Scott Contessa 15 - Will I take this bike as my lawful wedded mate?

MB Lacey

I'm thinking of buying this bike, possibly this week, so if anyone has any opinions for or against, please speak now or forever hold your peace.
I'm nervous about parting with the cash and finally settling on the one bike.

I'll be using it for commuting and hopefully long (70k ish) cycles, no intentions of racing - comfort is priority.

Full specs here:

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/221775/contessa-speedster-15/

I was aiming to have a 11/28 cassette, but I think a 12/30 will be fine?
I'm not hugely fit and imagine the 12/30 might make inclines a doddle.

Thanks.

kuro_man

Its an excellent bike.

Whether is a good buy for you depends on fit and price.
If comfort is a priority, fit is more than important than anything.

A carbon fibre bike may more comfortable too.

MB Lacey

Thanks Kuro man, I should have mentioned that I cycled the bike at the wknd for about 15 mins and it cycled well, bike seemed like a good fit.
The lbs I'm getting it from will set it up properly for me once I've bought it, plus I'm able to keep going back to them for re-adjustments.
It's €1400 in lbs, €1000 paid via ctw scheme, rest by me.

g0g

Boards colours - surprised it's not a uni-sex model! :pac:

My only advice is add pedals

MB Lacey

g0g wrote: »

Boards colours - surprised it's not a uni-sex model! :pac:

My only advice is add pedals

Thanks, I have shimano m424 pedals in mind

g0g

MB Lacey wrote: »

Thanks, I have shimano m424 pedals in mind

If M424 = SPD then what I'd say is I recently switched from SPD to SPD-SL and find them a lot more comfortable if you're going to be on the bike for quite a while on longer spins. Good luck with the new bike!

MB Lacey

g0g wrote: »

If M424 = SPD then what I'd say is I recently switched from SPD to SPD-SL and find them a lot more comfortable if you're going to be on the bike for quite a while on longer spins. Good luck with the new bike!

Thanks gog, what makes the spd - sl's more comfortable?

smacl

Lovely bike, and as g0g says, you really need to add a boards jersey to complete the look. As for pedals, I find the m242s plenty comfy on long spins, and they have the advantages that they work fine as a flat pedal if you're not wearing cycling shoes, and the recessed cleats mean you can still walk normally enough if you are wearing MTB cycling shoes. AFAIK, the main advantage of SDP-SLs is better power transfer / higher efficiency which is certainly desirable on long spins where the other factors are not an issue.

MB Lacey

thanks smacl, I've seen from your posts on here that you cycle quite long routes, which is hopefully what I'll be doing too, so it's good to hear you think this is a suitable bike which will be comfortable.
Apparently a sloping top bar makes for a more comfortable / less aggressive cycle, so the guy in the lbs said anyway, and though he did seem sincere, when someone's trying to sell you something you can never completely know if they're just saying what you want them to hear.

Thanks for m424 pedal knowledge too.

michael196

contessa is the ladies range from Scott

kuro_man

http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p28522_XT-Plattform--Klickpedale-PD-T780-Modell-2012-.html

wife uses these, nice pedals, flat on one side
SPD is great for commuting; you can walk in the shoes. A road shoe is best for longer distance but its marginal

€1400 is pricey, you can get carbon fibre for that. Boardman (Halfords) Carbon is about that price.

Caroline_ie

g0g wrote: »

Boards colours - surprised it's not a uni-sex model! :pac:

I'vee seen around and it I am pretty sure this is purple and black, not pink.

Nice bike. I certainly wouldn't commute on it.

MB Lacey

kuro_man wrote: »

http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p28522_XT-Plattform--Klickpedale-PD-T780-Modell-2012-.html

wife uses these, nice pedals, flat on one side
SPD is great for commuting; you can walk in the shoes. A road shoe is best for longer distance but its marginal

€1400 is pricey, you can get carbon fibre for that. Boardman (Halfords) Carbon is about that price.

I like the idea of flat on both sides so there's no messing around seeting off at lights etc.
I just looked at those boardman carbons - they're €1600 which I'm not prepared to pay on a bike - €1400 is pushing it as is, thanks though.

MB Lacey

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't commute on it.

why do you say that?

