A gloomy veil of clouds and drizzle hangs over the rooftops of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Our test bikes are set up. But we are still a little unmotivated as we bundle up in our rain jackets. Admittedly: At this time of year, we would have liked a more pleasant location for our stage tour - at least as far as the weather is concerned. However, in view of the upcoming duel between the two down-country bikes standing in front of us in the drizzle, we couldn't have chosen a better location. Our route takes us from south to north through the singletrack paradise of the Palatinate Forest and back again. 200 kilometres with 3900 metres in altitude spread over three stages seem tailor-made for this bike category as a test route.
Contrary to the trend of arming trail bikes for increasingly nasty descents at the expense of weight, the two competitors Santa Cruz Blur TR and Cannondale Scalpel SE are literally craving for kilometres. The basic prerequisite for long-distance suitability is still the lowest possible weight. In order to land below the magical twelve-kilo mark, both manufacturers use the delicate carbon chassis of their own Marathon fullys. As a result, Santa Cruz and Cannondale save an average of 500 grams on the frame alone compared to the designated trail bikes with independent frame platforms.
Equipped with a little more travel on the shock, 120 mm forks and telescopic seatposts for better downhill performance, the flyweight's range of use has shifted noticeably towards touring. Down Country - that's what the cross between a race bike and a trail bike is called in technical jargon. But before the two US bikes were allowed to flex their muscles on our ride through the Palatinate Forest, they had to prove themselves in the BIKE test lab.
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Like the test duel "Santa Cruz Blur TR CC X01 AXS RSV vs Cannondale Scalpel Carbon SE Ltd." you can find out in the test from BIKE 4/2022. You can conveniently download the test report as a PDF below the article.
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Max Fuchs
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