Can You Shoot My Plastic Bike? Libby and Her Scott Scale –

We’re continuing with a selection of Beautiful Bicycles from this year’s Lost and Found with Libby and her Scott Scale hardtail…

“I know it’s not a metal bike, but can you shoot my plastic bike?” Libby remarked as she unloaded the bike from her car the day before she’d be pedaling it on the 100-mile course. This resulted in laughter at the camp, not at the request but at how she phrased it. “Plastic bike.” My response, “OF COURSE! Let’s shoot it tomorrow after the event when it’s all nice ‘n’ dusty!”

Libby was camping with the Ornot crew at Lost and Found. She’s been the face of many photoshoots for the San Francisco-based brand.

The following day post ride (for me) and race (for others), we were all sharing stories around an orange LED Tyler Nutter turned on to simulate the glow of the “f” word. Miguel chimed in “Man, Libby blew past me on one of the descents, passing a bunch of riders.” Hardtails really are superior to drop bar bike in so many ways. The first “mountain bike” races in California – from Repack to Whiskytown – were all on dirt roads. Even the first “downhill” races were just on double track. Libby was right about bringing the Scott Scale to the knife fight.

Earlier that night, after the race and before the LED campfire circle, Libby and I wheeled her bike over to my photo zone. As I set it up for photos, I was utterly blown away by how lightweight it was. “Well, a lot of that is thanks to those wheels.” She was running the Syncros Silverton wheels: 1255 grams for the wheelset! The bike itself weighs 20.2 lbs, or 9.16 kg.

The world of ultralight racing tech is beyond me, but I have an appreciation for how integrated modern bikes are. Now, I wouldn’t want to own an internally-routed cockpit bike, but photographing one, especially with some dust on it, is still enjoyable. It feels like being able to document a Porsche GT3 when all you’ve ever owned are 80s Toyotas. A considerable amount of engineering goes into designing and manufacturing these lightweight race machines. It also helps that I’m a bike enthusiast and have an appreciation for all types of bikes.

Still, 20.2 lbs for a bicycle with a fork and a dropper post is absurdly light. Comparatively, the lightest hardtail I’ve ever owned was my Moots Womble. It was sub 30 lbs, which is light for a 140 mm travel bike with 2.6″ tough casing tires. But Libby’s Scott Scale barely tips its namesake.