Darkglasses

MB Lacey wrote: »

why do you say that?

Too nice! If I owned it I would only be using it for long spins and mostly only on nice days. Since commuting bikes normally get used in winter and every day, they suffer a lot more wear and tear. Some people do set aside a less "nice" bike for commuting, some don't!

But of course, it's your decision! If you're happy to use a really nice bike like that for commuting, there's no problem at all.

kuro_man

MB Lacey wrote: »

I like the idea of flat on both sides so there's no messing around seeting off at lights etc.
I just looked at those boardman carbons - they're €1600 which I'm not prepared to pay on a bike - €1400 is pushing it as is, thanks though.

If you know someone with AXA car insurance, you can get 15% off
they seem to be out of stock anyway

MB Lacey

Darkglasses wrote: »

Too nice! If I owned it I would only be using it for long spins and mostly only on nice days. Since commuting bikes normally get used in winter and every day, they suffer a lot more wear and tear. Some people do set aside a less "nice" bike for commuting, some don't!

But of course, it's your decision! If you're happy to use a really nice bike like that for commuting, there's no problem at all.

Ah right, I see what you mean. I commute on a hybrid now and will probably continue so for a while, I'll see how I feel once I've got the bike, but my intention is to use it for everything, everyday for years to come and get enjoyment from it that way.

Caroline_ie

MB Lacey wrote: »

why do you say that?

Yeah it's too nice. I would not be confortable locking it anywhere. Unless you can take in with you indoors. Depends what kind of work you do really. Even safe parking are risquy. One of my friend got her nice bianchi stolen in the secure car park of her office. I would still use my hybrid to go to work personally. Keep the Scott for the leisure spins.

jesus_thats_gre

I have the Speedster S25 about two months now after having a Trek 1.2 and am absolutely delighted with it.

MB Lacey

glad you're enjoying you're speedster 25!!
Thanks for all opinions everyone, much appreciated.
I put the deposit down last night and filled in the ctw things today.
Here's hoping I fall in love with my contessa pdq before some new fancy 2013 thing arrives on the scene making me regret my decision!

MB Lacey

Hey folks, just wanted to say that I got my scott on friday night and set off for a cycle on saturday and managed 82km no problems!
I couldn't believe the difference between effort needed to cycle a racer compared to my hybrid.
Did a lap of phoenix park, down strawberry beds, ended up in Lucan, spotted and asked 3 very helpful cyclists (who were havin a cuppa outside a cafe) advice on where else to go, they suggested newcastle to celbridge and back again, which was perfect, roads were flat, not much traffic, great lunch in castltown house in celbridge then cycled home, with a detour to rathcoole cos I missed my turn for newcastle.
The bike was a dream to cycle, felt like we were getting to know each other, no pains anywhere- well, pain across shoulders and neck by 60k, but thats from getting used to new cycling position (I hope). No numb bum (I had bought some padded altura tights), no little niggles, very happy.
Got some gp4000s fitted in the end as they didnt have the 4seasons in stock.
Thanks loads to everyone for all the invaluable help and advice which really shaped what I looked for in my first road bike.

StaggerLee

Hey congrats on the new bike. I just got a ridley, looks very similar to your Scott - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81121682


I pick it up this week. I'm not going to use it for commuting for a while, I have Giant rapid with loads of life left in it.

I see you changed your tyres, was that based on advice from the LBS? I was thinking of doing the same, not sure how duranle the continental ultra sport are going to be. I'm worried about constant puncturing.

smacl

Anyone else thinking of Deckard, Daryl Hannah and small pieces of origami when parking their Ridley beside a Scott?

StaggerLee

smacl wrote: »

Anyone else thinking of Deckard, Daryl Hannah and small pieces of origami when parking their Ridley beside a Scott?

I see what you did there..

MB Lacey

StaggerLee wrote: »

Hey congrats on the new bike. I just got a ridley, looks very similar to your Scott - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81121682


I pick it up this week. I'm not going to use it for commuting for a while, I have Giant rapid with loads of life left in it.

I see you changed your tyres, was that based on advice from the LBS? I was thinking of doing the same, not sure how duranle the continental ultra sport are going to be. I'm worried about constant puncturing.

