Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4 Review

Hardtail Mountain Bikes have often been overlooked in favour of their more exciting full-suspension counterparts. Hardtail mountain bikes are better than ever, and the Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4 has impressed us with its ride everywhere capability, excellent price point and great specification. The Cannondale Scalpel range is designed for racing, and this model is the most affordable, with a retail price of £2,600.

This bike's unique proposition is that it’s a hardtail mountain bike designed for rougher off-road trails. On looking at the bike, it’s noticeable that the geometry of this bike differs from standard hardtail XC bikes. This bike has slacker head angles, steeper seat tube angles and a longer wheelbase; these changes all considerably maximise performance and stability when riding downhill trails and singletrack.

The Scalpel also has a proportional response design frame, which means that different size frames have different size chainstays - which keeps the frame as balanced as possible as the size of the bikes increases. Cannondale’s carbon fibre is used, which allows flex zones in the chainstays - which boosts control and comfort. There’s also a press fit 30 bottom bracket, which improves steering and pedalling efficiency and stiffness. All of the cables on the bike are internal, as you would expect with a bike of this calibre.

Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4 Geometry

The Scalpel design incorporates what Cannondale calls the ‘Proportional Response Design’, which sees a 5mm increase in chainstay length for each bike size - this is designed to keep the rider centred between the wheels for maximum traction & handling. The bike's small size has a 1,124mm wheelbase, a 430mm chainstay and a 410mm reach, with a 67-degree head tube angle.

Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4 Specifications

There’s a good level of specification on this bike, especially at the price point - which confirms to us that sometimes it’s worth choosing a good spec hardtail mountain bike over a poor specification full-suspension bike. There’s a Rockshox SID SL 100mm fork at the front, with a race day damper and 32mm stanchions to shave weight over the regular version of this fork. There’s also a remote lockout.

160mm rotors from Shimano take care of the stopping power, and there’s also a Shimano Deore drivetrain using a 10-51t cassette and a 32T chainring. To keep costs low, you can find Cannondale parts of good quality across the bike, including the seat post, saddle and stem.

Climbing Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4

The first thing when realising when you jump on this bike is how it playful it feels. It feels fun and lively. On the rough fire roads and tracks of the North Yorkshire Moors, it felt smooth, and at no point were we struggling for grip. On more technical climbs, the excellent forks worked well as you would expect, and we used the lockout for smoother sections. On the rougher areas, the lightweight design of this bike allows you to quickly lift the front wheel, ensuring that you can spice up any ascent by riding features.

Descending The Cannondale Scalpel HT Carbon 4

Many hardtail mountain bikes feel too efficient and rigid for downhill performance, but the Scalpel does not feel like this. Although missing rear suspension, the bike feels good, and progress down singletrack can be fun and fast.

The powerful brakes felt good across various trails and excelled under hard braking. The standard tyres felt good, and we could lean and pitch the bike into corners confidently.