and an Octalink triple crankset. An outboard-bearing crankset would be a bonus, but this is par for the course.
As is still commonplace on bikes of this sort, the crankset is a 42/32/22t triple. Combined with the 11-36t 10-speed cassette, you’re not likely to run out of gears in either direction. We were a little disappointed with the brake rotors, which are very basic Center Lock splined numbers with a thin steel spider. There are no issues with stopping, but the rotors are heavy and, well, just a bit nasty looking.
The Aspect 720 is generously geared with triple chainrings and an 11-36t 10-speed cassette
Scott has opted to kit the Aspect out with mid-sized 650b wheels, which have become the default choice in what seems like 10 minutes flat. Scott bought legendary component brand Syncros a few years back, so it’s no surprise to see Syncros branding on most of the Aspect’s finishing kit, including the rims. They’re shod with generously-sized but also shallow-treaded Schwalbe Rapid Robs, which wouldn’t be our first choice for loam or loose surfaces but make sense for the kind of all-round riding that Scott clearly has in mind for the Aspect.
The fork is a critical component on any bike, and the Scott’s Suntour model is competent enough. It’s the basic (read: heavy) version of the XCR, with a steel coil spring inside. You do get adjustable rebound damping and a remote lockout lever on the handlebar though.
Ride and handling: old-fashioned virtues – and vices
Despite its on-trend 650b wheels, the Scott is very much an all-round cross-country mountain bike of the traditional sort rather than a low-slung, raked-out trail weapon. The riding position is long and the 660mm-wide handlebar is narrow by modern standards.
If you want to tackle steep and loose trails, the Aspect isn’t the best choice – the relatively steep geometry means it starts to get nervous as the front points down, the narrow bar is more sensitive to steering inputs and the shallow-tread Schwalbes prioritise fast rolling over grip. The coil-sprung Suntour fork starts getting distractingly bouncy in the rough too. For this kind of riding, a bike like the Saracen Mantra Trail makes a lot more sense.
By nature the Aspect 720 is a traditionalist XC machine, most at home on flatter trails
But the Scott is pitched at a broader market. High-speed nerves equate to low- and medium-speed agility, and on flatter twisty trails it can be hustled along at a fair old pace. There’s no escaping the fact that the Aspect is carrying a bit of excess weight at 13.3kg (29.3lb) – and that does start to work against you. But the faintly old-fashioned riding position is effective for sustained climbs, and on good surfaces the benefits of that fast-rolling rubber quickly becomes apparent.
The large-volume Rapid Robs have a big role to play in comfort too, because there isn’t much give in the chunky frame and oversized seatpost. All those frame fittings and bosses make the Scott extremely versatile though, so if you need a bike for the daily grind in the week and some not-too-demanding off-road fun at the weekend, the Aspect could easily hit the spot.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.
via BikeRadar.com http://ift.tt/WsES7T
No comments:
Post a Comment