The Scott Scale Shootout — 940 - 920 - 900axs Battle it out!
Racer H — The rider wins the race. Not the bike.
What we’ve done is purchase two bicycles from the same manufacturer but at different build specs and price points for a direct comparison. I (Racer J) want to know: as a new racer entering the sport, how much bike is enough bike? Where should I spend my dollars?
Cross Country Mountain Biking is the gateway that most people enter through when talking about offroad cycling. Since the bicycle industry knows this, the lower end of the XC segment is a minefield of shitty-value-for-dollar bikes. The vast spread of XC-style mountain bikes available is daunting. Researching brands and frames and geometries requires learning an entirely new language and understanding deeply technical specifications; all while feeling like a fool for buying into the marketing that the bicycle industry is feeding us.
Meet the 2021 Scott Scale 940
Below us, we see the Scott Scale 940 brand new from the bike shop. It’s even got its dork disk and safety reflectors still on the wheels. Back in 2021, the Scott Scale 940 cost $1700. What a deal! The current 2022 model is $2200. Five hundred dollars is a substantial year-to-year price increase, it’s almost a 30% price bump.
$1700 buys you in on the cheapest carbon race bike on offer from Scott. What do you get? An incredible 27-ish lb. XCO Machine that is race-worthy out of the box. Read on to Racer H’s 2-year analysis of his racing experiences with the bicycle.
Scott Scale 940 — 2 years & 10+ race review
BY RACER H
The Scott scale seems unchanged and honestly feels at home in Michigan on 20yr old trails
Mtn bike racing isn’t a new sport; the industry and marketing departments of each and every bike component and frame company always want you to buy next year’s product with its strange standards and annoying special crap required; this also hasn’t changed since 1999 or so when SRAM decided to make its shifters and derailleurs operate on a 1:1 leverage ratio different from the Shimano 8/9 speed standard that ruled
The MTB hardtail formula has also not changed since 1999. Scott has perfected the vintage trusty weapon of hardtail well enough that it can race in twisty Michigan tree maze forest conditions well but also handle California rock and terrain that comes with triple or quadruple the elevation so lacking in the Midwest.
At the beginning of all this chaos I bought a 2021 Scott scale 940:
First Impression: Basic very poor grade components included, but getting a top-level carbon frame for the price ($1700+tax @ the village peddler).
5/2021 Nevada City Hoot trail — California — Hosted by California Dirt
June - 2021 Nevada City Hoot trail — California — Hosted by California Dirt
The Scott 940 responded brilliantly with a pair of new maxxis ardent tires, a 170mm dropper post and was raced out of the box with only these changes for my first MTB race @ Nevada city hoot trail. The basic rockshox fork was blown and leaking after the race; not surprised honestly as it barely functioned when new. Racing at elevation for the first time was a painful experience but very fun.
7/2021 Traverse City Trail Festival — Michigan — Hosted by Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association
7 days after purchase the scale 940 had a dead front shock and was locked up in warranty jail; ordering a 2021 fox 32 step cast performance fork was the only way out. In Traverse City the combination worked pretty well and I had a lot of fun racing in the forest. The mass start was a lot of fun as well.
8/2021 Maybury Time Trial — Michigan — Hosted by Fun Promotions
First time on the podium for the Scale 940: sport class age group 3rd finish.
The scale setup in California mode was good enough to pass some of the locals on a steep normally hiking-only path with some drops opened for a race day route only.
9/2021 Fort Custer time trial — Michigan — Hosted by Custer’s Last Stand
The scale 940 is still pretty much original with the addition of maxxis ardent 2.25” tires, a 170mm PNW dropper post and the fox32 step cast performance fork. With more training for twisty Forrest conditions I placed 2nd in sport class age group.
11/2021 Iceman Challenge Traverse City — Michigan — Bell’s Iceman Cometh
This race featured open categories for all types of bicycles racing side by side. During the course of the race, the Scale performed brilliantly as it goes hard nearly as well as a gravel bike in straight-line speed but also has much better gearing and efficiency over the rough stuff. Finished top 1000 out of 4000 racers: massive fun event.
11/2021 Iceman Challenge Traverse City — Michigan — Bell’s Iceman Cometh
The Scale raced brilliantly as it goes hard nearly as well as a gravel bike in straight-line speed but also has much better gearing and efficiency over the rough stuff. Finished top 1000 out of 4000 racers: massive fun event.
1/2022 Granite Bay — California — Total Body Fitness Series Races 1 & 2
The Scale 940 handles the rocky Granite Bay course well. A light-duty full-suspension bike like the Supercaliber or Scott Spark would be faster overall here due to how rough the terrain and course obstacles can be.
