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Scott Prepares for the Future of Road Disc with Flat Mounts, 12mm Thru Axles Front and Rear, Even Dropper Compatibility

Written by Zach Overholt
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A lot of new “standards” have popped up lately in terms of thru axles and road disc brakes which many manufacturers have been slow to adopt. On the other hand, Scott’s 2016 lineup of road, gravel, and cross bikes is a different story. Rather than have different standards on their bikes across the line, Scott is implementing all of the latest technologies which should make their bikes somewhat future proof. That is of course, unless the new “standards” fail to gain universal acceptance.

Truthfully, that shouldn’t be a problem as the flat mount brake mounts are backwards compatible, and we’re assuming that the thru axle sizes will become widely accepted fairly soon. And a road dropper post? By the looks of things, we can probably expect them sometime soon as well…

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (4)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (3) Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (16)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (17)

Once Chris King and Enve showed off their 12 mm front thru axles at NAHBS, we expected it was just the tip of the iceberg. After a few small manufacturers jumped on board, we’re starting to see 12mm road thru axles become common place for road, cross, and gravel bikes, but Scott is the first manufacturer we know of that is using them across the board.

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (12)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (10)

All of Scott’s disc brake equipped road, cross, and gravel bikes will be running 12×100 front and 12×142 rear thru axles for 2016. For Scott this is more about safety than anything else. After having a number of testers install a quick release, Scott’s engineers found them to have wide variation in clamping forces meaning some were too loose and some were tight. Their testing with thru axles found the clamping forces to be much more consistent as well as offering better centering of the brake rotor.

We’ve been told by other companies that the smaller axles in the front are more appropriate for the forces associated with road bikes and will allow for lighter forks and potentially hubs – though more importantly a smaller axle would allow for the use of different bearings in the hub with larger balls for improved durability. However, for now most 15mm thru axle hubs can simply be converted to 12mm with different end caps. On Scott’s bikes, DT Swiss is providing the wheels and hubs.

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (7)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (5)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (2) Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (1)

Flat Mount is another new “standard” that has been met with confusion based on its compatibility. The new mounting system pioneered by Shimano allows for a tidier caliper at the rear of the bike and could potentially lead to the development of improved disc brakes for road. At the rear, the calipers bolt up from the bottom for easier access in tight frames, while the front bolts in from the back of the fork. Flat Mount frames are of course compatible with flat mount brakes, but they’re also compatible with all current road disc brakes with the right adapter.

Again, Scott has gone all in with flat mount and you will find it on all of their 2016 road, cross, and gravel models.

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (11)

Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (13) Scott bikes 2015 road disc flat mount 12mm thru (14)

While we’ve seen a few road bike dropper posts at trade shows, they’re still mostly vaporware. However,  when they become available Scott will be ready at least with their Addict CX bikes. Each frame has a small hole on the back of the seat tube that with a grommet installed is the wiring port for Di2. Without Di2 though, the port can be used for dropper post cable routing hinting towards the future.

scott-sports.com
Zach Overholt
5,778 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Standards? We don't need no stinking standards!
Standards? We don't need no stinking standards!
9 years ago

MOAR standards! LOL!

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Bog
Bog
9 years ago

Why would they put dropper post routing on the back of the seat tube? Doesn’t make any sense!

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Alb
Alb
9 years ago

Got your di2 confused with your dropper post port there!

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Zach Overholt
Author
Zach Overholt
9 years ago
Reply to  Alb

@Alb, I forgot to mention the port is for Di2 or dropper posts, but only either/or. That’s what we were told when I asked if it was the Di2 port.

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sspiff
sspiff
9 years ago

Dropper posts on road bikes just seem silly to me. Even on a cross bike (god – could you imagine the reliability nightmare?) I can hardly see the advantage**

**if using for racing cyclocross.

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David
David
9 years ago

So where are the 2016 Scott announcements? I almost bought a 2015 Solace 15 but figured it would be worth the wait for one more year for the new brakes and axles. When? Please don’t say June of 2016…

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Frippolini
Frippolini
9 years ago

Oh, so Scott finally found out what everyone else didn’t during the last 50 years, that QR:s are dangerous and should be replaced with through axles?! I’ve had a lot of QR:s, and plenty of bikes; and they have never been a problem. Why should this be a problem, or is it a cashflow problem at Scott that they want me to fix by buying their “safety solutions”?
Also, what’s the hysteria with disc brakes for road bikes?