No it was based from advice on here!
Cycled over plenty of glass in the gp4000s tyres on saturday (not on purpose) and no punctures.
It wasn't raining so I can't give personal experience on their grip, but lots of people on here said they're good in the rain.
The tyres cost me an extra €100, but I hopefully wont need to change them for a few years.
If you do get new tyres fitted by your lbs, make sure you also either take home the tyres that originally came with your bike (someone else you know might fancy some new tyres for free), or you get money taken off the new tyres if the lbs want to keep the original ones.

Enjoy your new ridley, it looks sweet. I commuted in on my specialised this morning, want to keep the scott 'new' for a for more weeks yet

I'm afraid I dont get the oragami reference, but am assuming its a scott ridley thing.

manwithaplan

MB Lacey wrote: »

The tyres cost me an extra €100, but I hopefully wont need to change them for a few years.

Enjoy the new bike. Unfortunately if you are to use it enough to enjoy it, you won't get a few years out of them. Even at relatively modest use - say 100k per week - you would do well to get more than 9 months out of them. That would be considered pretty good going for a high performance tyre like the GP4000S. So as not to be exclusively the bearer of bad news, I can also tell you that you can get them for around €50 a pair on German websites. Actually maybe that's not good news - sorry! They are lovely tyres though - I have them on my good bike.

€100 fitted is probably pretty much the going rate in an LBS but I hope they gave you the other tyres as well.

StaggerLee

Which German websites?? Might buy a pair to replace the Ultra Sports.

Paul Kiernan

StaggerLee wrote: »

Which German websites?? Might buy a pair to replace the Ultra Sports.

Have a read of this -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056770726

StaggerLee

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Have a read of this -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056770726

Thanks for that, 25-622 mm is the same as 700x25 right?

Another newbie question, whould I be getting a clincher or folding Tyre. The tyres will be for either fulcrum 7 or Giant Sport Road Double Wall wheels

Paul Kiernan

StaggerLee wrote: »

Thanks for that, 25-622 mm is the same as 700x25 right?

Yes.

manwithaplan

Doesn't really matter whether you go for folding or non-folding tyres, except possibly for cost of delivery. Just make sure you go for clinchers rather than tubular tyres.

Lumen

manwithaplan wrote: »

Doesn't really matter whether you go for folding or non-folding tyres, except possibly for cost of delivery. Just make sure you go for clinchers rather than tubular tyres.

Folding are lighter and more expensive as they use Kevlar rather than steel bead. Weight difference is about 70g per tyre.

Whether that weight "matters" is entirely subjective.

Paul Kiernan

To complicate things further, most manufacturers supply the same tyres in both folding and non-folding (see Lumen's link above) so you need to be careful what you're ordering.

For example Bike24 have the better, more expensive folding Grand Prixs for €14.95 and the lesser, cheaper, non-folding version for €20.90!

Rose on the other hand, don't even specify whether this is folding or non-folding. It's non-folding!

manwithaplan

Lumen wrote: »

Folding are lighter and more expensive as they use Kevlar rather than steel bead. Weight difference is about 70g per tyre.

True - I thought I was answering a "what type of tyre do my wheels take" question as he seemed to believe that clinchers and folding tyres were mutually exclusive.

morana

MB Lacey wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying this bike, possibly this week, so if anyone has any opinions for or against, please speak now or forever hold your peace.
I'm nervous about parting with the cash and finally settling on the one bike.

I'll be using it for commuting and hopefully long (70k ish) cycles, no intentions of racing - comfort is priority.

Full specs here:

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/221775/contessa-speedster-15/

I was aiming to have a 11/28 cassette, but I think a 12/30 will be fine?
I'm not hugely fit and imagine the 12/30 might make inclines a doddle.

Thanks.

Lovely bike. When you have the bike consider joining cycling ireland and enjoy all the perks of membership and have the comfort of knowing you are insured both home and abroad when cycle training. Get discounted entry into many popular sportifs!. Join one of our super clubs who will assist you in getting the max from your beautiful new partner! A bit of shameless plugging there i know!

mel.b

Probably jumping onto this thread a bit late but I have the Scott Contessa 25 2012 and I love it They are a lovely bike