Is it TRAIL Enough? Vital MTB Tests the 2021 Cannondale Scalpel SE 1

[@TheDrDover]

I rode one yesterday. Perfect bike in the stock configuration for 90% of the trails I ride. I have one on order. 3-4 month wait for it to arrive though. It's an excellent bike to replace my six year old XC Felt Edict 9. I tested slacked out tanks all last year with no love for any of them. I gave up looking. Waiting for the bike industry to build something fun and light. Finally somebody built a light bike again without excessive travel, without the flip flop front end, but enough to make tech sections a little more fun than 100mm travel. The only thing I'll be replacing will be the grips.

[@Basement_CNC]

I don't know if it is a trail or xc Bike but it's more practical than xc and Not as heavy as a trail Bike so it is a downcountry Bike and a dream Bike for sure

[@rstrakovsky]

Great review man. Sounds like a great real world bike for the terrain that like 80% of us have access to.

[@dominocweber9763]

Good review... Short and to the point with excellent narration

[@TheFullKanani]

This bike is completely revolutionary. We’ve never seen anything like this before!!!!

[@davor_remec]

Trek Top Fuel maybe?

[@ps3narciso]

bmc fourstroke maybe?

[@Mububban23]

This seems like the perfect bike for me. I’m primarily a roadie who dabbles in MTB, and I’m way over biked with my current 140mm “all mountain” bike. I’ve learned I’m okay with drops but no good at jumping so don’t need so much squish. I enjoy climbing. I enjoy green and blue trails but also longer gravel fitness rides, and hauling my current bike on those rides isn’t great fun. But man those prices are craaaazy 🙁

[@hiro111]

Typical KZbin bike review of anything XC: they just don't get it. This guy immediately starts trying to make the Scalpel into a trail bike. Dude: it's an XC bike. It's for going fast on tight singletrack. That's what a lot of us ride. It's perhaps shocking to you, but some people actually like climbing, for example me. Some people don't want a bike that sucks the life out of the tamer trails we actually have access to. If you want a trail bike, buy a trail bike. Not every bike needs to be a huge, slacked-out sled with Minions.

[@nelsonglover3963]

I mean Cannondale describe the Scalpel SE as a trail bike

[@krazy8820]

@@nelsonglover3963 @hiro111 I think both sides of the arguement hold validity. Cannondale did dub this as a light trail bike and based on the review it definitely seems to fall short a bit. At the same time, it is frustrating to see reviewers switching out tires and stems instead of adjusting to the style of riding. Overall, I think it is a fantastic concept but I think that Cannondale has misidentified this bike. I would deem it a heavy duty xc race bike as opposed to a light weight trail bike. I've got a stumpjumper 130mm travel fork 120mm travel rear. That is a light weight trail bike. All in my humble opinion and still a great review!!! Thanks Vital!

[@stanp2281]

I think he’s got that dude. The fifth sentence in the video you can see he’s got that 😂

[@helmetless]

You should've put the discarded front tire (Ardent Race) on the rear, rather than pairing a DHR with a Rekon Race. Nice review

[@CristianValenzuela2155]

Agreed

[@sixoh_diesel5662]

Good review, bike seems great too!

[@65010]

Beware: Read Cannondale’s fine print in their Warranty Policy. They may use it against you for their best interest. My $5000.000 carbon fiber frame Jekyll broke after six years of use. Cannondale never made a finding that it was due to use or abuse. A hairline crack formed at a weak point in the frame. The bike was sold to me with a lifetime warranty on the frame. The best offer Cannondale gave me, under their lifetime warranty, was 20% off of retail - yes, that is right 20% off of retail. I fought them on it over a two month period and lost. So, I am now stuck with a 34lb paperweight. Cannondale has what I feel is the worse warranty in the bike business. If you do purchase a Cannondale bike and something goes wrong, know that they probably will not work with you at any level in your best interest. In my opinion, they do do not value you as a customer, they only value your money. This has been my experience.

[@Arkainebe]

Hi Jim. Carbon can be repaired. While it sucks and you should've received a new frame, having it repaired won't break the bank (as much) compared to buying a new frame. Repairers (where I live) give lifetime warranty (which may not mean a lot to you anymore :) ), so they're pretty confident in their work. I've been riding with a repaired frame for two years... rides just like new

[@James-yy4vl]

Thing is, after 6 years of good use of a mtb you don’t exactly expect your frame to crack but it maybe isn’t a huge shock if it does. But that’s not the point, the point is Cannondale gave you a lifetime warranty, if they aren’t going to honour it then they shouldn’t be offering the warranty in the first place. That’s pretty shitty of them.

[@daniellamb9411]

Hey similar story here, I've just had the drive-side seat-stay break 4 months ago on a Trigger Carbon 1 (4 years old), at least you got a better response than myself! Clear break after rolling through a dry creek bed. When I finally got an answer it was a very simple statement "rejected warranty claim as there are impact marks close to where the frame is cracked and this would have contributed to the damage". Absolute load of crap that a few superficial scratches contributed to the break. When I asked if I could contest the decision the answer was that I would be wasting my time. the kicker is that they didn't even want to view the frame just asked for a few photos! I will get it repaired but that will be the last time I support Cannondale.

[@evanyao4572]

Show us how the chainstay flexes when the suspension compresses please

[@trailblazeratv6306]

I saw it on one of the other channels it’s only 7%

[@Malio75]

Lol. I did the same mods - 50mm stem, 770mm bar and burly front tire - on my ‘17 Trek Fuel EX. I agree with the quality review: Cannondale should have been a little more forward-thinking with the SE trail model.

[@stef5396]

A shorter stem I understand, but why would you replace a 780mm bar with a 770mm one?

