Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty review

Cannondale has given its Scalpel race bike a refresh for 2024, with a new frame designed to tackle the modern requirements of an XC racer.

The brand claims the needs of XC riders are similar to those of downcountry fans – bikes that are fast, comfortable and capable. With a change of rubber, there’s a strong argument that the Scalpel can do both jobs well.

Revisions include the move to 120mm travel at both ends of the bike, updated geometry to boost its capability and a slightly revised suspension kinematic.

This £8,550 / €9,499 Scalpel 1, which weighs 11.6kg (Large), sits second from the top of the range, with the super-exclusive Lab71 version coming with every bell and whistle available – and a five-figure price.

US readers will be able to purchase an American version of the bike with a full complement of Fox suspension. That means a Fox Float shock and Fox 34 Step-Cast fork, both in their Factory form, rather than the RockShox shock and Lefty fork version I’ve ridden. It’ll cost you $9,500.

In use, the Scalpel proves still to be ahead of the cross-country bikes pack. It blends speed and efficiency uphill with control and composure on the descents. The components fitted to the bike leave little to be desired, with the Lefty Ocho Carbon fork, in particular, impressing.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty frame and suspension

The frame is constructed from carbon fibre, as you’d expect from a top-end race bike.

On the Scalpel 1, this is Cannondale's Series 1 carbon, while the top-end halo-version Lab71 gets a Series 0 construction, saving around 300g.

At 11.6kg, this second-tier model is no heavyweight, though.

The kinked seat tube allows for longer-drop dropper posts, while also ensuring there’s ample room for a pair of water bottles in the frame – all sizes, from S to XL, can fit two bottles.

Cables run through the headset. This might not please everyone, but to make it as simple as possible, Cannondale has enlarged the top headset bearing to 1.5in in diameter.

This, it says, means most XC brake levers can be fitted through the bearing, making bearing swaps that little bit easier.

Internally, a bolted clamp prevents the cables migrating as you turn the bar and keeps things quiet.

There's chainstay protection and a small flexible protector for the main pivot.

The suspension uses Cannondale’s FlexPivot design – similar to the flex-pivot linkage designs found on the bulk of XC bikes these days.

The flattened chainstay is where the flex is engineered, sitting near the rear axle in a position Cannondale says is basically a virtual Horst-link.

A short rocker pushes the shock, nestled under the top tube.

The suspension has been designed to have around 100 per cent (or just above) anti-squat in the higher gears, in and around the sag point of the suspension.

This is done to ensure the bike remains stable under pedalling loads.

Beyond around 50 per cent travel, the anti-squat drops off, leaving the suspension more free from crank influences, enabling it to smooth the way effectively.

Deep in the travel, there should be minimal pedal feedback.

The location of the suspension’s pivots changes slightly with each size, to tune the feel for larger, or smaller, riders. Cannondale calls this ‘Proportional Response’.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty geometry

Cannondale has updated the Scalpel’s geometry to bring it in line with modern cross-country bikes.

The head angle sits at 66.6 degrees – relatively slack these days – while reach has grown by 10-15mm per size, with a Large sitting at 475mm.

The bottom bracket has been dropped a couple of millimetres to 334mm.

Further back, the chainstays grow with each size, ranging from 434mm to 446mm, while the effective seat angle sits at a claimed moderate 75.5 degrees. However, I measured mine at 77.5 degrees at my 750mm saddle height.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty specifications

At the front of the bike is a 120mm-travel Lefty Ocho Carbon fork.

This is an inverted fork with a single leg – it’s pretty distinctive.

It offers low-speed compression and rebound damping, as well as a remote lockout.

The sliding bushes and needle bearings, into which the single stanchion slides, mean that, in theory, the fork can cope better with binding loads than a traditional mountain bike suspension fork.

This should mean that under braking on steep descents, the fork stays more active, boosting grip.

Cannondale also claims the fork’s damper and air spring are better isolated in terms of feel and adjustment, meaning the damper can be set up to help reduce brake dive, while ensuring the fork stays supple.

The fork’s lower leg is protected by a composite fender, which doubles as a brake hose guide.

At the back, the 120mm of travel is controlled by a RockShox SIDLuxe Select+ shock, on non-US builds.

Both shock and fork benefit from a two-positon on-bar lockout via a RockShox TwistLoc barrel, although US buyers will only get a shock lockout.