It is at this point in the journey that the Scale 940 carbon frame developed a hairline fracture on the top tube near the seat post area at about 1,300 miles of racing and practicing spread across these events. Scott took a while but replaced my frame with a new Scale 920 frame through the Warranty system and The Village Peddler.
6/2022 Tahoe 32mi xc MTB race — California — Website for sign-up hosted by Adventure Sports Week
The new scale 920 was built up with:
2022 Fox 32 Step-cast Performance Fork
Shimano XT bottom bracket; SLX crankset, XT 30t front sprocket
Shimano SLX 12-speed
Crank Brothers Highline 7 dropper post (170mm)
Bontrager XR2 tires
Shimano XT brakes
This particular course had a lot of climbing at elevation but very mild terrain. First time seeing snow mid-race at top of the course; it was freezing. Sometimes the difficult reality is: using the stiffer and more efficient hardtail as a better match for the course even though I had a Supercaliber available to race.
Racer H’s Final Verdict:
The most basic Scott Scale 940 is the same as the Scale 920 and the same as the Scale Team Edition AXS with the fancy shifter. The Scott Scale is a brilliant choice for a racing weapon if limited to supply chain availability and a budget cap; would recommend buying one off the shelf and racing it almost stock.
If you know how to work on bikes, you can make these things very light.
Racer J — New racer, which bike?
-by Racer J
One of the biggest questions for new cross-country mountain bike racers is “Will the nicer bike help me win the race?” We’re here to discuss that very question through an in-depth review of the Scott Scale lineup. We take a look at build kits, components, durability, serviceability, and value per dollar for XC RACING.
A little bit of context and background for this article: Racer H has been racing XC MTB since the 90’s and early 2000’s — I only just started riding MTBs since the start of the lockdown. So my perspective and experience levels are the opposite of Racer H, who can be considered a veteran in the sport.
Jumping into the world of dirt and offroad cycling feels like one GIANT question mark (forgive my pun). The uncertainty and doubt feeds into the feeling that this is a big financial commitment, which it is. Bicycle manufacturing and components standards change and morph at double the pace in the mountain bike industry when compared to road cycling. Every two to four years the industry introduces new bottom bracket standards, cassette mounting standards, wheel hub width standards, and most recently between 2021 and 2022 SRAM is morphing their universal derailleur mount into a direct mount system. Have I lost you yet? We haven’t even started into suspension kinematics…
This is how the industry wants you: confused, uncertain, and full of doubt when it comes time to purchase a new bicycle. That way you believe their sales and marketing when you visit their TikTweet and InstaTube Influencers. The gut-wrenching feeling of buyer’s remorse; the question: did I buy the right bicycle? Could I have gotten better elsewhere?
Meet the 2021 Scott Scale 900 Team Issue AXS
I purchased the Scott Scale RC 900 Team Issue AXS (I type it out for the search algorithm) from Village Peddler after having tried out Racer H’s and experienced how it rides, as well as how it fits my body. In my case, I had just gone through and consumed three bicycles with various failures over the span of a year, and I was ready for electronic shifting. I never wanted to adjust a cable rear derailleur ever again.
First Impression: “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.”
The Scott Scale is brutally honest. It will expose your weakness, and your supposed requirements and preferences are judged by tearing off band-aids and rubbing some dirt all over the place. It is raw and direct, — almost confrontational — but also incredibly adept and very intuitive to ride. If you have any weakness, the Scale will show you where it is. Over time you learn to compensate and train for that weakness; whether it be smooth pedal strokes at 130 rpm cadences or power output with a 36t chainring.
It is so stable and surefooted at all speeds that any errors are rider induced and not the equipment. The OEM RockShox SID Select SL is a decent XC race fork. It takes only 1 big hit at a time, or a few smaller hits in consecutive order. Beyond three or four syncopated compressions of the fork, the RockShox SID begins to suffer in responsiveness and damping feel. The Scale’s geometry is so dialed that it crushes on all mountain trails in Pacifica like Mile, Crack, and Old Burnside and it excels as a race weapon on a prepared XC course like TotalBodyFitness’ Granite Bay series at Lake Folsom.
The Scale frame can’t fit 2.4” wide Maxxis Rekon Race tires. It can fit 2.35” Maxxis Forekasters. It can fit 2.4” wide Maxxis Aspens with less than a 1mm gap on the chainstays (which is not really rideable on the road. This is what the 2023 Scale improves upon, tire clearance). It came with Schwalbe Racing Ray and Racing Ralph in 2.25” x 29. I personally like a wider tire with lower pressures because of the severity of the terrain we have here in Northern California. It can range from loose gravel over hardpack, to redwood loam, and then to granite rocks all within the same trail. Lake Tahoe’s terrain is a perfect example of the incredible diversity of soils and surface types available to us in Northern California.
