It’s light, it’s svelte, and it’s sitting in RCUK’s bike shed just begging to be ridden. But all in good time… Scott’s Addict is one of those bikes that deserves to be set up properly for a road test, if only to ensure that the anticipated superlatively stiff and responsive ride is not to be spoilt by some minor shortcoming on the fit front.

That is not going to happen: the extended seat tower has been cut to length, the saddle nicely placed on the integrated saddle clamp and a 10mm longer Ritchey WCS carbon 4-Axis stem installed on the freshly-trimmed fork steerer tube. Details of the seat tower trim will follow with the First Ride.

For now, let’s just say that the Addict is claimed to be the lightest production frame there is, and that it achieves its unquestionably impressive lack of mass partly through the use of carbon fibre for parts such as the dropouts and cable stops and partly through a rethink of the way the whole frame is constructed. It’s a combination of CR1 and IMP technology, if you must know… The decorative outer layer of woven twill seen on the preceding CR1 is no more, leaving the unidirectional carbon to be viewed under its protective gloss lacquer coat.

RCUK’s example is the R2 model, which runs Shimano’s Dura-Ace groupset and, in this case, compact crankset alongside the Mavic Ksyrium Premium wheelset and Hutchinson Fusion 2 rubber. The Shimano Hollowtech II bottom bracket bearings are a press fit into the frame rather than being screwed in, saving the weight of the threaded metal sleeved that would otherwise be needed. First seen on the Addict R2, this technology is being widely adopted by other major manufacturers.

At a weight minus pedals of around 6,70 kg/14.76 lbs, we’re expecting serious performance from the Addict. The frame is made in sizes S, M, L, Xl and XXL, with the ‘L’ equivalent to a 56cm, the fork’s a Scott Addict HMX NET and the price for the whole rig is £3,499.00.