UPDATE (5/2009, 3 years of ownership): Well, 4010 miles later...this is still a really enjoyable bike!  

Everything continues works quite well, although I've changed out the tire treads out for Continental Grand Prix 4000's just because the original tires were getting thread-bare after a couple thousand miles.  These new tires a harder to change as they contain Vectran which apparently doesn't flex/stretch as much as the original tires.  The rest of the bike is pretty much original equipment.  

I will say this, however: compared to a carbon fiber bike (keeping in mind that a CF bike would also cost at least twice the price of this bike), this aluminum/carbon combo does give a much rougher ride.  The most pronounced example of this was during a 62 mile ride that had about 3500 feet of elevation gain (Ups & Down ride in Elizabeth, IL -- great ride...but punishing!).  I just felt really beat up after the ride.  Comparatively, my wife and other riders that were on carbon rigs fared much better.  The carbon seat stays & fork probably helped a lot...but even still, aluminum is very stiff...which is great for fast rides & acceleration, however it also transfers a fair amount of road buzz/bumps to the rider.  For rides 60 miles or less, it's probably not a big deal.  For rides longer than that (I've done a 62 & a 100 miler), you'll likely feel a little "beat up" after the ride.  It's more of a "weekly ride enthusiast ride" than "touring" bike!  :-)

I would also recommend picking up a chainstay guard (usually a little neoprine sleeve that protects your chainstay from chain slap).  I have  several chips in the paint accumulated from the last few years.  Thankfully, since the chainstay is aluminum, there's no need to worry about rusting, so...while it's not absolutely necessary, it'd just be nice to protect the finish.  

The Ultegra components still rock!  All shifter problems have been worked out -- it's just an adjustment thing that needs to be tuned every once in a while.

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This bike was the first true "roadie" that I've ever owned. After 1.5 years of spin classes at the gym, my wife had the great idea of actually cycling outside. Like it's supposed to be. So, we purchased a full carbon monocoque Scattante CFR Double Limited Edition (equipped with mostly Dura-Ace components...rawr!) for her and several months later, we picked up the R660 for me. The Scattante series is the house brand of Performance Bicycle Shop. I've been told that Performance has been able to produce this bike with good quality components/framesets and maintain a lower price because of their ability to buy/manufacture in such high volume. I suppose that may be, but either way, the bikes still seem to be a good deal when comparing them to other similarly equipped rigs.

I'm not a racer, although I like speed and acceleration from all those years as a sprinter in high school & college. We do ride with Cat 1-3 cyclists...although I'd use "with" rather loosely. We usually hang with them for about 10 miles and get dropped as they are freakishly fast. We're improving every week, though.

Here is a component summary:

# Frame: Easton Ultralite 3 main triangle, w/ Carbon Seat Stay
# Fork: Carbon/Aluminum 28.6 Integrated Steerer
# Headset: 1 1/8” integrated 36/45 degree
# Crankset: TruVativ Rouleur Double 53x39T
# Bottom Bracket: TruVativ Giga X Pipe, included w/ Ultegra Crankset
# Shifters: Rear: Shimano Ultegra 10 speed; Front: Shimano Ultegra Double
# Levers: Shimano STI
# Handlebar: Alloy 7075 Double Butted
# Stem: Alloy #2014 + carbon, 31.8mm
# Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Double
# Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra 10 speed Double
# Cassette: Shimano Ultegra 10 speed 12-25T
# Brakes: Shimano Ultegra
# Wheelset: Korso 700C
# Tires: Hutchinson Top Speed Stop Puncture
# Seatpost: Carbon, 27.2x300mm
# Saddle: Selle Italia XO, Alloy Rail
# Chain: Shimano 10 speed

It's a couple/few steps below my wife's bike, but for me, it's perfectly fine. It's an Easton-made, matte-finished (very cool looking), triangular-tubed aluminum frame with carbon forks, seat post, stem & seat-stays to help soak up road vibrations, which it does quite well. Most of the components are Shimano Ultegra (brakes, handle/shifters, deraillers). The cranks are TruVatives and the wheels are Korso with aero-flattened spokes. I'm not sure what model the chain is (Shimano 105, maybe - which is a step below the Ultegra line), although I'm sure it's not Ultegra (pity). The picture in this review is spot on. This is exactly the bike that I have.

The bike is about 19 pounds according to our digital scale. It accelerates quickly, spikes a fast top speed confidently (37+ mph so far...) and is amazing agile. It feels like I can just flick my wrists and the bike will jump into & out of turns. I weigh about 207 pounds, so that's a lot of meat/weight undulating through any series of staccato serpentine turns. (That was just fun to type!). I've put 840+ miles on the bike in the last 6 or 7 months (mostly outside miles, but there was a fair number racked up on our trainer as we bought the bike in the winter months). It's been a joy.