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Vanonymous
Vanonymous
9 years ago

“larger balls for improved durability”

Hehehehehe

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Birdman
Birdman
9 years ago

By show of hands, who here prefer 12×100 OVER 15×100. Anyone? I’m really curious

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Darryl
Darryl
9 years ago

That has to be the dumbest place for a Di2 port I can imagine for a CX bike.
All the flying debris getting caught and jammed up on a small electrical cable, just silly.

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Darryl
Darryl
9 years ago

Frippolini, through axles are undeniably better in every way.
And don’t come out with speed of wheel change bullshite, lawyer lips make quick release slower than through axles.

Quick release and disc is a recipe for disaster.

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Stampers
Stampers
9 years ago

@Frippolini-ever ridden a road bike with thru axle systems? The difference in handling is noticable…for the better. All things being equale, if I had a choice between the two, I’d take thru axle systems everytime.

Disk brakes on CX works for me…road I feel is overkill unless you’re talking carbon wheels on a wet day…yikes…

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haromania
haromania
9 years ago

Gotta love it when people complain about thru axles….They’re better, period. Doesn’t mean your current bike sucks, just means the next one you buy will be better in that regard. Think of it as something to look forward to on your next ride.

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Mike
Mike
9 years ago

@Stampers – I’ve got a bike with the Shimano hydro disc brakes and I will never go back to rim brakes. The power and modulation is amazing, and I’ve gotten comments from friends that they can’t try to match my braking points on descents because of how hard and fast I can scrub speed.

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Simon
Simon
9 years ago

The “new” flat mount standard for the rear looks a LOT like the old, old 22mm Hayes mounting standard that Trek used! What’s old is new again I suppose!

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Tim
Tim
9 years ago

I agree- thru-axles are better. But I don’t get these comments from people who say QR’s are SO TERRIBLE THEY HAVE TO BE ERADICATED. Such comments are often accompanied by the claim, “QR’S WITH DISCS ARE SOOOOO DANGEROUS”, ignoring the fact that for around a decade, people did just that and it was never perceived as a problem. Again, I am for thru-axles, and maybe they are somehow more critical on road bikes, but the hate for QR’s is pretty odd.

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anonymous
anonymous
9 years ago

This would be so much simpler if Shimano just announced a thru-axle road hub and all the manufacturers could follow Shimano’s lead.

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Bernhard
Bernhard
9 years ago

Ridiculous standard on road bikes. What about wheel change while races? Takes a lot of time more than QRs in addition to the fact that the mechanic must find the brake slot under pressure. Brainless standard!

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phil
phil
9 years ago

Thru axels are great! But why a dropper post on a road bike? That doesn’t make sense to me.

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Pnutz
Pnutz
9 years ago

(deleted)

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Ceejay
Ceejay
9 years ago

(deleted)

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Dan
Dan
9 years ago

Aha!! Before you say “stupid/silly/dumb/brainless/$cott…”

Thru-axles are fairly easy to change. If you look at the pics, they just thread into the non-drive dropout. So, with a few flicks counter-clockwise, the wheel drops out. Easy for mid-race flats. Arguably more reliable, since the wheel has to sit in the dropout perfectly to be able to thread the axle back in.

It’s also easier to jam a rear wheel in and line up the rotor with a thru-axle rather than an QR; make it your focus to get the rotor straight rather than get the QR in the dropout and the hub caps plop right into place. Then just thread that mo-fuhh in.

If you check out this image, you’ll see that the empty dropout flares out from the axle on the inner part of the dropout rather being a perfect parallel U-shape like QR dropouts. This allows the wheel to be inaccurately shoved in (with reckless abandon!!!), because it gets led into its appropriate final position by the taper. Only because thru-axles thread in and fully retain the hub does this taper exist; that’s why you don’t see this in QR dropouts.
http://blog.artscyclery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/IMG_1641.jpg

For all those with a lick of doubt, it just takes practice. The system is stiffer and safer. It will replace QRs mainly on the stiffness factor after roadies start riding them. Tech from the MTB world trickling into road/cx? Yes, please! We’ve figured out a long time ago that this stuff is good. Time for you all to try it out!!

