Eddy Merckx aims at women, Scott shows off new urban range
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Scott is hoping its more colorful Sportster and Sub urban bike lines will appeal to the more style-conscious commuter.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The rigid quick-attach fenders feature a stiff extruded aluminum spine to which users can attach a rack, bag, or basket.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The fenders are color coordinated, too.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Scott is also continuing to devote some of its efforts to the multisport arena, including these intriguing T2 shoes with a rear-entry layout designed to speed transition times.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The women's-specific AFX-4 features a scandium tubeset, carbon stays and a tapered front end.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Eddy Merckx's classic scandium-tubed alloy frame thankfully continues on into 2010.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The 1 1/4" lower headset bearing increases steering precision and braking feel but present a sleeker look than 1 1/2" bearings.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Carbon stays help smooth out road imperfections.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Eddy Merckx's clothing line features decidedly understated colors and styles.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The extra ribbing around the head tube is designed to improve front-end stiffness.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The EFX-1 is Eddy Merckx's top women's-specific road model with a a carbon frame and fork plus a tapered front end.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Eddy Merckx is also offering a limited edition of its EMX-1 complete with a Shimano Ultegra group and FFWD carbon-aluminum clinchers.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The wavy fork on the EMX-5 recalls the styling on Pinarello's Onda unit.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The curvy edges carry through to the rear end, too.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The Eddy Merckx EMX-5 flagship uses the company's highest grade of carbon fiber and a tapered front end.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Scott's 2010 Contessa line now features a white, green and blue color scheme.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Scott has redesigned much of its shoe line for 2010.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
The Team Issue mountain bike shoe gets a new carbon plate and co-molded lugged outsole.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
A new carbon sole plate is added to the Team Issue road shoe, too.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
A gaping vent in the sole looks well placed to scoop up cooling air.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Scott's top-end Spark RC frame is mostly carryover for 2010(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
…save for the larger-diameter seat tube and new BB30 bottom bracket shell.(Image credit: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com)
Eddy Merckx is launching a new complete line of women's road racing bikes for the first time in 2010 including both carbon fiber and aluminum models.
The top-end EFX-1 features the same carbon technology as on the rest of Eddy Merckx's E-series frames, including newly reshaped seat stays that reportedly offer more comfort and drivetrain rigidity, tapered 1 1/8"-to-1 1/4" front ends with additionally reinforced head tubes, and the Belgian legend's trademark handling characteristics. Geometry has been slightly adjusted for shorter torsos, however, with correspondingly shorter and sloping top tubes plus longer head tubes.
Alloy models also feature tapered front ends, carbon seat stays for vibration damping, and smooth welds for a unified appearance. The AFX-4 uses Eddy Merckx's proven scandium-enhanced aluminum tubeset while the AFX-1 gets along with a more conventional 7005 alloy.
Both the EFX-1 and a new standard-geometry EMX-1 will be available in special edition complete builds, too, the former in a light blue and white paint scheme and the latter in a particularly bold green and white. Both will come with a Shimano Ultegra group and FFWD carbon-and-aluminum differential profile clinchers.
New urban bikes, footwear from Scott
Scott is best known for its comprehensive range of ultralight-and-stiff carbon race machines but its 2010 range of urban bikes demonstrates the company's prowess in the utilitarian realm as well.
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In keeping with its competitive roots, Scott's Sportster and Sub lines are notably more colorful than many of the urban bikes currently on the market. According to Scott USA general manager Scott Montgomery, drab monochromatic color schemes are all well and good considering the workmanlike nature of the genre but commuting and running errands by bike should still be fun and he hopes the brighter look will reflect that ideal.
In addition, Scott also aims to get users to their destinations quickly, too, with both bikes featuring lightweight 2000- and 6000-series shaped and/or hydroformed aluminum tubing plus relatively sleek lines and speedy 700c wheels across the board.
Optional accessories enhance the usability, too. Purpose-built and easily attached fenders feature a rigid extruded aluminum spine to which users can attach a dedicated basket, rear rack, or bag. Load capacity is officially rated to 10kg (22lb), enough to accommodate most runs to the grocery store.
Scott has also revamped its footwear line for 2010 with an all-new carbon fiber road plate and redesigned uppers. The top-end Limited shoe continues with its zone-adjustable Boa lacing system while the new Team Issue models use a heavier dose of mesh than before plus generously sized sole vents on the road version.
Upper-end frames are mostly carryover – not exactly a bad thing in this case – save for one notable exception: the cross-country Spark now gets a BB30 bottom bracket plus a larger seat tube diameter for added drivetrain rigidity.