The cable for the shock runs neatly through the top tube.

SRAM supplies the XO AXS Transmission, with a 34t chainring.

The wheels come from DT Swiss, with the XCR1501 carbon hoops wrapped in Maxxis tyres – a 2.4in Rekon Race at the front and a 2.4in Aspen at the back.

Attached to the spokes, near the front hub, is a GPS device that can be linked to your computer.

This not only feeds real-time data, but can also advise on service intervals and how far your bike has been ridden in its lifetime.

The Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite dropper post is topped with a Prologo saddle, while Cannondale uses its own integrated bar/stem.

The integrated bar and stem certainly has a clean look, especially because the hoses and cables are routed through the front of the stem.

It was designed after a sweep of the Cannondale staff’s preferences, with the brand then making a bar it "didn’t want to suck". It’s neutral in shape and can be cut from its 760mm width if you wish.

Bringing the bike to a halt are four-piston Level Stealth Silver brakes, paired with the more powerful and heat-resistant HS2 rotors. This is a small upgrade in principle, but one I love to see, because their performance is excellent.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty ride impressions

Though wild-looking, in reality setting up the Lefty is little different from other air forks.

A pressure chart on the rear helps guide you on where to set the spring – I found it pretty accurate.

While compression settings will change per rider and course, I generally settled on three clicks of eight, from fully open. This seemed to balance stability and comfort nicely.

At the rear, after plenty of pressure changes to experiment with sag, I felt that 25 per cent offered the best set-and-forget balance.

On rougher loops, where I wanted a little more comfort, I ran 28 per cent and relied on the lockout a little more. If I knew the course would be relatively mellow, I dropped it to 23 per cent, enabling less use of the lockout and accepting that there would be a harsher ride over any potential tech along the way.

The 25 per cent sag, though, offered the best balance.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty climbing performance

Give any bike an Aspen rear tyre and a firm lockout, and unless the frame is built from noodles, it’s going to get up smooth climbs with at least some level of liveliness.

The Scalpel is no noodle, and despite a slimmed-down profile over the previous version of the bike, it doesn’t swing and sway under your power as you haul on the bar on climbs.

Likewise, the DT Swiss carbon hoops are stiff laterally, further enhancing that lively feel.

The TwistLoc is easy to operate, and on smoother climbs – even on dirt – I was happy switching to the locked position.

The 120 TPI sidewalls of Maxxis’ lightweight XC tyres are highly supple, so there’s a decent level of grip and comfort even with firm suspension.

When you hit chunkier climbs, switching to the Open mode reveals a bike that’s still no slouch.

When you're sat pedalling, the suspension remains still, enabling efficient ascents. If you stand, as with virtually every full-suspension bike, there’s a bit of pedal bob, but on the whole, the Scalpel’s shock oscillates less than most when it’s left open.

This is handy, because while most XC bikes come with three-position lockouts, which generally include a ‘Pedal’ mode, Cannondale offers only two – Open and Locked – with the Scalpel.

In the Locked mode, when it gets loose there’s just enough free movement available to the rear wheel to help it generate more grip than you’d give the Aspen credit for.

Its almost tractor-tyre like tread pattern, with low-profile chevron-shaped blocks, seems to dig in when needed.

The steeper seat angle feels good, too, while the front and rear proportions of the bike are well balanced.

There’s decent traction on offer, thanks to the rear chainstays not being too short, which balances body weight nicely. There’s also room over the front of the bike to enable you to move back and forth to manage rear traction and front-end directional control.

SRAM’s AXS Transmission is a stand-out performer when the going gets tough.

Shifting under power is excellent, and it doesn’t feel horrible and gritty when coated in grime.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty descending performance

With its updated geometry, the new Scalpel is a more confident beast than the previous generation.

The longer reach and slacker head angle give it stability at speed and through corners, while the front and rear balance is good.

The longer chainstays put your weight nicely between the axles, while the lower BB drops your weight down, giving the bike a solid feel as it’s leant onto its tyres’ shoulder treads.

The Maxxis Rekon Race tyres might have a diminutive tread depth, but the blocks are sharp and the tyre consistently surprises me with its capabilities in the dirt.

Its profile gives a predictable transition from the fast-rolling central tread to its edge, too.