And be glad road bikes don’t have obstructions on the frame around where the thru-axle tab rotates… you don’t have to deal with one of DT’s ratcheting thru-axles on a shock fork during a race…

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Dan
Dan
9 years ago

***with a few flicks counter-clockwise and a yank of the axle,***

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haromania
haromania
9 years ago

Bernhard, I am willing to bet 98% of road bikes sold are never raced, so that would mean, 98% of the people riding them are happy to trade off a few extra seconds when they flat, for the thru axle. Also, while I know this isn’t an absolute for everyone, if I ever flatted during a race it didn’t matter because I never had a second set of hoops waiting for me anyway. If I were still racing, I’d be on tubeless anyway, which has cut down my flats on mountain and fat bikes by about 90%. I guess what I’m saying is, your argument isn’t valid for most people.

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Tim
Tim
9 years ago

Also- do CX bikes need dropper posts? I am not a CX rider, so forgive my ignorance. Are there some steep, short downhill sections? Or is the lower seat for bunnyhopping barriers?

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Daniel
Daniel
9 years ago

The prevalence of pros riding on their top tubes during descents has increased greatly over the last few years. It’s only a matter of time before they realize that a dropper post enables this to be done more safely and with decreased transition times. If the UCI doesn’t ban it first, my guess is we’ll see it in the wild in the next year or two.

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Bluefire
Bluefire
9 years ago

I’m a mediocre mountain biker and I’ve never done more than dabble in road, but here are my two cents on dropper posts: when descending twisty, steep paved streets on my mountain bike, I can sometimes descend as fast as my far more skillful racer friends on equivalent bikes – except I’m the only person in my riding group who owns a dropper post. I can only imagine that the disparity in skill is made up for by use of my dropper post, even on the street. I don’t know how much help the current ~25mm of drop would be in practice, but 100mm or more brings the hips significantly closer to the BB, lowering the center of gravity as well as the rider’s freedom of movement over the frame. That sounds like an advantage to me, regardless of terrain. Whether or not one finds it’s worth the weight penalty is, of course, another question entirely. But so long as 14.9 is the magic number, it seems to me that it should at least be an option. Climbing bikes usually have round posts, anyway.

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Bluefire
Bluefire
9 years ago

*as well as improving the rider’s freedom of movement over the frame.

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Chris L
Chris L
9 years ago

@Bernhard

I’d say you’re the one being brainless and I’m guessing you’ve never worked as a race mechanic in a pro race (I have, BTW). Only place where a QR makes any difference is in a pro race. Now here’s the thing: nobody who actually buys a bike is going to be in pro race so it really is a moot point. Also if discs get allowed by the UCI and accepted by the pros they will simply stop bothering with wheel changes and simply swap out bikes (especially for any rider in actual contention). In cyclocross bike swaps are already the norm – nobody at the top levels wastes time dealing with a wheel change. You just drop your bike to the put mechanic and he’ll swap out a bad wheel while you take another lap which means they have plenty of time and don’t need a QR. The only race situation where a QR really makes sense is triathlon. I also doubt triathlons will embrace disc brakes since most tri courses lack serious climbs/descents.

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Ajax
Ajax
9 years ago

15×100 is the MTB standard for front wheels. A lot of MTBers that also ride road liked the idea of swapping their discs wheels onto a CX frame. Not anymore. If road 12×100 is on the frame, then you aren’t going to fit a 15×100 axle and wheel.

The front wheel should be 15×100, not 12×100.
Scott is taking a dumb gamble with a 12×100 axle. Some manufacturers like Trek, have gone to 15×100 front hub axle.

15×100 is going to beat out 12×100 by this time next year.

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Scotty
Scotty
9 years ago

In reality, most people don’t even use 80% of the braking capabilities of their caliper brakes on the road. In my 25 years in cycling and racing, I’ve never seen anyone on the road, brake into every corner on the ragged edge of locking up the wheels. Even in races, no one waits till the last second to scrub off speed to make it through a corner. Most people definitely don’t come close to using all the cornering capability of a bike. And let’s face it, most people are fair weather riders.

Whether disc brakes on road bikes is a fad or not, who knows? There will still be plenty of people on the road riding with caliper brakes and QR. Heck, with all this talk about how dangerous QR and disc brakes are, I should be dead. One of my bikes has QR, ground off lawyer tabs, disc brakes, and the QR is on the disc side, YIKES.

