Cannondale Scalpel 1: The latest weapon for the cross-country trail in the BIKE test
What until recently was only achieved by the Cannondale Scalpel SE downcountry bike is now available on the Scalpel cross-country race bike without the name suffix: With 120 millimetres of front and rear travel and a radically progressive geometry, the Americans are heralding the future of their XC platform. A 67 degree head angle and 473 millimetre reach in size L speak for themselves. The new Cannondale Scalpel wants to be propelled over demanding courses at high speed. But how does the increased weight affect the BIKE evaluation in the lab and in practice? With the Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 1, we were able to fire the second most expensive model over the trails. The black racer surprised us in several ways.
Tested: How the Cannondale Scalpel 2024 performs in practice
All trail or what? Anyone looking at the new Scalpel with reservations about the increased suspension travel can rest assured. Because Cannondale's racer makes it clear as soon as you sit on it: this bike is made for the starting block. The racy look of the carbon racer makes your lungs go into a figure-eight position as soon as you set up in the car park, and thanks to the long reach, you still sit comfortably stretched out on the new Scalpel despite the steeper seat angle.
We have already ridden the bike with rather high handlebars, which suits marathons, trail tours and long distances well. If you need a lower front end for sprint races or circuits, you can remove a lot of spacers under the carbon cockpit and make use of the short head tube. Thanks to the two-part spacer design, this is not much more effort than with the predecessor, despite the integrated cable routing and the form-fit cockpit. We found the geometry of the new system bar to be very successful in every riding situation.
The Scalpel has a direct acceleration, even if it no longer shoots forwards like the bikes of yesteryear in the under-ten-kilo class. This is primarily due to the wider tyres and the high wheel weight. Overall, the Cannondale still rolls along quickly, but the increased weight is undeniable when sprinting up steep ramps. More conservatively designed race fullys, such as the one recently tested by BIKE Berria Makofly towards the summit a little more lively on gravel or tarmac. On the other hand, the suspension of the new Scalpel is super efficient. In the seated position, hardly any movement can be detected in the shock even without a lockout. The new carbon frame achieved high stiffness values on the test bench in the BIKE lab.
Even when pedalling out of the saddle, the rear suspension only bobs slightly and can be calmed down with a twist of the twist lock - a welcome and ergonomically implemented feature on the race bike for even more sprinting power. Similar to the recently presented Specialized S-Works Epic of the 2024 generation the Cannondale Scalpel is anything but uncomfortable, even with the suspension locked.
The 2.4-inch wide Maxxis tyres have a particularly large volume on the wide DT Swiss rims and their good damping ensured that we didn't miss an intermediate stage of the suspension platform. The new Cannondale Scalpel impresses on technical trail climbs full of roots with its sensitive rear suspension and good traction. Top: The front of the bike climbs only slightly, the uphill control is excellent even in tight corners.
Downcountry par excellence: trail lover Cannondale Scalpel
The more demanding the terrain becomes, the more the new Cannondale Scalpel can play its trump cards. Even on an undulating, obstacle-ridden trail with short descents and counter-climbs, the bike conveys a great deal of confidence for a racer, and the downhill cornering puts a big grin on your face. Thanks to the balanced geometry, you literally fly through the trail.
Such uncomplicated handling is anything but a matter of course for a race bike that aims to win World Cup races. None of our testers of different heights found the newly gained reach and chainstay length uncomfortable. At high speeds, together with the slack but not too extreme steering angle of 67 degrees, it helps to stay in line. For comparison: Specialized goes down to 65.9 degrees on their newly presented 120cc Epic race bike.
The fact that Scalpel riders don't have to pay for the intuitive handling on the descents with bitchy behaviour at the limit is thanks to the Cannondale's impressively good suspension. Although the rear of the expensive bike only has a Rockshox SID Lux with mid-range Select+ damping and the small shock wants to be pumped up with a lot of pressure, the Scalpel hits a successful sweet spot of sensitivity and feedback from the ground.
While it seems that many new 120cc race bikes are either too linear or too progressive, Cannondale has actually managed to find a good balance - without any electronic aids, like the new Rockshox Flight Attendant System. However, there is one drawback for mechanics: the seat stay has to be removed to remove the shock absorber, as otherwise the rear fastening screw remains inaccessible - an annoying detail that other manufacturers solve better.
The idiosyncratic Cannondale Lefty has already convinced us in the past with its strong riding behaviour. Even in the new race bike, the one-legged bike has no weaknesses and reacts sensitively to small and large bumps without lacking sporty damping. At the front of the Scalpel, the Lefty does an excellent job of guiding the bike, is slightly lower in its travel than the rear end and is therefore the more comfortable part of the suspension. This suits the Race-Fully well and the Cannondale also takes cross roots and jumps in its stride. The high suspension quality also forgives the odd riding error and creates a great feeling of safety on technical descents.
