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Scalpel for a beginner?

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Figman5000 
#1 ·
Should a beginner and non-racer buy a Cannondale Scalpel?

I'm looking to buy a used mountain bike for cross-country and long-distance rides. I'm generally a road rider, and my mountain biking has been only on hardtails, with no experience on a full suspension or doing highly technical riding.

I've seen a few used Scalpels at decent prices (aluminum, 26"), and I like the light weight and climbing ability, but I know this is a stiffer racing bike, not a plush downhiller. Is this a decent choice? I won't have the chance to test-ride one of these off-road before buying, so I could use a little guidance. Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
DD hit it on the head. Plush is the key. I really like the Scalpel but for me I wanted a bit more travel. In my younger days a scalpel was all I rode. Its fast, light and easily tamed. Why not? They one I had (older 26" alum model climbed like a goat!) Very fun bike!
 
#4 ·
Yes, the scalpel is a 100mm travel bike and not a plush downhiller.... but you pick a bike based on what terrain and style you ride. Are you riding XC or are you riding downhill?

the scalpel is quite plush for XC type riding....
 
#5 ·
I mostly ride either a HT or a rigid. The 2008 Scalpel has been great. Very plush compared to what i was used to. I usually keep pro pedal on and only turn it off if going downhill or pedaling through a lot of chop. I can cushion my ride while plowing through stuff i used to pick lines through. I really like the agility of this frame.

Disclaimer, i've never ridden another FS bike so i can't comment on the pedal platform of other systems. The zero pivot w/ pro pedal on seems to put nearly all of my stroke into forward motion.
 
#6 ·
I expect I'll do mostly XC riding, not downhill--which is why this bike looks so appealing. Using pro pedal sounds like a good option. Would that take care of the pedal bob problem that some people find to be an issue with this bike?

The Epic and Racer X also look like good, lightweight options. I imagine I can't go wrong with any of them, but the Scalpel just seems so damned cool. (And I'm in love with my CAAD10, if that means anything!)
 
#7 ·
There's a lot of territory in between XC and downhill. I love my XC bike. Part of that is that I like to do my climbing on singletrack. Part of it is I like racing. That said, lately I feel like there's less difference in the ride or capabilities working from a 100 mm XC bike to a 140 mm AM rig than a lot of the marketing would have you believe. There's some bias in the handling that's pretty hard to negate, but a ton of how a complete bike rides is in setup. Stick some wide bars and tires on a Scalpel and you should have a very stable, sure-footed bike.

On my Kona Hei Hei, I pretty much never use the "trail" setting on the shock. You'll have to experiment for yourself and figure out if pro-pedal is useful for you in real life. It varies by bike and rider. Forks can have pedal bob too. I've never been on the Scalpel, so I don't know what its manners are like.
 
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