Watch the ground smoulder when I'm on my Boulder! (Scott Boulder)

Member Name: Wease

Product:	Scott Boulder
Date:	16/02/02 (1884 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Durable, tonnes of gears, just a fab bike

Disadvantages: No free SPD's

As you may know, some nasty little scoundrel – I suspect the man down the corridor with the glasses like jam-jars... – stole my last little baby mountain bike a few weeks ago. I’m a sports science student and a sport fanatic. As well as needing a bike for triathlon I also like to travel everywhere and anywhere on my bike (although the bike joins me on the train for those longer journeys). Without my bike I was lost so it called for drastic action. I scoured the best bike mag in the UK – MTB, which retails for a few squid in all good newsagents – but sadly nothing caught my eye. Later that night I was out on the razz and whilst travelling from pub to pub I happened to pass a bike shop... and behold I noticed the... Scott Boulder!!!

I’ve always been a fan of products from Scott USA, it started when I was little and I had some ski poles and goggles from the company. Anyone’s who has read my profile closely (although not too closely – I have enough stalkers at the mo thank you very much Mr Chumbly Warner!) will know that my surname is Scott. Being young and impressionable I thought it was kind of cool I had this great big sexy company named after me... honestly I’m positive twas moi who inspired them! On top of that everything I’ve had from them has been brilliantly designed and long-lasting. As expected I am proud to say that the Boulder has met and exceeded my expectations!


****General Look****
The Boulder comes in two striking designs – the first is the one I have, a burst of dark grey, blue, silver, white and a little bit of red, which is shown on the dooyoo photo (double-click for a closer look at my wee love child), the second is only available in France and a few other European countries. The blue is replaced with silver for a sleeker chrome look, but apart from that they are the same.

The traditional triangular male/uni-sex frame is used. The front fork is shoc
k-absorbing (more about that later), but the seat tube is once again traditional without a shock absorber. The bike really does look quite impressive and sexy.

On the bottom of the seat tube there is a place for a bottle holder and there is another half way up the lower tuber. I’m torn between buying red ones to compliment the blue bits and the red tyres or silver ones for that sleeker look.

Oh yes how could I forget, at the very front under the handlebars there is a lovely little Scott USA badge, tres fetching!


****Handlebars****
The default handlebars are the Scott Strike Comp 1 P.G low-rise 600mm. They are black and the sort that dip slightly in the middle. They have a really nice feel to them and the set width makes handling the bike very easy. The hand-grips are really nice too. They are black with Scott USA written in grey. They are textured for better grip although the written bits are quite hard and sometimes make my hands ache a little. The rest of the grip is made of cute little hexagons which are all soft and squidgy and i love ‘em!

Unlike my old bike the Boulder didn’t come with bull bars (the little sticky up bits that were really popular on handlebars a few years ago). I don’t really miss them though! If you’re a bull bar fan though your local cycle shop will be able to provide you with a pair for under a tenner.


****Frame****
The official name for the frame is the Scott Bi-Axial Alloy 7005 Liteflite D.B. Scott Disc D/out. Let’s brake (ooh the spelling mistake irony... hmm I’ll leave it just for a giggle) that down into a language us hoy-poloy would understand!

Scott – The manufacturers name!

Bi-Axial – Well one would assume this means that it involves two axes, and indeed it does. This adds strength to the tubes. It also gives them a kind of strange triangular shape. I wasn’t a fan of the new look tube to start
with but it really has grown on me now!

Alloy – Meaning it’s made from a mixture of metals.

7005 – The model number.

Liteflite – Meaning it’s ultra light in weight.

D.B. – Ok, I don’t know this bit! Sorry guys.

Scott Disc D/out – errrrrrrrrrr me thinks unfortunately this is manufacturer mumbo jumbo that probably doesn’t mean anything but beefs up the description?

Ok so basically, what we have is an extra strong, ultra light, pretty looking frame!

P.S. Please don’t forget to record the frame number of your bike (situated at the underside of the seat tube) just in case some little toe-rag does get their filthy mits on your beast!


***Frame Size***
This is an important factor as it allows you to ride more comfortably and efficiently, with more power, and less effort! The frame size is actually the measurement of the seat tube – from the middle of the “crankset” (this is the bit that the pedals arms are attached to) at the bottom centre of the bike, upward to the top of the seat tube).

Don’t worry frame size will not affect the price of your bike (we’re not buying trainers in JJB you know!). Bigger frames don’t cost more, smaller ones don’t cost less, what is important is just to have the right size. A bike which is too large can be dangerous – difficult to ride, start stop, get on and off from!