[@jpc3984]

What’s the biggest size tire you can put on the rear of the scalpel

[@KURZHAARTARTARA]

A proper review... 👍 👍 👍

[@muhammadshami7327]

Awesome! From India

[@joecasalena8263]

Great Review! And thanks for swapping out the front tire cause I’m thinking of doing the same thing if I purchase this bike. My thinking is, if this a trail bike then both tires really should be more durable.

[@jansvoboda6279]

Nice bike, but good luck if you need support from Cannondale. Have been riding Cannondales since 1999. Now have a 2018 Scalpel Carbon 3. Rear hub failed in March. Have been trying to get parts support from Cannondale since. No response, and when they did response the information was wrong. Sad state of once iconic US bike company.

[@bikerdhill]

why are you making upgrades on this race bike to make it "a little better" for riding trails? If that is what you are after, then buy the habit

[@James-yy4vl]

Think you’re missing the point of the bike. It’s an XC bike. I personally wouldn’t buy one because I don’t often ride xc and never race xc. You’re trying to compare it to trail bikes, it isn’t a trail bike.

[@ikuarden8391]

i would buy that if it had lefty 120mm

[@arnebollensen1017]

He is the coolest guy ever! Thumbs up!

[@Konzuug]

cant be xc when you use flats =D

[@robertthomason7619]

Great review and a cool looking bike but, think I'd pass for a Top Fuel.

[@leonardoolivar]

I demo the new top fuel and was great! Coming from a yt jeffsy wasn't a big difference or fell so. Just lighter and faster.

[@czakolo]

How about changing fork to 140mm? Would this work and make bike more fun on going down?

[@hughsnyder891]

I like it . Who cares probably nobody but that’s fine with me .

[@abencoadostumpjumper3877]

Bilt with Shimano . That's a great start.

[@thephoenixcycle8854]

Sounds like he's doing a monologue during poetry slam

[@lanlewis2549]

This guy is too good

[@trailblazeratv6306]

They put out a nice bike

[@motoboy6666]

Haha funny and great review

[@justinwbohner]

I rolled my eyes many times during this "review".

[@markharriman3636]

Good review but missing the point . It’s an xc bike for the non racer . Riding gnar and picking faults is very predictable . This is becoming a trend for bike reviews

[@roadrider1100]

exactly, these reviews are so predictable

[@vitalmtb]

What do you think of the new Scalpel SE? Want specs and details? Make sure to get the full review here: www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Bikes,3/Cannondale/Scalpel-SE-1,30288#product-reviews

[@ebbnyc]

I thought this was a lefty?

[@mudbutton2]

No Lefty is good news.

[@AlexeiPavlov]

Press Fit BB .. I wanna throw up!

[@tristandesade8635]

Nice bike. But I do not agree that bikes today are being "punched up". I think they are rather being "punched down". Because it is more and more about going downhill vs. uphill. I have tried all sorts of MTBs, but the only two categories that I can truly enjoy are HTs and Rigids. Modern FS trail bikes are great for older riders, riders with poor skills, or people who like going down. Since I like MTB, not DMTB, I find those bikes not so much fun. When I'm on a FS trail bike, I have feeling that I'm "riding on the bike", instead of "riding the bike". And why pay more for a bike to make your local trail boring? To have a chance to injure yourself more badly on a more difficult trail? I think the big problem with MTB today are also people who are trying to reaffirm their lost masculinity. They are running away from overly feminised society into one area where feminists and other beta males do not venture: MTB. I think those men should reclaim the society for themselves, instead of blowing off their steam in the woods on overblown and overpriced ridiculous bikes.

[@hadleybennett6875]

You clearly don’t ride difficult trails...if you can ride a rigid on all your trails then they most definitely smooth easier trials. Once you become a good rider and really want to push it going down rugged terrain you will realize how important a full suspension bike is. The essay you just wrote is meaningless.

[@murdani6816]

No lefty? Hmmm....

[@elvay6847]

The Scalpel (100mm travel) still features Lefty while the Scalpel SE (120mm travel) features a traditional fork.

[@murdani6816]

@@elvay6847 I see thanks!

[@TheProjectX3]

Geometry is OLD, since when 1172 for LG is long? STA at 74 is OLD OLD

[@primoholzfeller8844]

Whyte 120 eats this bike for breakfast!

[@bikebudha01]

1x sucks... You give up the very high/low ends of the gear range, and (worse) the huge jumps between gears essentially ensures you are always either pushing a harder gear you want, or spinning like a hampster on crack... For CROSS COUNTRY bikes, 2x should be the standard (or at least an option...)

[@stevenwaller3020]

Agreed. To many gaps in the 1x

[@DCCSound]

I'd never go back to 2x, as a XC racer. I do think SRAM and Shimano should make the cassette spacing more non linear though. So the highest 8 gears closer together and then have the final 2 or so low speed gears different to the rest, more for the gnarly climbing. This way we won't see the larger steps on the higher gears (e.g. gravel road / fire roads @ speed), which is a current downside of the 1x system.

[@primoholzfeller8844]

No it isn't trail enough. But ripmo af is.

[@LCNismo]

Cannondale, the Walmart of bikes. Just like trek and specialized.

[@anthonywalters7434]

You aren’t wrong... I’ve got a Specialized Rockhopper and it works but now I’m looking towards a YT Jeffsy CF Pro.

[@theshadow8008]

Even titanium will not be enough for that thin chainstay, come on cannondale, another engineering epic fail? Duhhhhhh!

[@paulbarton957]

what?!

[@roadrider1100]

imagine the epic fail on your flexible composite fly fishing rod. Admit you know nothing about composites.

[@michaelmicallef668]

How many load cycles is your titanium chain stays going to cop?

[@paulbarton957]

Imagine the shaft of a badminton racket. It’ll never work!