This impression is reinforced by the extremely wide tyres for a race bike. As most of the cables on the cockpit run into the field of vision from the left - thanks to the wireless shifting system - and the massive Lefty fork is also in view from this side, the carbon cockpit provides a clear view of the fat tyres at all times. Visually alone, this conveys confidence. Although the tyres only have very tame lugs, the grip is at a high level thanks to the good suspension and low tubeless air pressure.
With four pistons, the Sram Level Stealth on the Scalpel Carbon 1 has a high braking force for a race bike. The thick Sram HS2 discs, which Cannondale specifies with a solid 180 mm diameter at the front, are also responsible for this. A small drawback in terms of equipment: although the Fox Transfer SL is light, reacts lightning-fast and offers a lot of travel, it can only be fully extended or fully retracted. For undulating trails or technically demanding uphills, a drop of a few centimetres would sometimes be practical.
Marathon racers will be pleased to see that there are still two bottle cages in the frame triangle. Despite the increased overall weight, the new Scalpel frame unfortunately does not offer a storage compartment or any other solution for storing a tool or similar. In the BIKE usability assessment, the Cannondale race bike scored fewer points overall than many of its competitors. However, the new Scalpel does have a unique added value: there is a sensor on the front wheel hub that collects precise data about the ride in conjunction with the Cannondale app and Garmin computers.
Top 10: The lightest MTBs 2023 & 2024 - frame weights in comparison
Cross-country bikes are the supreme discipline for MTB engineers. A huge amount of development work is required to continually raise the supposedly optimised models to a new level.
In order to achieve maximum range of use and minimum weight with full race track suitability, special carbon fibre, innovative frame construction and cleverly composed equipment are used to combat every superfluous gram.
The basis for a super light mountain bike is a super light frame. Filigree damper linkages and the elimination of everything that is not really necessary will enable frame weights of well under 2000 grams in 2024. Including the shock, mind you. And with very good stiffness.
These are currently probably the lightest and most expensive mountain bikes we have tested - the top stars will be competing with them in the 2024 Olympic year. The bare figures.
Overview: The 10 lightest MTB frames 2023/2024 - weighed & tested by BIKE
- Arc8 Evolve FS (size L): 1536 g
- Trek Supercaliber (size L): 1672 g
- Canyon Lux CFR (size L): 1675 g
- Specialised S-Works Epic 8 FACT 12M (size L): 1682 g
- Cannondale Scalpel Series 0 (size M): 1775 g (on test: Series 1, size L, 2052 g )
- Scott Spark RC World Cup (size L): 1780 g (in the test: Scott Spark RC Pro for 6799 euros)
- Pivot Mach 4 SL (size M): 1845 g
- Specialised Epic EVO 8 FACT 11M (size L): 1872 g
- Simplon Cirex 120 (size L): 1880 g
- MMR Kenta SXC (size L): 2125 g
Details of the Cannondale Scalpel 1
- Front suspension travel: 120 mm
- Rear suspension travel: 120 mm
- Frame material: Carbon
- Wheel size: 29 inch
- Price: 9499 Euro
- Available from: Specialist retailers
The greatest strength of the new Cannondale Scalpel lies in its thoroughly successful 120-millimetre suspension. This is closely followed by the race bike's easy handling. Compared to the competition, the visually exciting fully falls behind, especially in terms of wheel weight. Viewed in isolation, this is a disadvantage on the climbs, but over the length of a cross-country race, the advantages of the reserves of the chassis and wide tyres clearly outweigh the disadvantages. - Jan Timmermann, BIKE test editor
Equipment
- Fork: Cannondale Lefty Ocho Carbon
- Shock: Rockshox SIDluxe Select+
- Gear system: Sram X0 Eagle AXS Transmission, 1 x 12
- Gear ratio / bandwidth: 34; 10-52 / 520 %
- Brakes: Sram Level Stealth Silver, 180 / 160 mm
- dropper post / stroke: Fox Transfer SL / 150 mm
- Wheels: DT Swiss XRC 1501
- Tyres: Maxxis Rekon Race / Aspen Exo TR, 29 x 2.4"
Measured values
- Total weight: 11.5 kg (without pedals)
- Frame weight: 2058 g (without shock absorber)
- Weight of wheels: 4134 g
- Impeller inertia: 3237 kg x cm²
Conclusion from BIKE editor Adrian Kaether
Fast corner changes, nasty root passages, jumps: the Scalpel demonstrates with flying colours how incredibly fast you can be downhill on a modern cross-country bike. Thanks to its superior 120cc suspension, it forgives the odd riding mistake and is simply fun - even when it's not about racing against the clock. Uphill, the Scalpel is still a really fast bike, even if the acceleration is no longer quite as brutal as with the asphalt cutter tyres of the sub-ten-kilo generation.
Pro
- High confidence downhill
- Sensitive yet efficient chassis
- stiff at the start, forgiving downhill
- surprisingly wide range of applications
Contra
- Dropper post without intermediate positions
- Wheel weight high in comparison
- not a bargain
More about the new Cannondale Scalpel: The individual models with price & orientation in our general presentation - including interview >>
Adrian Kaether
Editor
