What’s this? It’s new the Cannondale Scalpel. Can’t be. Scalpels all come with a Lefty fork. Well, surprise! Introducing the new Scalpel, Cannondale’s lightest, fastest and most bad-ass version of its XC and Marathon race machine Here’s what’s new and what it will cost.
When you think the current version of a high-end, high-performance racing mountain bike is the pinnacle of engineering achievements, along come the engineers and new technology and improve on it. Launched in 2002, the Scalpel has become one of the iconic world-beating race bikes of our time. And Cannondale isn’t resting.
From a distance, the new Scalpel looks very similar to its predecessor, which was launched in September 2020. But there’s more travel, more progressive geometry, more capable spec and racy light weight. And a RockShox fork!
Here’s what Cannondale says you can expect on the new Scalpel:
MORE TRAVEL
Thanks to the magic of its FlexPivot kinematics and Proportional Response suspension, Scalpel’s 120mm of travel front and rear delivers unreal traction, more control, and a hell of a lot more fun – with all the efficiency and responsiveness you’d expect from a World Cup race rig.
FORK OPTIONS
While Cannondale retains its stiff, smooth, responsive Lefty fork on its flagship model, the Scalpel LAB71 and more widely available Scalpel 1, it offers the option of a RockShox Sid on the Scalpel 2 and only offers RockShox forks on its Scalpel 3 and Scalpel 4 models.
PROGRESSIVE GEOMETRY
With a slack 66.6-degree head tube angle, a steep 75.5-degree seattube angle and longer reach, the new Scalpel FlexPivot frame is customised by size to keep the rider more balanced between the wheels.
PROPORTIONAL RESPONSE SUSPENSION
How a suspension system responds to inputs is heavily influenced by the rider’s centre of gravity. While many brands use the same suspension layout across all sizes, the Scalpel’s Proportional Response allows Cannondale to customise kinematics by size to deliver best traction, braking, and pedalling performance on all sizes.
OPTIMAL CONTROL
All models of the new Cannondale Scalpel feature a dropper seatpost for greater control on descents and through technical terrain and trail features.
AVAILABILITY
There’s currently availability in South Africa of the Scalpel 2 with the RockShox SID Select fork (intro image) at R120 000. Other models will be available over the next few months.
For more details visit the Cannondale website here.