A note about SRAM Eagle AXS: AXS is the shit. It’s super reliable. It gave me the mental cushion to start attacking the race course when I didn’t have to think about getting into the right gear if I misread the trail.
Sometimes, there is no opportunity to pre-ride the course, and you can’t see the obstacles coming up around the corner. Some corners are blind, some obstacles are blind. Oftentimes race organizers like to combine the two together. In these cases, having the robot shifter has been life-saving for me. AXS allows me to maintain my inertia with abusive amounts of power while shifting back and forth across three or more gears at once.
The robotic arm holds the chain against the cassette ramps and keeps the drivetrain engaged throughout the pedal stroke and shifting motion.
June - 2021 Nevada City Hoot trail — California — Hosted by California Dirt
So I bought the bike only after I raced the Nevada City Hoot Trail. I completed that race on the 2013 Giant Reign, a 26er All Mountain trail bike.
I snapped the D-Linkage swing arm on my Giant Reign. The Maestro has died. Long live the HARDTAIL!
1/2022 Granite Bay — California — Total Body Fitness Series Races 1 & 2
My next series of races was some time after Nevada City’s XC race. I signed up on my own accord for TBF’s Granite Bay XC opener in January. I had just purchased my Scott Scale three months prior in October of 2021. I raced it “out of the box” only adding a 150mm dropper post.
I spent these two races learning the bike, learning the basics of how to race.
The bicycle at this point was still 100% stock OEM. I raced the Rockshox SID throughout this series, it performed decently enough. It could take 1 big hit, or 2 to 3 consecutive medium hits before the damper was overloaded for my 200lb body. I was dropping weight, and losing it fast while racing the Scale and training on the Scale.
After these two races at Granite bay, I upgraded the SID to the Fox 34 StepCast. I had put about 1300 miles on the original parts and bicycle by this time. I had accomplished a massive amount of cycling. I converted my driving commute to a cycling commute and averaged about 60 to 100 miles of riding per week.
I wore out the GX cassette by this time and purchased the XX1 cassette to replace it. I don’t regret getting the most expensive cassette. Thus far it has survived and lasted just as long as the GX. It has better power transfer than the GX from its CNC’ed one-piece construction, but shifting durability is less than the steel-toothed GX.
4/2022 Monterey, CA. — LIFETIME’s Sea Otter Classic 80k Fuego
I trained long and hard for the Sea Otter Classic. But on race day as it became apparent that I would not be able to complete the second lap within a respectful time to the staff and race organizers — I DNF’ed the 80k Fuego. I was the cutoff; the course marshals were cruising 500ft behind me on their e-MTBs sweeping the course. If I had continued, I would’ve been on track for a 7.5 hour course time. This was humbling for me, but also a huge moment. On one hand I lined up at the start line of the most famous course and race series on the West Coast of the the USA, but on the other hand I did not finish.
Looking back upon that week, now I know that I overcooked the practice just days before the race. Since we were local to the area, we pre-rode the entire course just two days before the race. I also chose to ride a 34t chainring, but that was also clearly overly ambitious. On race day I ended up with a 30t.
10/2022 2022 Mount Diablo Hillclimb Challenge — California — Sign up here
I raced a road hillclimb on the Scott Scale and enjoyed every minute of the gearing advantage. If I were to tune the bicycle for the race course, I’d source some 700c gravel wheels and put slicks on. Other than that, it was an incredibly fun time with friends. The bike was still rocking a 30t.
10/2022 2022 Red Bull Bay Climb — California — Hosted by Red Bull
In this race, both RacerH and RacerJ were on Scott Scales. Racer H completely demolished the start with a beautiful holeshot and a massive display of power. I was not competitive and had let my fitness drop after a series of injuries where I broke my ribs and had stitches in my knee. The best thing to do is always sign up for more races! The Scale was good ole’ reliable. I took the chance to smoke a joint on the climb up. Because I can. And if I can, I do.
Racer J’s Final Verdict:
The nicer bike does not win the race. However, if it gives you the excuse and confidence to sign up for races, then buy it and race!
So the final question is, after 2 years of ownership, would I do it all again? I think the answer is yes. The AXS derailleur and shifter have been flawless, the XT brakes have been impeccable, and the entire bicycle including the wheels are still alive and well. It’s seen a few race crashes but never suffered a mechanical while on the race course. Look at the variety of race events I’ve had the pleasure of participating in. The Scale took me through the Red Bull Bay Climb, Mt. Diablo Hillclimb, and the Sea Otter Classic.
Updated 2-20-2023