Just in: Scott Solace 15

The Solace, Scott’s endurance road bike, was first launched in 2013 and last year the company followed up that release with a disc brake version. There’s just one model available with discs, the £2,599 Solace 15, and here it is, freshly arrived in the road.cc bike shed.

The disc bike model uses essentially the same frame as the regular rim brake Solace, but with a few key differences. One of the biggest changes is the adoption of front and rear thru-axles - most bicycle manufacturers are using conventional quick release axles on their new disc-equipped road bikes, but there’s a lot of speculation that thru-axles offer worthy benefits (increased stiffness, lower weight, better wheel security) and could one day be standard on disc-equipped road bikes. Scott certainly seem confident they are the right choice.

“Wheels with thru-axle closing mechanism offer unparalleled precision when it comes to positioning the disc brake within the wheel system making for much ease of use."

Scott uses thru-axles on its mountain bikes and has simply adopted the same 15mm front and 12mm rear thru-axle design found on those off-road bikes for the Solace. A new fork has been built and the rear stays have been modified.

Other features carry over, such as the 28mm tyre clearance, internally routed cables and BB86 press-fit bottom bracket. The geometry is retained from the regular Solace too, which is shorter and taller than the Addict race bike, built as it is for comfort over long distance. It's a smartly finished frame, with the brake hoses internally routed too, including in the fork, providing very clean lines and unfussy zip ties. 

The Solace 15 is equipped with a Shimano Ultegra groupset with a non-series RS500 compact chainset, with mechanical derailleurs and RS785 hydraulic disc brakes. The 160mm front and rear rotors are fitted to Syncros RP2.0 Disc wheels and roll on Schwalbe Durano 28mm tyres.

Syncros also supply the finishing kit, an aluminium handlebar with a compact shape, matching stem, carbon fibre seatpost and Syncros saddle.

Weight on the road.cc scales is 8.45kg (18.62lb) which is about the same as the other carbon framed disc-equipped road bikes we’ve had pass through the office in the past year or two, since disc brakes became popular.

There’s growing competition in this segment of the road bike market, and road.cc has tested a fair few of the Scott’s key rivals. There’s the Giant Defy, Cannondale Synapse, Orbea Avant and other contenders like the Volagi Liscio and Specialized Tarmac S-Works.

More info at www.scott-sports.com