Cannondale's Scalpel is an ultralight, super efficient speed machine that is ready for the rough and tumble realities of XC. The ultimate race machine.
The super lightweight carbon frame was designed with the race in mind. The Scalpel's BallisTech carbon is one of the stiffest on the market, so energy wasting flex can be consigned to the history books. Cannondale's proprietary Ai offset drive train means for very short chainstays, in turn providing climb winning traction and agile handling to help you get ahead of the pack.The Lefty Ocho fork is unbelievably smooth and precise, so you can stay in control and out handle much of the competition.
The Scalpel also features Cannondale's OutFront steering geometry; this tech combines a slack head angle with a long fork offset/rake. Normally, where steering is quick and agile it can be twitchy at speed, and where steering is slack and stable things get sluggish when at lower speeds. With OutFront technology, you get the best of both worlds: stable and confident handling at high speeds, whilst still getting responsive handling at lower speeds.
The Shimano XTR groupset is one of the best, if not the best groupset in the mountain bike market. The shifting is as accurate as you'd expect from the Japanese giants, but the XTR also features a spring loaded one-way ratchet that can be turned on and off. When on and the ratchet engaged, the lower pulley cage is almost fixed. The result is no chain slap aside from the hardest of hits. The Shadow profile also helps prevent damage when the innevitable dismount happens.
Shimano XTR hydraulic disc brakes offera superior amount of stopping power. You've got the stopping power to be confident attacking a downhill descent, and you can spend less time braking and more time pedalling.
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Internally routed cables keep a clean look and aid maintenance, whilst changeable cable guides in the headtube support all configurations
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Integrated Di2 battery housing