Market: The new Cannondale Scalpel Si was presented today as part of the Bike Festival in Riva. The successor to the cross-country top bike Scalpel comes up with some groundbreaking solutions in terms of frame geometry and system integration. We have all the information about the new tool from the Cannondale pros around Manuel Fumic.
The Cannondale Scalpel has been one of the best and fastest cross-country bikes ever since it was launched a few years ago. As the working tool of the Cannondale Factory Racing Team around Manuel Fumic, it also has to prove itself every year in the tough realms of the World Cup. This was one of the reasons why the US manufacturer developed the new Cannondale Scalpel Si presented today: The World Cup courses have changed a lot in recent years. Technical passages with high steps, tight bends and daring downhills are becoming increasingly important - this not only poses completely new challenges for the driver, but also for the material and bikes.
The Cannondale Scalpel Si comes with both 27,5″ and 29″ wheels – but not in all sizes. Like other manufacturers, the wheels of the new XC-Fully from Cannondale grow with the frame. The women's models and the men's model in size S come with 650b tires, while the other sizes are equipped with the usual, large 29″ wheels.
Cannondale Scalpel Si – One bike, one system
With this ulterior motive in mind, the new Cannondale Scalpel Si was created - built for the technically more demanding routes of the World Cup, but still a racer through and through: low weight, unrestrained propulsion and clever detailed solutions preserve the original character of the Scalpel. The suffix Si in the name of the new model stands for System Integration. More than ever, the goal of the designers was to create a bike as a whole that is more than just the sum of its parts. Of course, this approach benefits from the fact that the Lefty is one of the lightest and most powerful suspension forks ever developed and the Cannondale Hollowgram crankset is the feather-light dream of many mountain bikers. But they also worked hand in hand with other component suppliers such as Rock Shox.
Do-it-yourself advocates and long-term mechanics who prefer to build their bikes themselves and design them according to their wishes may not like such an approach, but even these traditionalists will have to admit that such a coordinated overall system on a bike designed for absolute performance like makes sense to the Cannondale Scalpel Si.
Cannondale Scalpel Si - OutFront steering geometry for more control
One of the fruits of this holistic approach is the so-called OutFront Geometry. With a relatively large fork offset of 55mm, in combination with a slightly flattened steering angle, a large distance between the center of the bike and the front wheel axle is achieved with little caster at the same time - this improves the handling downhill enormously and does not come at the expense of agility. Who now only understands the train station - everything in order:
Every mountain biker knows the nagging feeling on steep slopes when you feel that the rear wheel is slowly losing contact with the ground and there is a risk of the handlebars coming off. Here it often only helps to balance the buttocks behind the saddle and thus ensure more balance. But the bike geometry also plays a crucial role in these situations. Because the closer the front wheel axle is to the center of the wheel, i.e. the crank, the faster you get this rollover feeling. Conversely, of course, a large distance from the front wheel axle to the crank offers a safe feeling during steep passages. Manufacturers usually influence this dimension through the steering angle. This is why downhill-oriented bikes have flat angles (downhill, for example, in the range of 63°).
However, a slack steering angle also comes with a disadvantage that should not be underestimated, namely a large fork trail. This is the distance from the contact area of the front wheel to the extended axis of the dropout or the center of the hub. A large trail means that the front wheel quickly loses grip on uphill stretches and you also get relatively sluggish cornering.
During the development of the Cannondale Scalpel Si, people thought in a new direction and considered how to increase the decisive dimension, namely the distance from the front wheel axle to the crank, without buying in the disadvantages of a large fork trail. The solution to the problem was to increase the so-called fork offset. The hub of the Lefty installed in the new Scalpel is now 55mm in front of the steering axle (comparison: conventional suspension forks usually have an offset of approx. 45mm). This allows you to reduce the trail and at the same time increase the distance from the crank to the front wheel. All of this was only possible because the development of the Lefty suspension fork takes place in the same house. In this way, we could work hand in hand towards a common goal.
