"Compact" bikes?

I'm looking to buy a new bike on ebay, and I found a great deal on a Scott CR1 Comp Compact. I have searched the Scott website, but can't find any sort of "compact" model. What exactly does this mean? Is is slightly adjusted geometry or something to do with the crankset? This is probably a really simple issue, but I can't seem to find my answer elsewhere.

Less leg room and less head room. Originally this was where a guy would find a bike that is just a bit smaller than what he would normally ride, but it is such a great deal that he buys it anyway. Then he compensates for the size difference with a different seat setback and/or longer stem. Sometimes he will get longer cranks or a longer seat post. Pretty much what ever it takes to make it comfortable.

Now some bike manufacturers and builders have come up with "compact bikes" as an actual offering with everything taken care of, along with some tweaking of the geometry to make it more stable or sporty.

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I can't speak for the specific listing, but compact can refer to having a 50/34t double chainring combo instead of the typical 53/39t setup. The compact combo provides a wider gearing range with less overlap between the two chainrings -- effectively, it's like a lighter, simpler way to get triple gearing.

Do you want to post a link to the bike in question?

Yeah, that is a "compact crankset", but it is different than a "compact bike".

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In JP, Scott bike names are listed like,

CR1 TEAM 39x53T DOUBLE
CR1 TEAM CD 34x50T COMPACT

I assume they're pretty much the same anywhere, so chain rings is probably right.

You never really know what someone's talking about on eBay unless you're actually looking at the ad.

Sellers sometimes tack extra descriptors related to components to the name of a bike, as in the case of Specialized Roubaix Expert SL, where the SL refers to the Ultegra SL components rather than a lighter frame. I don't see a compact frame offering in the Scott CR1 comp, however they do offer a choice between standard and compact chainrings.

I think you are right. I have seen a lot of eBay listings like this too. I was approaching this like it was a frame that someone built up into a compact bike, but your approach makes more sense.

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A quick Google of "Scott CR1 Comp" produced photos of bikes with a "semi-sloping" TT (like most current road bike frames I see today), plus a compact crankset.

Slightly off-topic, but personally I see little difference between an old-school road frame with a level TT and the now-popular slanted TT style, since the slope of the TT doesn't affect the critical fit dimensions. More important is that several of the big brands are now making road frames with a choice of head tube heights and effective TT lengths, depending on the type of fit their customers want or need. EG, Trek Madone's come in either "Pro" or "Performance" fit geometries, while Cdale has three choices: Super Six/CAAD geometry as their "pro" fit, Synapse as "road-comfort", while the Six is a compromise geometry between the two.

This is one of the best innovations/evolutions in the bike industry: offering more than one HT length for a given sized frame. It's always been a custom option, but finally you can sometimes get that choice going OEM.

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