Trail Testing – The New Cannondale Scalpel-Si

There have been rumors about a new Scalpel in the works and even a couple spotted in the wild at the recent Sea Otter Classic. After a two year development period with extensive feedback from CFR riders Marco Fontana and Manual Fumic, Cannondale has redefined their standards on cross-country racing with the new Scalpel-Si.

The Scalpel-Si uses a lot of the same technology as the hardtail F-Si including: Ai offset, Lefty SuperMax, and slack head-angle with a 55-millimeter fork offset. Cannondale designed the Scalpel to have the same fit as the F-Si, but will come stock with a 1cm shorter stem for more aggressive riding.

The frame is built with Cannondale’s Ballistic carbon layup along and will use Zero-Pivot Flexstays in the rear triangle. Lock’R is the new suspension system that uses a carbon link and doesn’t require any special tools for easier maintenance.

The fit all the cables internally and make the frame compatible with multiple drivetrain options, Cannondale developed a trick mount that connects to the shock and goes inside the top tube which will allow riders to store a Di2 battery.

Men’s and women’s frame geometries will be wheel size specific. 27.5 inch wheels will be used on women’s sizes XS-Medium, while men’s small will have 27.5 and M-XL will have 29-inch.

We have been in Riva Del Garda, Italy the last couple days getting a chance to ride these new race machines and have been intrigued by the capability and generally fun ride. The Scalpel is all business when it comes to speed but has some certain characteristics that make it playful and just flat out fun. Our test bike was the Race version which featured the classic Cannondale green paint but also a new chrome graphic that is very eye catching in person.

Keep an eye out for future issue of Mountain Bike Action for the write up on our trip and a full test of the new bike.