New Scott F01 at the Tour de France

Jul 10th, 10. Scott and HTC Columbia have come to the 2010 Tour de France with a new machine, the F01. With two sprint victories so far, the F01 is proving to be as fast as expected.

Cavendish's winning Scott F01 ©TDWSport.com

Team HTC Columbia turned up to this year's Tour with a new Scott frame named the F01. 

The F01 is the result of a joint effort between Scott and HTC Columbia to create an all new bike.

Bob Stapleton, HTC Columbia owner, said he challenged Scott to, "Give us a product that was superior aerodynamically, has the stiffness and has the ability to transfer the power from the riders into the pedals, and to not compromise on weight."

"Three tough goals, and they were able to accomplish them all," said Stapleton when he showed off the bike for the first time at the team's pre-Tour press conference.

At that same conference Mark Cavendish said he had high expectations of the bike, calling it the perfect sprinting bike.  With two sprint wins now under his belt, he no doubt has even more to say about the F01 now.

"It's incredible you know. We have tested it out and it's always going to be a big compromise - if you want to get aerodynamics you might compromise with rigidity.  I give all my suppliers a lot of shit about making everything as stiff as possible and Scott have certainly made it aerodynamic and stiff. It's the perfect bike for sprinting on really," said Cavendish.

Project Goals

Testing in the Mercedes wind tunnel ©Scott

Scott have other frames which are focused on being lightweight or aerodynamic, but not both.

The Addict is one of the lightest bikes available. The Plasma is their aerodynamic machine.

The goal of the F01 project was to take the best from each of these frames and combine them to create an all new model.

The key project targets Scott started with were:

• achieve aerodynamic performance with a light and stiff profile
• reduce overall drag of a rider plus bike at 45km/h by 20 watts between 0-20 degree crosswinds
• build a frame with stiffness comparable to the Addict with only 5% increase in weight
• have the frame validated in the 2010 Tour de France

Taking the best features of the Addict and the Plasma, and after months of wind tunnel testing in the Mercedes Benz wind tunnel, the same one used for Formula One testing, the Scott F01 was born.

Outcome

Wind tunnel tests from the tube profiles ©Scott Sports

For the F01, Scott have designed a completely new profile for the tubes.

Using computer technologies they modeled these profiles for aerodynamic efficiency and, while the F01 is not as clean as the Plasma, the new profile meets the goal to be aerodynamic, and also provides a stiff and light platform for the frame.

Scott claim this new profile saves 20 watts effort when compared to other manufacturers aerodynamic road frames.

When the drag on a road bike represents a loss of 20% of the rider's power output, gaining 20 watts is a significant improvement.  Testing of the F01 showed an overall gain of 5% on the flat - a valuable improvement in a sprint finish.

The weight of the F01 was also a key goal of Scott. They desired to get close to the light weight of the Addict range. They achieved this with the F01 having a reported frame weight of 840 grams, just 5% heavier than the Addict. This ensures Scott maintains its position as one of the lightest frames in the peloton.

The weight with frame, fork, seat post and clamp, is 1277 grams, which Scott say is lighter than many of the competitor frames. 

The Scott F01 utilises the proven Integrated Moulding Process (IMP) which Scott has perfected over the last few years. This process allows a more precise carbon structure on the complex shapes, with the specific layup allowing tuning of each of the critical areas to reach the required rigidity and desired comfort.

Additional features of the F01 include Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-compatible internal cable routing, a proprietary 3:2 profile carbon post with a Ritchey 1 Bolt head and neatly integrated binder mechanism, PF-BB86 press-fit bottom bracket cups, carbon dropouts, and an all new carbon fork with a tapered 1 1/8"-to-1 1/4" steerer tube.

New 3:2 profile seatpost and Richey 1-bolt head with integrated post holder ©Scott Sports

Integrated cable stops on the tapered 1 1/8"-to-1 1/4" steerer tube ©Scott Sports

Scott claim this is the first truly aero road bike, making the F01 the most versitile road bike for the majority of race situations.

Unfortunately,  New Zealand Scott distributor Sheppard Industries say there are no plans for the Scott F01 to be made available commercially.  

"This frame is exclusive to Team HTC Columbia at this stage,"  a spokesperson told RoadCycling.co.nz