If you look back at the company's history, it becomes clear that Cannondale attaches great importance to one thing: Be different! The Lefty forks, their own shock absorber systems with travel adjustment, downhill bikes with two shocks in the rear or aluminium wheels milled from the solid. Even if the last two examples were never produced in series, the Americans at least provided some variety in the increasingly standardised bike market. After the brief retrospective, the new Cannondale Scalpel SE seems almost a little sober. No Lefty, no proprietary damping system and little else extravagant. And yet it is a lightweight trail bike in a class of its own.
The Cannondale Scalpel: always a pioneer
Who Cannondale only to its otherness underestimates the Americans enormously. In addition to the drive to break out of the mould, the urge to innovate is also firmly anchored in the American company culture. With voluminous aluminium frames, Cannondale defined the benchmark for stiffness in mountain bike frames at a time when other companies were still soldering steel tubesets. With the early mass production of bikes in the 90s, the Americans had a formative influence on the market. And with the first Scalpel Cannondale recognised the potential of MTB fullys in racing back in 2001, when cross-country world championships were still won exclusively on hardtails. If you like, the Scalpel was a pioneer back then. And an excellent one at that. 19 years later, Cannondale is once again presenting a new Scalpel. In addition to the classic 100-millimetre version of the scalpel For the racetracks of this world, the latest Scalpel (model year 2021) is also available in an SE version with 120 millimetres of travel.
The SE version: 120 millimetres of suspension travel and moderate geometry
To make the classic 100-millimetre Scalpel fit for trail and touring use, Cannondale has simply given the SE version a shock with more travel. Unlike its predecessor and many other companies, the main frame, rear triangle and all rocker arms remain unchanged from the 100 millimetre version. The longer shock stroke gives the rear end 123 millimetres of travel and raises the bottom bracket 13 millimetres. The 120 millimetre fork flattens the steering angle of the Scalpel SE by one degree (compared to the 100 mm version) to 67 degrees.
Even though the Scalpel SE has a significantly slacker head angle (2.5 degrees) and a slightly longer reach (6 millimetres for size L) compared to its predecessor, the geometry values remain within a moderate range. Other manufacturers stretch their trail bikes significantly longer. However, we really liked the moderate approach during an initial test. The riding position remains pleasantly comfortable, especially for touring riders.
The geometry of the new Cannondale Scalpel SE
The Scalpel SE combines good weight, high stiffness and smart details
We already had a new Scalpel SE in the BIKE test lab and weighed the frame weight. In frame size L, the carbon chassis weighs 2153 grams without the shock, which makes the frame just as heavy as its predecessor. In contrast to other frames in this weight class, the Scalpel has a very good stiffness of 44 N/mm on our test bench. Details such as an integrated chain guide, a storage compartment for a mini tool or space for two large water bottles in the frame triangle make the Scalpel SE one of the most interesting bikes for sporty touring riders. The good total weight of 11.4 kilos without pedals makes long trail tours with many metres in altitude possible.
For BIKE 7/20, we tested the new Cannondale Scalpel Carbon SE 1 as well as other touring bikes with 120 millimetres of travel. We will reveal how the Scalpel SE compares to classics such as the Rocky Mountain Element, Cubs AMS TM or the Rose Thrill Hill Trail in laboratory and practical tests in the next issue of BIKE magazine on 2 June.
Cannondale Scalpel SE - Models at a glance