When you’ve dropped the bike onto its shoulder treads, the chassis feels secure – it’s not so stiff that you’re continually battling traction over off-camber roots, nor is it so soft that it feels vague.

There’s enough stoutness in the chassis that when you land janky drops, the bike doesn’t squirm or lose its composure.

As such, although it’s a race-focused bike, there’s still the ability to pick it up and play around. The odd jump and drop doesn’t seem to faze the bike. The suspension plays its part here.

At the back, the previous-generation Scalpel might have been a little ‘trapdoor’-like – it had good stability under pedalling, but fell through its mid and late stroke a little easily.

This transition to the deeper portion of the new Scalpel's travel seems, on initial impressions, to be more controlled.

This gives you something to push against in rolling terrain and means the rear end doesn’t clang off its bumpers on moderate-sized drops.

Up front, the Lefty might split opinions when it comes to aesthetics, but it’s a solid fork. Although it has only one leg, there's plenty of stiffness – it’s anything but unpredictable in its handling.

Its motion through the travel feels a little different from a traditional fork. This is due, I believe, to the needle bearings – you can sort of feel them rolling. However, it’s reactive and smooth, nonetheless.

Where I noticed the internal architecture most was on flat landings. Here, the fork doesn’t bind, enabling the travel to be used smoothly and with a less harsh feel than I’d expected.

It is also impervious to mud – on wet rides when you’re churning through peanut butter, there’s no chance of the fork gumming up with mud. On my back-to-back test rides in a damp spring, I really appreciated this.

However, on wet, splashy rides, the limited range of available mudguards might put some people off.

The fork isn’t the easiest to live with, though – wheel removal ends up with the caliper flapping about because it has to be disengaged from the fork leg. Engaging the hub’s threads can be a pain, too, feeling as though an extra set of hands would be useful.

I’m going to be testing this fork head to head with a SID Fox 34 Step-Cast and Manitou R8 soon, to delve into the relative performance.

Elsewhere, the component package does a good job.

The tyres' low-profile tread blocks are never going to offer up tons of grip, especially in damp conditions. But, I’ve said it before, the Rekon Race (and Rekon, for that matter) is one of my favourite XC tyres.

The blocks roll fast, and there’s always a surprising amount of cornering grip from the diminutive shoulder treads and supple carcass.

The four-piston SRAM Level brakes are powerful, especially with the uprated HS2 rotors, and the carbon DT Swiss rims aren’t overly harsh.

However, with relatively narrow rim walls, certainly compared to those found on the latest Roval wheels on the Specialized Epic 8, care was needed through rockier terrain to avoid punctures. On the gnarliest tracks, I compensated by increasing my tyre pressures by a few psi to ward them off.

Integrated bar/stems will never be my favourite – I like the ability to adjust bar roll and they’re rarely as comfortable as separate units.

However, the benign shape of this example, with an 8-degree backsweep and 5-degree upsweep, didn’t offend me. Over longer rides, comfort was acceptable, thanks in part to the silicone grips.

The integrated bar and stem routes cables through the bar itself and then the headset. Bar height can be adjusted without cutting cables, thanks to split stem spacers.

Once you’ve set the bar height, I’d trim the steerer down to make the most of the clean look of the stem and integrated computer mount.

How does the Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty compare to the Specialized Epic 8 Pro?

The Scalpel is a fine XC race bike that benefits greatly from the industry-wide move to longer and slacker geometry. Like the Specialized Epic 8, it’s more than capable of tackling the gnarliest of XC courses.

Both bikes have sorted suspension, however the Magic Middle setting of the Epic 8 Pro, which offers pedalling stability and big-hit control in one suspension mode, separates the Epic 8 Pro from the competition – it’s really that good.

The Epic 8 Pro has a wonderfully composed feeling over the most technical of terrain, and while the Scalpel won’t hold you back, the Epic 8 Pro feels a little more composed.

Cannondale Scalpel 1 Lefty bottom line

Cannondale’s new Scalpel is a true out-and-out race bike that can still deliver on the trails.

The tyres are ruthless in their speed and the Lefty fork is a seriously impressive performer.

The Scalpel isn’t quite as simple to live with, thanks to its sleek integration and elongated front-wheel removal process, but this was a bike that was hard to give back (in fact, I still haven’t…).