The farthest I've ridden it in a single session is just under 40 miles. We do a regular ride on Thursdays with a crazy-fast cycling group (www.bicycleheavenstcharles.com) and their normal loop is about 38 miles long. I had no idea there were that many hills in Illinois. Fun, fast & painful at times!

The seat took some getting used to as it's a minimalistic racing seat. Cycling tights with the appropriate chamois are a must. It's still common to get a bit numb "south of the border" if I stay in a single position for a long time. But from what I've read, that's a common thing across all bikes and the common advice is to just shift around periodically (stand up every once in a while, slide your position forward for a while and then back later) just to keep the blood flowing.

I've fixed 2 flat tires on it so far (both pinch flats - one hitting a pot hole with my front tire another hitting a sharp rock on the road with my rear tire) and the tires come off the rims easily. I pretty much only use one tire lever to get the Hutchinson tread off and then to lever the tread back on after the tubes been swapped. Other avid cyclists that have seen me do this have commented on how easy it looks compared to their experience.

For pedals, I use the Speedplay clipless system, which is comfortable, effective and convenient. I've only had one Zero MPH Crash (ZMC). That's where you fall over towards the clipped in toe while standing still or close to still. It's a bit like an epic realization in 3 seconds that consists of the following thoughts: "Whoops, I'm falling towards my clipped in side. Ugh, my shoe won't unclip. Ack, there's nothing I can do. Sigh, just minimize the pain of the fall..." Very embarrassing in public but just part of the whole newbie-cycling-gig as I understand it. It's easy to avoid once you get more acclimatized to riding.

The geometry of the bike is quite comfortable overall for me. It's got a longer top tube, so it stretches me forward a bit more than the other bikes I tried out in the store. I find riding with my hands on the brake hoods most comfortable. That's probably just my noobness as I'm still getting used to riding with my hands on the lower pegs. I do have to say that my lower back does get a bit sore at various points during longer rides. That seems to be due to a combination of being in that position & spinning hard (due to headwind, hill or, ugh, both) in conjunction with my getting used to biking in general. The discomfort is quickly alleviated if I just stand up in my pedals and straighten up to stretch my back out for a few seconds. I would imagine that if the top tube of the bike were shorter (i.e. more compact frame), then this discomfort would be much worse.

I've had it tuned up at the shop once so far (free lifetime tune ups -- Performance Bike Shop is great) and had to bring it in one other time when the left crank came off while on a ride. The 8mm hex bolt on the left crank simply unscrewed and came loose. As I spoke with the shop mechanic, he said he'd never heard of that happening on any bike, ever. He just put a bit of grease in there and tightened it back on so that it should not come off unintentionally again. That was about three weeks ago and it's been fine so far.

I will say that shifting to the second smallest cog from the third smallest cog is a bit dicey. For whatever reason, I just need to adjust it a smidge so that it shifts more smoothly and more readily. Sometimes it takes several cranks for the chain to jump to that cog. It doesn't happen when the chain travels amongst/betwixt any other cog pairings, so I'm thinking I might just need another tune up and/or I should just upgrade to a real Ultegra chain. The Shimano tolerances are exacting as I understand it.

The R660 seems to climb pretty well too. My legs are still developing cycling strength & endurance, so any issues I have climbing (did I mention that there are some tough hills in St. Charles, IL?) probably have more to do with my current state of conditioning than the bike itself. A little better/faster, every week, so that's a good thing.

The handlebars are ergonomically shaped. That means that instead of a smooth curve from the top bar to the lower pegs, there's a distinct straight section on an angle towards the bottom of the curve. It's great when you're cranking up some power and need to get a firm grip for a strong pull. The angle is perfect for those "hard pull" situations. It's also "ergo" because the tube thickness varies a bit - the handlebars are quite thick near the center-neck and they thin out a bit toward the ends of the lower pegs. The foam grip tape adds to the comfort as well.

The stock tires are decent. I keep them pumped up to about 110 psi. I'll probably eventually upgrade to the tires/tubes we picked up for my wife (hand-made Vredesteins) that can hold a whopping 165 psi! That would probably translate into a 1-3 mph improvement in speed due to the lower rolling resistance from ultra-hard tires. But for now, the stock ones are fine.

I've really enjoyed the bike so far. It can keep up very well with bikes that are double/triple the $1200 price of this bike. As my own performance improves, the bike seems like it'll go as fast as I can pedal & handle.

Here are some additional stock pictures of this bike at my blog: http://my.opera.com/clym/blog/2007/08/01/scattante-r660-review-posted-on-epinions-com

Double thumbs up from me.

C.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1200
Component Package: Shimano Ultegra and TruVative
Recommended Use: Weekly Rides