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I just recently found out that Scott has moved from the US to Switzerland. I guess I can stop dreaming of having a Euro bike since I already have one (harharhar!). Anyhow, it's been three months since I switched to Scott.  And I have grown very fond of my Foil 20 and its quirks. Coming from a previous generation superbike, the 2010 Cannondale Supersix Hi-Mod Liquigas, and moving to a modern mid-level frame isn't much of  a 'downgrade' as i had initially expected.


The fruit of Scott's F01 project, the Foil is one of a slew of frames to incorporate aerodynamic considerations into the standard roadie. Indeed, if one isn't aware that the Foil is an aero frame, it just looks just like any other modern all carbon frame. But those unique triangular tubes are what makes the Foil unique. Instead of replicating the standard airfoil shape, Scott just took the leading edge of this shape and formed a rounded triangle from it. Brilliant; but why reinvent the wheel? Simple - the airfoil shape, while being the most aerodynamic, is not good in the stiffness department.  By forming the triangle, both stiffness and aerodynamic requirements were served. 



Chillin out in MoA

The brains behind this is aerodynamicist Simon Smart, whose name is now prominently featured in uber chic Smart-Enve wheelsets. With great experience designing Formula One suspensions, Smart certainly has qualifications in creating wind cheating, high strength  tubes. He reckons that the Foil shape is the best compromise to the often conflicting stiffness and aerodynamic demands of the project. 

Being a tech-head and gear-head, I was sold. 

Made with HMF-NET high modulus carbon fiber, the mid-level Foil 20 can easily pass for a top of the line model few years ago. The mid-level label does not do the Foil 20 justice. It's only mid-level since there are Foil models made with an even more exotic kind of carbon fiber, which Scott calls HMX-NET. At the top of the Foil food chain sits the likes of the  Premium and Team Issue editions. These are even lighter and stiffer that the HMF Foils.  

However, I think I can manage without the 20% extra stiffness and 100 or so less grams of weight. I appreciate the additional bills in my wallet though. Given the erratic supply of bicycles locally, I was forced to scour the local classifieds for my new frame. I found a slightly used Foil 20 frame, recently replaced by Scott because of the then unresolved seatpost clamp issue. The frame came in matte black which, in my mind, sealed the deal. 



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The Foil 20 is a definite upgrade over the Cannondale in all but one department: ride quality. The Foil's ride can easily be described as harsh especially coming from the superb ride of the Supersix. However, I choose to look at it in another way... the Foil is a pure racer. 

With the frame question resolved, time to move on to the second biggest bike build dilemma... the gruppo. Fortunately, I had this problem was solved even before I decided to switch frames. 

The groupset of choice is Shimano's excellent Dura Ace 9000. I had it on the Super Six for a few weeks and transplanted it to the Foil. In my opinion, this is the best all around groupset available this moment, especially if you factor the price. Vastly improved over the 7900, the 9000 has almost supernatural braking, flawless smooth shifts, consistently light shifting action, funky modern looks, much improved ergonomics, 11 cogs and a sub 2000g total weight - the latter two firsts for Shimano. In case you haven't noticed yet, yes, I love this group.   

Countless people have gushed at how good shifts feel and actuate....  and boy, does it indeed! What took a while to warm up to were the cranks. While I initially hated the assymetric 4-arm cranks, I have to say that they have grown on me and now actually like the look. It can't be stated enough: This group is excellent!

The WH-9000-C24-TL wheelsets also got carried over with the group, but I eventually decided to go aero all the way and replace them with WH-9000-c50-CL hoops .  This change added quite a bit of weight to the bike; around 400 grams, give or take, but doing so solidified the setup's wind slicing intentions.  It also helps the aesthetics as well. ;-)   


Tires of choice remain Continental's Grand Prix 4000s. I temporarily swapped out the 23c's in favor of 25c's for a comparison review, but will go for a staggered setup (FR: 23c, RR: 25c) once this has been written. The GP4000S has been scientifically proven to be the best all rounder tires by Tour magazine. If you guys read any of their past tests, you know how hardcore and thorough these guys are when it comes to technical testing.  



