Hello,
I am in the market for a new bike and the Scalpel is on the short list. I am weighing the pros and cons between a hardtail or full-suspension for the kind of riding I do. I currently ride a 12 year old Scott Scale 20 and while I like the hardtail efficiency, I would like a more comfortable ride. I do the majority of my riding on pavement (60%) and the rest is on gravel/dirt trails. I do not race but enjoy some spirited riding on trails that are not too technical, but I would be open to trying rougher terrain if I got a full-suspension bike. If I were to go with a hardtail, I would be getting another Scott Scale.
So far, I have my eye on the Scalpel Carbon 3. I am wondering if it is worth the extra cash to go up to a Carbon 2. Seems the biggest difference between the 2 and 3 is the carbon Lefty and carbon wheels on the 2. On the other hand, I do much prefer the stealth blacked-out look of the Carbon 3. I am not much into aftermarket modifications, so I will likely just buy the bike and ride it as-is, replacing parts as needed. I know this is the Cannondale forum, but other full-suspension candidates I am considering are Scott Spark and Trek Top Fuel 9.8.
I know both models I mentioned have the dual lock-out feature. Is it possible to customize it to just lock-out the rear shock to effectively turn it into a hardtail?
Thanks,
Jason
I am in the market for a new bike and the Scalpel is on the short list. I am weighing the pros and cons between a hardtail or full-suspension for the kind of riding I do. I currently ride a 12 year old Scott Scale 20 and while I like the hardtail efficiency, I would like a more comfortable ride. I do the majority of my riding on pavement (60%) and the rest is on gravel/dirt trails. I do not race but enjoy some spirited riding on trails that are not too technical, but I would be open to trying rougher terrain if I got a full-suspension bike. If I were to go with a hardtail, I would be getting another Scott Scale.
So far, I have my eye on the Scalpel Carbon 3. I am wondering if it is worth the extra cash to go up to a Carbon 2. Seems the biggest difference between the 2 and 3 is the carbon Lefty and carbon wheels on the 2. On the other hand, I do much prefer the stealth blacked-out look of the Carbon 3. I am not much into aftermarket modifications, so I will likely just buy the bike and ride it as-is, replacing parts as needed. I know this is the Cannondale forum, but other full-suspension candidates I am considering are Scott Spark and Trek Top Fuel 9.8.
I know both models I mentioned have the dual lock-out feature. Is it possible to customize it to just lock-out the rear shock to effectively turn it into a hardtail?
Thanks,
Jason