My little beasty baby is a 17.5 inch frame, I’m normally more comfortable with a 16 but there were none left. Scott normally makes models in 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18, 18.5 frames and occasionally larger sizes.

Here’s a few quick tips to finding the right frame size: -

A) Stand straddling the bike and lift it up until the cross-bar is nearly touching your crotch (not in the least erotic trust me). The bottom of the bikes tyres should be between 1-
2 inches above the ground if you wish to use the bike on the road or 3-6 inches if you wish to use the bike off-road.

B) Subtract 9 inches from your inseam measurement (from floor to crotch – without shoes on!). This is not particularly accurate but can give you a rough idea!

Of course these are just guides, it’s the feel that matters!

To ensure a 17.5 was ok for me I nipped over to Halford’s under the pretence that I was going to buy one of their rather more poopey Raleigh models and tried a few out. This experience actually proved to me that my theory Halford’s that really is not the place to buy a bike was correct... the first assistant laughed when I asked for a 17.5 inch frame and assured me that bikes don’t come in half sizes... his little chum then chirruped in that they did and proceeded to get out tonnes of bikes for (bless his cotton socks). However, he too proved to be a bit of a bike ignoramus in the end when he told me that I should be able to place both feet flat on the floor when sat on the saddle. Considering that when sat on the saddle with your foot on the pedal at its lowest point (6 o’clock position) your leg should only be slightly bent - at an angle of 25° to 30° - (to avoid excess force being placed on the knee, which can lead to injury) I firmly doubt I would be able to place both feet flat on the floor!

Seriously guys if you are looking for a new bike I would strongly recommend you visit a specialist bike shop. The extra expense will be worth it because you will be able to sleep at night in the knowledge you’ve been given the best advice and been recommended the best model for your needs, plus you’ve helped a small business (keep the big boys out I say!).


****Fork****
The default fork for this bike is the RockShox Judy TT, which itself is a great shock absorbing fork worth well over £100.The Judy was the best fork to have a few years back
and it’s still a beauty to ride with. If your unfamiliar with bikes then a shock absorbing fork comes in to parts rather than the traditional single bar fork. The top half slides inside the bottom part to take the impact the bumps e.g. when you go over a bump the top part compresses into the bottom part (cushioned by a rubber seal). The amount of absorption available can be lessened or increased by tightening a small valve at the top. The travel (the maximum distance the fork will move on impact) is 80mm which is very good.

The fork is white with RockShox Judy written in red and black. Weighing in at 2.06kg it is a rather heavy part of the bike, but it’s still much lighter than a more traditional fork.

N.B. If you have bought a JudyTT 2001 please take it to your local dealer ASAP. There has been a huge recall as the compression rods in over 220,000 models are suspected of being incomplete, which when ridden could break and cause the rider to crash. Hearing this surprised me greatly, please don’t let it put you off buying RockShox products as they are usually very reliable and truly deserve their place as market leaders.

P.S. Have a look at RockShox.com for more info and a lovely little story about how it all began way back in ’87.


****Gears****
This is a 27 speed bike ... so in the words of Nelson – haaaaaa haaaaaaa nanny poo-kins (who doesn’t believe me and says “In my day we didn’t have any gears” every single time I see her!). There are 3 cogs at the front deore and 9 at the back. Both are Shimano and run marvellously (and I pamper to them frequently with my can of WD40). The changeover both up and down is smooth and having 27 of the beauties makes big hills (even those bloomin’ mountains pretending to be hills in Wales) are a breeze.


****Gear Shifters****
Once again these are made by Shimano (the LX model) and are not grip-shift but the o
nes I love... you know those ickle ones that sit under the handlebars meaning you barely have to move to change them. There is a gear indicator – a clear tube with a red line that moves to indicate the gears your using. It’s not numbered but it’s still pretty easy to tell which gear you’re in!


****Brakes****
The Boulder uses the Scott Comp V-Brake model. I have to admit I’m not a brake expert, but they work very nicely! I can tell you that the V-Brake system involves a long cantilever arm with a side-arm. The side-arm makes it much easier to brake – less leverage is required. To get an idea of what I mean consider the doors in McDonald’s, if you push the door (once you’ve worked out when to push and when to pull – well, I always get confused by those darn doors!) at the hinge side it is much harder than pushing at the side with the handle. Well, the V-brakes effectively work at the handle side, opposed to traditional rakes which work by the hinge. There is also no straddle cable – little cable that used to run above old brakes. This means it’s easier to position the pads.

