Scott Foil RC Pro 2023

The aero road bike space is constantly in a state of flux as relaxed UCI legislation and the need for speed continues to reshape every new iteration, rendering many contemporary bikes instantly obsolete in the process. That's what this all-new Scott Foil RC Pro has done – not just to its predecessor but to some of its rivals, too, thanks to myriad changes to its frame blueprint. It's ridiculously fast yet super-easy to live with as an everyday bike, and that's what makes it so special.

> Buy now: Scott Foil RC Pro for £10,449 from LAP Bikes

The marketing spiel claims many improvements – it's 9% lighter, 21% faster and 10% more comfortable than before, but do these numbers mean anything for the average rider, let alone real-world riding conditions? For many, the £10,500 Foil RC Pro represents a somewhat unattainable purchase but it is loaded to the hilt in terms of specification and delivers a rewarding and truly refined riding experience.

I used Rapha's annual Festive 500 Challenge as the litmus test to validate the bold claims – 1,000km of wet, cold and sometimes dry miles across the notoriously lumpy Surrey Hills terrain.

Built for speed

Visually, the Scott Foil has a refined aesthetic. The bike tested is pretty much the same model ridden by Team DSM save for a couple of sponsor-specific decals. There's no visible cabling and all hoses are integrated within the headset and frame – it's all very clean.

The paintwork is pretty interesting, too, combining a brushed aluminium Scott wordmark logo on the down tube with a glittery turquoise wash that fades into flat grey at the rear. Look closely and, at certain angles, you'll clearly see the unidirectional carbon fibre under the paint finish, which has been sparingly applied to reduce the overall weight.

> How much would it cost you to insure a Scott Foil RC Pro? Compare quotes from over 30 insurance providers here...

The design of the new Foil has been developed in partnership with aerodynamicist Simon Smart of Drag2Zero and the results are glaringly obvious. The rather shallow kammtail shapes of its predecessor have been replaced by more sculptural, almost time-trial-bike levels of tubing which we've seen liberally applied on recent bikes such as the Orbea Orca Aero. As a result, the Foil benefits from a truncated head tube and down tube with matching sections around seat tube and upper sections of the seatstays.

According to Scott, these aero gains have resulted in a 16-watt saving or 1m 18s faster 40km benchmark time at 40km/h than the outgoing model.

As the second model in the range, the Foil RC Pro forgoes the HMX-SL layup of the RC Ultimate for the regular HMX carbon recipe. This, however, has done little to affect the bike's weight, which comes in at 7.35kg (without pedals), placing it among the lightest aero road bikes in the category.

It's available in seven sizes spanning XXS (47cm) to XXL (61cm). Our test bike is a small (52cm). Not surprisingly, its geometry is pretty racy, with a 527mm stack and 389mm reach. The 72-degree head angle and 74-degree seat angle are relatively steep, making for rather lively handling manners.

Performance & handling

The Scott Foil RC Pro is an easy bike to ride. There's nothing particularly awkward when it comes to setting things up, and the riding position – although racy and slammed – feels comfortable when strapped in.

The first thing you'll notice when riding the Foil is its turn of speed – both in the manner in which it responds to pedal inputs and in its ability to harness that into forward momentum. It's very fast, and the sensation of speed is a recurring theme.

The underpinnings – the lower section of the frame, fork and stays – are incredibly stiff, particularly around the bottom bracket area, and work well together with the rigid front end and fork. This makes for superb ride feel and communication, the latter painting a pretty vivid picture of what's happening underfoot.

This theme continues when the road ahead turns into spaghetti. The front end of the bike tracks predictably, instilling a heightened sense of assurance and an almost telepathic connection. It's just a matter of choosing your line, turning in and accelerating out of the corner. Of course, the Shimano Dura-Ace brakes have a lot to do with this sense of connection, allowing you to brake later thanks to the appreciable levels of modulation afforded by the new system.

At 7.35kg, the Foil is on the lighter side of the aero road bike spectrum and this is evident in the way it dismisses lumpy topography. When compared with some of its rivals – particularly the Orbea Orca Aero, Cannondale SystemSix and BMC Timemachine – the Foil is notably more at home when gravity comes into play, and Scott has clearly looked at this area to gain an edge. As a result, the Foil climbs a lot like its feathery sibling, the Addict, which allows you to maintain momentum and speed on both rolling hills and steep kickers.

Specification

In terms of specification, there's a lot to like here. The Foil RC Pro is built around a Shimano Dura-Ace R9270 Di2 groupset, which includes a 52/36-tooth chainset and 11-30 cassette.

Not only does the Dura-Ace groupset look the part, but the satin-black components also do much to lift the overall visual drama, and it performs flawlessly, too. One bugbear, however, is the omission of a power meter – other bikes at this price point have one as standard.

The finishing kit comes courtesy of Scott's in-house component arm, Syncros, which has been designed to work as an integrated solution. As referenced above, there are no exposed cables, hoses or wires – it's all super clean and this helps with aerodynamics.

The cockpit is a Syncros Creston iC SL integrated bar-stem arrangement, an update over the previous generation. It's appreciably stiff and complements the other touchpoint, a Syncros Belcarra V-Concept 1.0 saddle.

The three-piece Duncan SL Aero CFT seatpost is interesting as it's designed to offer both aero and compliance benefits. The rubber section of the post can also be substituted for an integrated taillight, which is a clever idea.

Wheels and tyres

Measuring 28mm wide externally and 21mm internally, the Shimano C50 wheels are designed to play nicely with 25-28mm tyres. They come shod in standard Vittoria Corsa Control TLR G2.0 rubber, fitted in an aero 25mm front, 28mm rear width configuration. I usually opt for larger volume tyres for extra comfort, but this 25/28mm pairing works well in this context, and irons out pockmarks and other road imperfections quite effectively.

During testing, I did swap out the wheels and tyres in an attempt to unlock even more speed and compliance, choosing the bigger C60 wheels and 28mm Corsa N.Ext TLR tyres all round. These tyres are not just lighter than the regular Controls but roll better, too. This configuration allowed me to drop the tyre pressure to 42/48psi front/rear (something I referenced in my review of the Corsa N.Exts). 

I continued to use this wheel/tyre arrangement for the balance of my testing as I felt it not only accentuated the bike's true potential, it made for a more comfortable ride. The frame has clearance for up to 30mm tyres.

Value and conclusion

The Scott Foil RC Pro is an impressive bike – no question. It comes loaded with a comprehensive component list so there's a lot to like (though the lack of a power meter is a bit shortsighted), but it also looks great and performs as expected for a bike of this ilk. The improvements over its predecessor in terms of design are hard to dispute, but what makes the RC Pro such a solid consideration is what Scott has done when it comes to culling weight and dialling in comfort without it affecting the bike's stiffness and performance.

In terms of its rivals, the Foil RC Pro goes head-to-head against the Merida Reacto Team. Spec-wise, they're nearly identical, but at £8,500 the Reacto trumps the £10,500 Foil on price – a £2,000 difference is a lot of money in today's economic climate.

That said, the Foil RC Pro is still a whole lot cheaper than the £11,500 Cannondale SystemSix Hi-Mod Dura-Ace, not to mention Pinarello's Dogma F Dura-Ace, which is a frighteningly expensive option at £13,200. For context, you'd need to downgrade both the SystemSix and Dogma F to Ultegra level before they become comparable.

> road.cc Recommends Bikes of the Year 2022/23: the best road bikes

Overall, the Scott Foil RC Pro is not what you'd label as 'cheap', but within the context of the upper echelons of the best aero road bikes, it's not the most expensive option either and is without a doubt a front runner for the segment crown. I like it a lot. Especially the geometry and the way in which it dismisses the climbs, flats and descents with consummate ease and comfort.

Verdict

A veritable speed demon and quite possibly the best all-round aero road bike available right now