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Tim
Tim
9 years ago

Hope you’re right, Ajax, about 15mm winning out. But I wish 20×110 were the MTB standard, not the why-bother 15mm size, even with Boost.
@Scotty- all true what you say!

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pamountainbiker
pamountainbiker
9 years ago

@Stampers – just curious how much you weigh? I don’t have a road bike with thru axles, but my current ride is incredibly rigid laterally both front and rear. Wasn’t always the case though as older bikes I’ve ridden were not so. I’m considering getting another bike and disc with TA’s are in the consideration set. Just wondering how much more torsional rigidity I’m going to experience as my current ride is razor sharp – I do only weigh 145 pounds though.

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Tim from the south
Tim from the south
9 years ago

FWIW, I will be replacing my non-disc bikes with disc brake bikes over the next year. Simple reason for that. Been caught in the rain a couple times, and facing a steep hill to get back. The wet rim brakes bad a significant impression……..BAD!

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SuperDave
SuperDave
9 years ago

anonymous, they have and they have.

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esc8engn
esc8engn
9 years ago

thru – yay
12mm front – not entirely on board
flat mount – yay

it pains me to still see so many road divisions of companies STILL using non-forward facing drop outs, allowing powerful brakes to snap out of place ANY standard qr, no matter how tight.

Raleigh Roper, Cannondale and even Charge Cooker Maxi, I’m looking at you!

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30 ISH
30 ISH
9 years ago

Full bike swaps are great, but it’s a lot easier to carry wheels around than a bevy of bikes, not to mention the fit issues. Wheel swaps will stay.

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esc8engn
esc8engn
9 years ago

**addendum:
…non-forward facing drop outs _on_forks_,…
gt grade has a perfect pair for regular qr.

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Archer Swift
Archer Swift
9 years ago

ROAD DISK IS HERE TO STAY. THANKS TO THE CYCLING GODS.
DISK AND THRU AXLE IS BETTER IN EVERY WAY. It should be 15mm front, and rear for sure, standard. The quick thru axle evolution is in progress, there are a few companies like FOCUS
that have a cool design.

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Bruneti
Bruneti
9 years ago

Thank you @Archer Swift. I have no dog in the 15mm vs. 12mm T.A. fight, but through axle is in it’s infant days. Those that can wait for Shimano and SRAM to decide on their implementation for road and CX will benefit. The early adopters will take a risk on possible obsolescence until the big component manufacturers go all-in. People who want to use their Mountain Bike wheels for Cyclocross should probably make sure they purchase wheels/hubs with swapable endcaps to protect their investment.

Google search terms: Focus-Bikes R.A.T.
Search this and see how T.A. could become better than QR in every way, including wheel change time. With the UCI requirement to keep lawyer tabs in place, wheel changes in the heat of racing have become noticeably slower. Hopefully Shimano and SRAM engineers are working on something similar or better than R.A.T.

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Ajax
Ajax
9 years ago

12mm thru axle standard is NOT backwards with 15mm thru axle standard.

If you buy a bike with a 12mm thru axle fork, you can NOT use a 15mm thru axle front wheel. It simply will not be compatible. A 15mm thru axle fork can accept either a 15mm thru axle wheel or a 12mm thru axle wheel assuming there are fork inserts which will allow the 15mm fork to be converted to a 12mm hole.

15mm thru axle front wheels are already the standard for MTN and cross bikes. 12mm front thru axle on road bikes is not needed and is stupid. You could have an easy way to interchange between a 29er, or wide cross type 15mm thru axle wheel, if your road bike fork has a 15m thru axle front fork. This will not work with a 12mm thru axle front road fork.

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ChrisC
ChrisC
9 years ago
Reply to  Ajax

I think you might have that backwards… Why would you switch out the axle anyway? In the age of TA, the axle is really more part of the frame than the wheel… A simple end cap swap on a 15mm TA wheel would allow it to accommodate the 12mm axle. However, if you have a 15mm axle, it’s less likely that a 12mm TA wheel would have space in the bearings to allow a 15mm axle.

But to be honest, almost every wheel I’ve seen lately allows QR, 12mm TA, and 15mm TA. About the only “standard” that doesn’t have wide adoption is DT’s own 9mm front TA and 10mm rear TA.

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