Mountain Bike Rider — March 2018

£3,999

T

here’s no mistaking the Scalpel

for anything other than a

Cannondale, thanks to the

unique single-sided Lefty fork

and that unmistakeable, bean

can-sized head tube.

Now in its fifth iteration, the decades-

old model’s frame has been tweaked

to reflect current XC trends. One of

thefirstbrandstoincorporateflexin

the stays rather than use pivots, this

Scalpel-Si sticks to that formula.

The‘Si’inthenamestandsfor

System Integration, and whether you

like it or not, Cannondale ploughs its

ownfurrowwhenitcomestomuchof

the technology found on the Scalpel.

Taketherearend,forexample:ituses

Cannondale’s proprietary asymmetric

spacingtoshiftthehubandchainring

positionafewmillimetrestowards

thedriveside.Why?Itallowsfora

dishless rear wheel, effectively bringing

Boost-likestiffnesswithoutneedingto

increasethewidthoftherearend and

compromise heel clearance.

SUSPENSION

Then there’s the 100mm-travel

Lefty suspension fork. Unlike normal

telescopic suspension forks, the Lefty

is an inverted design that stacks

everything into the single left leg. And

even though it’s a square peg in a round

hole,runningonneedlebearings,it’s

stifferthanmoretraditionaltwin-legged

designs. It’s not quite as sensitive

though,andisalittlehardertolivewith

since wheel removal requires the brake

calipertobeswungoutoftheway,plus

you can’t just rest the bike upright on

the dropouts like normal.

Atthe rear, it’s more like business

as usual, and gets 100mm of travel.

Aneatcarbonupperlinkdrivesthe

RockShox Monarch XX shock, eclipsing

theperformanceofthefrontendwith

itssuperior,supplestroke.Bothare

linked to a handlebar-mounted hydraulic

lockout, providing a simple on/off

functionality.

COMPONENTS

Cannondale is renowned for making

someofthelightestcranksetsonthe

market,andtheScalpelcomeswith

the stiff and distinctive Hollowgram Si

version. Due to the asymmetric back

end, the chainring has a custom offset,

so this is something to take into account

if you change drivetrain components.

SimilartoGiant,Cannondalehas

taken the slightly bold step of speccing

awidebar.Inthiscase,anown-brand

760mmflat,carbonbar.It’sincredible

howafewextramillimetrescanhavea

positive impact on the handling.

Stan’sCrestrimsusedtobethe‘only’

choice for XC racers, and the new Mk3

versionseesanincreaseininternal

widthto25mmforbettertyresupport.

LacedontoCannondale’sownC-Zero

hubs,thismakesforasuper-lightset-up.

Heavierormorepowerfulriders,might

find them a little too flexible, however.

PERFORMANCE

TheScalpeloftengavetheimpression

thatitwasbattlingwithitselfandits

partsfailedtogeltogether.Theframe

givesyoupowerandstiffnessinspades,

and the short wheelbase and stays make

itapleasuretoslamthroughtheturns.

But this is juxtaposed with a harshness

CANNONDALE SCALPEL-SI CARBON 3

SPECIFICATION

FrameScalpel-Si

BallisTec carbon,

100mm travel

ShockRockShox

Monarch XX,

ForkCannondale

Lefty 2.0 XLR,

100mm travel

WheelsC-Zero hubs

LeftyF/12X142mmR,

Stan’s NoTubes Crest

Mk3 rims, Schwalbe

Racing Ralph EVO

29x2.25in tyres

Drivetrain

Cannondale chainset

32t, Shimano XTR

11-speed r-mech,

Shimano XT shifter

BrakesShimano XT

M8000, 160mm

Components

Cannondale 760mm

flatbar,90mmstem,

seatpost; Prologo

Zero II STN saddle

SizesS(27.5in),M,L,

XL (29in)

Weight11.55kg

(25.46lb)

Contactcannondale.

com

GEOMETRY

SizetestedL

Head angle69.9°

Seat angle69.7°

BB height338mm

Chainstay438mm

Front centre705mm

Wheelbase1,143mm

Down tube692mm

Toptube595mm

Reach 445mm

RockShox hydraulic

lockout lever provides

reliable, rapid and

easy operation

Combining an XT

cassette with a

Shimano XTR rear

derailleur increases

the gear range

ShimanoXTM8000brakes

provide consistent operation,

butwe’dliketoseealarger

180mmfrontrotorfor

increased stopping power

Compact frame design

provides plenty of

standover clearance.

Much appreciated on

technical descents

VERDICT

On paper the Scalpel seemed

liketherealdealbuttherideleft

usfeelingalittleconfusedand

wondering what could have been.

Fundamentally, the frame sizing

andgeometryfeelsalittledated,

making the Scalpel handle well

enough, but nowhere near as

stable and predictable as some

of its competitors. Add in the

mis-matchedsuspensionresponse

—thefrontendfeelstoo detached

fromthe trail and

the rear feels like

it needs more

support—and

the Scalpel-Si

Carbon3just

misses the mark.

thatmakesitalltooeasyforthebike

toget deflected off line by roots and

rocks, making it difficult to maintain

any flow you might have built up.

Thehighbottombracketandsteep

angles also rein it in on the descents,

andwereallystruggledtobalance

thefeeloftheforkandshock.The

rear shock’s supple action gives the

bike great traction and small-bump

sensitivity. It does limit the support

required by race situations, however,

andattimesgivestheimpressionthat

the bike has something approaching a

splitpersonality.Andbecausethebasic

lockoutlacksanyformofthreshold

adjustment,youoftenfeelthatthebike

is either too soft or too firm for properly

efficient riding.

94 mbrMARCH 2018

BIKE TEST