The brake levers on the handlebars are small and a matt silver, which looks very cool. They are the lovely small breaks perfect for three fingers (I have small fingers) and easier to use then traditional fully-fisted (not in a dirty way you young scamp!) brakes.


****Pedals****
The default model is the LU-998-S alloy. To me a pedal is a pedal, they’re a nice smallish size, metal (as the allow in the name suggests) with a little reflector on each side. Very strong and durable in my experience! Unfortunately the bike arrived without SPD’s (toe-clips) unlike my last bike... luckily I only use them on the right side so I had one left over form last time and popped that on there.


****Crankset****
This is that wonderful bit that the pedal arms are attached to... it&
#8217;s black and the model is the Race Face Prodigy.


****Saddle****
A lovely saddle perfect for the either male or female rider. Females may find something a little wider (such as a gel saddle) comfier but I’m fine with this one. You can see it is geared towards men as the back is split. This allows their “bits” to sit properly, which is very important because in recent years connections have been suggested between prolonged riding and testicular cancer (that’s men only obviously). Looks wise the Scott Performance saddles is fab, a blue trim with Scott USA written in the usual, blue, white and red logo and a black centre.


****Seatpost****
It’s black and yup it’s the Scott comp.


****Stem****
The bike features the Scott Team D. Clamp, 1-1/8" 10° rise model once again in black, what more can one say?


****Tyres****
Lovely, lovely tyres, the IRC Notos XC 26 x 2.1 is featured. This is a very popular tyre at the moment, it’s er black and very durable with a red inside trim which looks kewl.


****Spokes****
15 gram, made from stainless steel, and yeh you guessed it... they’re black!


****Rim****
The rims are the Alesa ZAC-19 Alloy Black D-Wall-UP.


****Ridability****
Weighing in a mere 12.60kg this is one of the lightest mountain bikes of recent years. I like a light bike as I’m not particularly strong (all my muscle is in my legs surprisingly lol) or tall and I do take my baby everywhere with me and I frequently have to lift it to manoeuvre into a parking space or onto a train. This lightness also makes it a pleasure to ride (and do a few tricks on hehe). When using the bike off-road, mainly when training or in a triathlon a lighter bike is much easier to take up a hill and ride when on a bumpy and tricky course!

I find it very comfortable and I had no problem in rearranging the sa
ddle and pedals to suit my taste and style. It’s incredibly smooth and rides easily over lumps and bumps. The 27 gears make it easy to rack up a fair old pace and make hills – both going up and coming down – an absolute dream. All in all an angel to ride!


****Price****
I bought my bike in a sale in January 2002. It was in the sale as it is a 2001 model and the 2002 range is about to be introduced (although I doubt there will be too many differences which aren’t superficial!). It was originally priced at £649 but I picked it up at £449. The shop I purchased it from built it for me, but I have built a bike form Scott in the past and it wasn’t too much of a struggle, everything was clearly labelled and the instructions were easy to follow. For the bike I got I think I spent my money very well. My I’d had my last bike 2 years and 1 week exactly before some $*”^&* nicked it! It was in excellent condition... yes I did love it but I also gave it one hell of a ragging too! I can easily see myself still using this baby in 10 years to come because Scott products really do age well! If I ever buy a new bike it will be for the technological advances (or if some %^T&( nicks this one... but they will have to get through about 18901289379832873287832748327 locks to do so this time!).

****Suitability****
I bought this bike as a runabout, something that could get me from a to b in a certain amount of style and comfort. The Boulder makes a good road bike that is suitable for the off-road trips as well. As I mentioned before the front fork has a shock absorber, which adds to the comfort and ridability, but the seat tube is traditional without added shock-absorption. I personally detest a rear shock absorber because I find no matter how hard I make the absorber I still spend more time bouncing up and down than going anywhere!

I also occasionally use my bike for triathlons. This includes both road and off-
road races. The bike takes everything I throw at it and put it through in its stride, it copes with roads, humps, bumps and even the occasional rock!

If you cycle a fair few miles to work or cycle on a regular basis whether for fitness or as your main mode of transport then I would recommend this cycle. Scott products are hard-wearing and long-lasting. My bike is very comfortable and I have no issues with it at all. In my opinion the slightly higher price guarantees you a lot of quality and the bike certainly performs the job it was bought to do!

There are not many of the 2001 models left in shops at the moment. As I said before I got mine in the sale, this was at Hargroves Cycles in Winchester – www.hargrovescycles.co.uk – and they still have a few 17.5”, and 18” left, but if you fancy one you’d best get your skates on! If you miss this years model, not to fear the 2002 model should be available soon.

If you want a superior ride, I beg you not to overlook this wee beauty!

Summary: