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Cannondale Scalpel-Si Carbon 3: A finely honed instrument for serious cross country riding

A hard-tail alternative that's capable of more

The Scalpel has long been Cannondale’s flagship dual-suspension cross country race bike. It has enjoyed much success in both popularity, as well as race wins. Christoph Sauser rode that bike to many podium appearances, including his Olympic bronze medal in Sydney. Named for its precision on the trail, the Scalpel is often the bike of choice for riders looking for the efficiency of a hardtail as well as some respite from rocks and roots. In 2016, Cannondale launched a redesigned Scalpel and dubbed it an XXc bike. The extra “X” is in response to the increased technical difficulty of World Cup race courses. I was curious. Would the change dull the Scalpel’s razor-sharp edge on the trails? I spent some quality time on the Carbon 3 model to find out.

The new Scalpel-Si has a much slacker head tube, now measuring 69.5 degrees; it’s the most notable difference from previous versions. The slacker geometry follows the long-and-low trend we are seeing in mountain bike geometry. Helping to keep the bike’s handling sharp, Cannondale got the chainstays to a short and nimble 43.5 cm (on the medium to extra large models) by moving the drivetrain outboard by 6 mm. These two changes in geometry really inspire confidence when descending. Your weight is noticeably farther back compared with the older Scalpel, which makes a difference when things get steep and technical. Cannondale also supplies the bike with a 760-mm-long handlebar that adds more control on rough terrain. The provided 2.25″ Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires seem a bit narrow when paired with a wider handlebar.

Having spent some time on previous versions of the Scalpel, I can say the new Si edition stays true to its lineage, while riding like a true hardtail alternative. Cannondale’s new two-piece carbon rear linkage not only shaves weight from the previous aluminum version, it really gets the power to your rear wheel without leaking energy into pedal bob. The 100 mm of travel soaks up roots and small rocks, which allows you to focus on ticking over the pedals rather than avoiding every obstacle. At 6′ tall, I chose the large frame, which is what I have previously ridden. I found that I needed to position the saddle farther forward on the new model to help maintain front wheel traction on steep climbs. The Lefty fork’s X-Loc full-sprint remote did help with grip as I could flip the switch, then stand up and over the front wheel without worrying about losing rear wheel traction with the 29″ hoops.

The Scalpel-Si Carbon 3 model I tested came equipped with all the goodies you would expect from a bike with a price tag around the $7,000 mark. Shimano took care of the shifting with an XT/Xtr combo and everything was rolling on Stan’s Ztr Crest rims. One of my favourite components is certainly the Cannondale HollowGram Si direct-mount 1-by crank. The crank and 32-tooth direct-drive ring are amazingly stiff; the 11–42 tooth Shimano cassette gave me plenty of range to tackle any climb and chase down friends on fire-road descents. I’m glad Cannondale maintained the same razor-sharp feel with the new Scalpel because it has always been one of the best options for short-travel XC bikes. Now it’s even more capable than older models. In the hands of a skilled trail surgeon, the new Cannondale Scalpel-Si will operate better than ever.