The Lightest Hardtail I've Reviewed - The 2022 Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-Mod 1 XC Race Review

Hi, Currently looking for a fast climber hardtail but fun to ride in my pyreneus mountains. I'm not a racer but i was in the 90's. Im' looking for scalpel HT carbon 3 but i hesistate because of the mountain and rocky playground. Do you think it's a good solution for me ? what could be a good alternative to have fun in downhill and quite fast climber? thanks

I'd flip that stem, but I am the ultimate un-racer.

it's a same cannondale trail sl 1 or 2 for example but more expensive and another frame materials?

I like the 27.2 seatpost because then the droppers are that much lighter. I'm a racer... obviously lol

Thank's for your tips! I just put on a 50mm stem and a One Up handlebar on my Scalpel. It absolutely transformed the bike. Feels like a very light trailbike, so fast and nimble.

Longtime cyclist, but 100% casual... if I don't care about cost and just want a high-quality ultralight bike to ride in an urban environment, is this a bad idea? I do want to use it for its intended purpose on the weekends, but most of the usage would be as a commuter/city bike.

Any chance you’ve had the chance to ride a Trek Procaliber? I’d love to hear how the 2 compare. Primarily how the geometry and compliance designed into the Scalpel HT compares to the iso speed on the procaliber

I put heavier tires on my Ibis Exie and it made the bike far more predictable and capable on the trails I ride (Dissector 2.4 and Recon 2.4).

It comes in at 24.7 lbs with my Time pedals, bottle cages and sealant. So just a pound more, but you get 120 and 100 mm of travel.

I find I’m riding my Ripmo less and less. With the tire change I’m just faster on most trails I ride.

I would love to see a Santa Cruz highball review! It's on top of my list.

Hi, great review. Can you tell me your height and the size of the bike tested please?

great review, that loop looks like a blast. when I lived in AZ I always shied swag from Sedona because I got the impression it was all super gnarly and beyond my skills, but this looks premium for the type of riding I enjoy.

I just got a 2021 FSi so it was great to hear an in-depth review of its ever-so-slightly rowdier brother.

How was the dropper installation on this frame? Did you have to take out the pressfit BB?

What is everyone’s opinion on Cannondale’s quick release thru-axles?

My Ibis Ripley is tube in tube and still rattles. The tube is too big to stop the rattling and too small to slip a foam isolator over the hose. Tube in tube is not the be all end all. My other bikes are not and are all quieter than the one that is.

Also, with that small of seat tube, a long dropper is asking for trouble. XC racers are probably only going to put a 80mm on there anyway due to the weight.

- friendly comment to help the algorithm :)

Like to see a review of the Norco Revolver HT1, interesting geo, and looks nicely spec bike for XC/trail but no reviews out there on this 🤔

I have a soft spot for cannondale. My first good mountain bike was a cannondale. Growing up I always wanted a cannondale 4 wheeler and could never afford one.

I think what you are saying about stem length is very interesting, because i absolutely hate short stems of XC race bikes, no matter their headtube angle. XC is my primary discipline and I really struggle to keep the frontend planted on the steepest of climbs and comitting enough on the descents to notice any benefit.

I have the Scalpel HT Carbon 4. Pure race machine which push me constantly at the limits, fast as hell. I love it, fits perfectly my trails and fire roads in the Belgian woods.

Great review

Good review. It IS a cool bike.
It isn't a bike for casual rides.
Agree 100% 👍👍👍

Dream bike 😮

One other reason that this will feel different to a hardtail with similar geo, but with a more typical Fox or Rockshox fork is because of the fork offset of the Ocho. This gives it less trail. It is part of Cannondales 'out front' geometry

At this point, I think droppers should be standard on all mtb’s- Even XC bikes

cool vid; since you compared to Chisel, any review of that one coming along? ;)

I have 175mm cranks on a Paradox with 27.5. Talk about pedal strikes

The f-si this replaced was just unbeatable, even denk couldn’t design a bike that rad!

such expensive bike and they didnt consider dropper post :(

Big thanks for running a channel dedicated to hardtails. These days I feel like many people hunt for fullsus bikes without really knowing why or if they really need them... they just need to have the cool toys people around them have, only to then use them at a fraction of their potential. HTs are horribly underappreciated. Thumbs up for not succumbing to social pressure and taking pride in riding HTs :)

A part of me wants find the frame only to make into a rigid xc bike. Do you remember what the max chainring it can handle? Do you think a 36t would fit?

Would love to see Specialized Chisel and what you think of it.

I don't know I'm kinda intrigued by this bike. My company offers something like called Company Bike where you can basically lease this bike and pay have the price which is a great deal. The problem is I live next to the German/Austrian alps so a lot of non-stop climbing but there are also a lot of non-technical trails down. Watching your reviews this doesn't sound like the bike for long distance riding and long climbs.... Still looks like it would be a lot of fun to ride :-)

I like xc race bikes

Great review 👍 that is definitely a bike I'm looking at.

What was the original stem length? Might have missed it, but don't think you mentioned this?

Awesome review. I live here in houston and all our trails are xc

What trails is this man?looks like sedona

What do you think to the base model? (Scapel HT 4)

Very nice review, very informative, as always. I would love to hear your opinion on the BMC Twostroke Series of Bikes if it was possible for you to get your hands on one.

Looks like if you just invert the inverted stem or use the 60 mm that you mentioned with a bit of a raiser bar the bike would be ideal for marathonian loooooooong rides!

Can you review the Kona Unit X 2022. I have one and wonder how it would fare compared to the bikes you have tried. Love your videos! Thanks Steve!

I know the Trek Supercaliber is "technically" a FS/soft tail, but could you try and get a review on that bike as a race bike and compare it to the Spot? Love the channel and I always look forward to your videos. Thank you for all you do!

good bike

Have you ever ridden a surly karate monkey? How stiff is it?

Great review! Do you see more XC bikes going in this direction with slacker frames? There are a number of “downcountry” full-suspension bikes on the market, but not nearly as many hardtails (I know this is not DC but a dedicated race bike with updated geometry). I wonder how the Scalpel HT would compare to something like the Norco Revolver 120 HT, which seems like a XC race bike loaded up with trail parts.

I would love to see the Marin san quentin haha

You like the Eliminator on the front?

Any chance you can review the Ribble hardtail next. Seeing a lot of Facebook ads and the steel mid range looks tasty and thinking of pulling the trigger

This just got me more pumped for mine, thanks for the awesome review! From what you said about it I feel like I've made the right choice, sounds like Cannondale designed exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm thinking about putting a slightly shorter stem on mine as well when it comes in as that's what I usually do on a large frame bike, I'm at a height where I can technically ride medium or large but slightly biased towards large. I'm coming off of a medium frame Cannondale from 12 years ago and was thinking maybe I should shorten the stem a tad to make it slightly more similar in length to my current setup. It's good to hear from someone who has actually ridden one that you think a 60 mm stem would be good on this bike.