Very interesting for owners of the current Scalpel F-Si: Despite the sometimes considerable changes in the geometry, the seating position on the bike should remain almost unchanged with the same size.
Cannondale Scalpel Si – thank you for the asymmetry
A second essential feature of the new Scalpel is the Ai, the Asymmetric Integration. An asymmetrical rear end, from the chain stays to the front derailleur mount, solves several problems of modern bikes: On the one hand, the chain stays can be kept very short (435mm) without having to make any compromises. In contrast to most other bikes with such short struts, the Scalpel Si fits both wide tires (up to 2,35″) and a front derailleur and a dual drive setup can still be mounted without any problems.
But why short chainstays at all? The handling of the bike benefits from a short rear triangle in several ways: The overall shorter wheelbase increases agility and makes the bike much easier to control, especially in narrow and tricky terrain. In addition, the rear end can work much more efficiently during climbing passages.
Cannondale Scalpel Si - Lightest frame in its class
The Scalpel has always been one of the lightest mountain bikes in its class and, unsurprisingly, the new Scalpel Si is no exception: With 2118g for the frame including shock absorber and thru-axle in the lightest Hi-MOD version, the weight of the predecessor is over 80g and is even below the already extremely light Specialized Epic S-Works and the Trek Top Fuel. There is also a slightly heavier carbon version and even a model with an aluminum frame.
The fact that the Scalpel survives the hardships of the World Cup despite its low weight is due to the so-called Ballistec technology. Even if Cannondale keeps a low profile when it comes to technical details, they are quite proud of the fact that they have apparently managed to selectively and reliably influence fiber density and other factors responsible for weight and stiffness in the production process.
The design of the swingarm on the rear triangle is also clever: it is clamped together with an expanding thru-axle. This makes a multi-part construction obsolete and the component that is fundamental for the rear end performance can be made from a single piece, weight-saving and efficiently.
Frame Highlights Cannondale Scalpel Si
Cannondale Scalpel Si models and prices
men's models
Cannondale Scalpel Si Black Inc
Circuit: Shimano XTR Di2 2×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XTR Race 160/160
impellers: Enve M50 Carbon / Lefty 60F / Chris King R
Price: 11.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Race
Loom: BallisTec Hi-MOD Carbon
Circuit: Shimano XTR 1×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XTR Race 160/160
impellers: Enve M50 Carbon / Lefty 60F / Chris King R
Price: 8.499€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Team
Loom: BallisTec Hi-MOD Carbon
Circuit: SRAM XX1/X01
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate 180/160
impellers: Cannondale CZero Carbon
Price: 8.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon 1
Loom: BallisTec Hi-MOD Carbon
Circuit: Shimano XTR 1×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XTR Race 160/160
impellers: Cannondale CZero SL Carbon
Price: 6.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon 2
Loom: BallisTec Carbon
Circuit: SRAM XX1/X01
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XT 160/160
impellers: Cannondale CZero Carbon
Price: 5.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon 3
Loom: BallisTec Carbon
Circuit: Shimano XT/XTR 1×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XT 160/160
impellers: ZTR Crest / CZero
Price: 4.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon 4
Loom: BallisTec Carbon
Circuit: Shimano XT 2×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 Carbon XLR 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch RL
brakes: Shimano XT 160/160
impellers: ZTR Rapid 25
Price: 3.999€
women models
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon Women's 1
Loom: BallisTec Carbon
Circuit: SRAM XX1/X01
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 XLRFS 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XT 160/160
impellers: Cannondale CZero
Price: 5.999€
Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon Women's 2
Loom: BallisTec Carbon
Circuit: Shimano XT 2×11
suspension fork: Lefty 2.0 XLR 100mm
Mute: Rock Shox Monarch XX
brakes: Shimano XT 160/160
impellers: ZTR Rapid 25
Price: 3.999€
In the coming days we will test whether the Cannondale Scalpel Si really keeps what it promises. You can read about our experiences shortly on Velomotion. Most models will be available in the coming weeks, only the two top models Black Inc. and Team and the aluminum model will only be available in late summer.
Website
www.cannondale.com
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