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Wanting to maximize the 11 speed cassette, off went the 11-28 climbers and in came the 12-25. The advantage of the 11 speed cassette is essentially negated with the 11-28 since I wasn't using the 11T and the 28T that much. With a 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25 gear setup, the 12-25 is perfect suited for the rides I do nowadays.

I'm probably the last person anyone would mistake for Tony Martin, so going to standard cranks is not yet an option. I prefer compact cranks. My original choice, the 52-36, is still nowhere to be found but I do plan to switch to these eventually.   

Keeping things black and gloomy, I pulled a color switch on my Antares 00 from white to black. Of course, the bartapes had to match. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any black S-Wraps and had to settle for Ritchey corks.

For the cockpit, I switched from FSA's OS-99 CSI and K-wing to 3T's Arx LTD and Ergonova LTD. This was done for purely aesthetic purposes (color matching). The K-Wing may be the most user-friendly bars I ever used; raised tops, internal cable routing and all. The silver lining in this is that I dropped more bits of alloy and swapped them with with UD carbon.... a good 84 gram weight savings.   

The old reliable Look Keo Blade Ti's got carried over and are paired with zero-float cleats. The blades are tight and look very nice. At 186 grams a pair, these are among the lightest non-speedplay pedals out there. On a side note, I strongly recommend zero float cleats to everyone with knee problems. Yes, you read that right. Float may actually be one of the causes of knee pain and using floatless cleats may relieve it. It may be hard to believe but I switched to these and ain't coming back.   

My mile counter is the recently deprecated Edge 800. And while it's a bit of a brick, it does come with a large touchscreen. I got this unit Stateside so it came with a North America map. Haven't had the time to research how to install a free one for the Philippines. I love the size of the display as all the data fields I need are shown at once: Distance, Speed, HR, Cadence, Calories, Time and Time of Day. Having a touchscreen is a godsend as there's no fiddling around with buttons while in the middle of a sufferfest.  The Edge is mounted on Garmin's Out Front computer mount. This makes the cockpit look particularly clean and neat. 




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At its lightest, the Foil got a bit below the UCI 15 pound weight limit at around 14.9 pounds, however, the switch to the C50's and some other heavier bits got me back up to around 15.6. Not entirely super light but still very very very acceptable.  All I need now is a setback Foil seatpost and everything will be just right! Just have to find time to drive to the dealer in Quiapo to order the part though. 

Well, I guess that's it. Only a true bike geek would have read and made it this far.

Congratulations!  

~Armand

Return to RoadieManila HQ

7 comments:

  1. Team Matte Black with White Brands hehe! Not as stealthy as I would want but good enough :)

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  2. Hi Armand,

    Were you able to find a setback seatpost for foil 20? i purchased this same bike last week and was also thinking of replacing the seatpost. and also that black cockpit looks good, mine came wit a white saddle and cockpit, lot of work to be done.

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  3. Hi Bobby,

    Congrats on your new baby!

    Regarding the seatpost, not yet. I'm still looking for an online seller for it. I think doing so would be faster... IF i can find one. Did you get your Foil from Unison? I think we can order from there, but based on some past email exchanges, it might take a while.

    The stock Foil 20 looks good as it is and doesn't really need much of a makeover. I, personally, just wanted to try out the 'murdered out' black look.

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  4. Hi Armand,

    Thanks mate, sorry i forgot to tell you, I'm in Sydney. I'll ring up my LBS here to see if they can find me one, I'll let you know.

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  5. Hi, It looks like you replaced your cable housings? If you pull out the old inner, will the new inner find its way out the other side ok? Do you have any instructions on how to do this? Thanks

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  6. Hi Mark,

    First off, sorry for the delayed reply. Unfortunately, routing internal cables can get a bit tricky. The good thing, though, is that the frame is made of carbon and that you can use a strong magnet to guide the cable as it's being snaked through the frame.

    This is how my wrench does it :)

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