This may sound a little crazy but as July approached, the Tweeks Cycles team were already getting excited by the prospect of the 2020 bike launches that would be taking place throughout the month of July. Yes, a full 5 months before the turn of the following year!
A favourite on the team calendar is the Scott Sports bike launch, previously held in Lenzerheide, Switzerland; venue of the penultimate mountain bike world cup series for 2019. It was all change for this year, though, with the launch taking place at the all-new 60 million Swiss Franc Scott development in Fribourg, Switzerland.
After a couple of early morning flights via Belgium, we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, excited at the prospect of what lay ahead over the next few days (we won’t bore you with the lost baggage!). As we approached Givisiez just outside Fribourg we were greeted by the stunning new facility so for those working in a slightly less glamorous environment, it might be best to look away or scroll down quickly now!
A visit to the new Scott HQ
Three years in the making, this enormous state of the art 7 floor facility certainly carried the wow factor. Inside was equally impressive with showroom space for all divisions of Scott – Bike, Winter, Moto and Running; plus 50 meeting rooms, auditorium, bike garage and an on-site restaurant, giving you an idea of just how big this place really is!
After a tour of the facility, we retired to get some rest before a packed day two.
Now the fun begins: seeing and testing the new Scott bikes
The morning was spent taking in the new range of Scott bikes, with the new headquarters packed to the rafters with 2020 model year bikes ranging from Tour de France winning Scott Addict RC models to the all-new Scott Gambler downhill machines and the stunning range of kids Scott Roxter’s for the future pro’s!
There was certainly a lot to take in, but a very productive morning of range planning which will allow us to have a compelling bike offer of new model bikes as early as September this year and you can view the new range as it is added to the site here.
Scott being Scott though were not content with producing just a stunning range of mechanical bikes for 2020. Their electric bike range continues to grow and now contains almost as many bikes at the standard range. Everything from step-through leisure e-bikes right through to the all-new carbon e-ride Genius full suspension bike. Love them or hate them, there is certainly a place for electric bikes, and they are here to stay. We may be somewhat behind our counterparts on the continent in our acceptance of electric bikes but their popularity in the UK is definitely on the rise.
After a welcome lunch break, the afternoon was spent testing some of the 2020 range. We headed to the bicycle garage where we were met with a range of literally hundreds of Scott bikes to choose from. As Simon Yates of the Michelton-Scott pro team had just won a stage of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees that day, it felt only right that we headed out on the bike he won the stage on the Addict RC Ultimate, (all £10,799 of it!)
The roads around Fribourg were quiet in terms of traffic and we were soon into our stride on the Sram RED eTap AXS-equipped Addict. Lightweight and super-fast we were simply blown away by this flagship model from the new Scott road bike range.
As day two ended we were eager for more of the same from the final day.
Ending the trip on a high
Day three brought another early start and some more time in the Scott showroom mulling over the range and planning for 2020. The range looks really sharp with some well spec’d bikes and exciting colourways that will offer fantastic value. Take it from us: this is one of the most exciting ranges of bikes from Scott in many a year.
To end the trip on a high, we had some free time to squeeze in another bike ride. As we had tackled the roads on the previous day, (and with a forest within a stone through of the new premises), we thought what better bike to test out then the new Scott Addict Gravel 10, especially with the explosion of gravel and adventure riding in the past few years it was a great opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.
Off we headed on the new Scott Addict Gravel 10 equipped with the new Shimano GRX R810 Di2 group which was also exciting to be testing. The bike was really responsive and rolled so smoothly on the 35c Schwalbe tyres on the tarmac as we approached the forest. Once in the forest, we were so impressed with the handling of this bike on the harsher terrain; absorbing all we threw at it from loose rocky climbs to flowing single-track descents.
The Shimano groupset as you would expect performed without fault providing positive and smooth gear shifting! The bike and the surroundings certainly left us with a huge grin on our faces and made us realise how the gravel scene has become so popular. I can definitely say it won’t be my last adventure on a gravel bike.
As we rolled back into Scott HQ, that brought the UK Scott dealer event to an end for another year. A fantastic trip that we feel genuinely privileged to be a part of, the visit offers a great insight into the huge amount of work, dedication and effort that goes into producing such a comprehensive range of top class bikes and we are proud to be part of the Scott dealer network that will service the UK for the coming season. A brand that defiantly stands by its motto: #NoShortcuts.