2008 Cannondale Scalpel Team

I'll apologize in advance for the depressing picture of a sleek mountain bike parked in front of a desk that's doubling as my take out dinner table. How embarassing to see what's amounted to a regular habit for 8 years of my life through the critical lens of a camera (or more appropriately, the critical lens of a Blackberry Pearl).

The new mountain bike has arrived, and it looks fast. Maybe I'll even be able to ride it fast. But right now I'm just doing the odd lap around my office on it.

"Pay more, get less" is a recent catchphrase, and I actually like it more than the one about 18 hour work days. It applies to high end racing mountain bikes. This is the lightest mountain bike I've had... in the range of the first road bike I ever had. 22.68lbs on the Bow scale.

I saw prototypes of this model down at La Ruta last fall, and asked if I could hop on for a ride around the hotel to try it out. I've always been a fan of soft-tail designs; I like the simplicity of the lines and the complexity of the materials science that makes them possible. It felt good enough to try for at least a season. I hope it holds up to real world use. I've never broken a bike or frame before, so I operate under the assumption I'm a gentle user. In reality, it's like a road bike style mountain bike, fast and light. I don't think anyone is bragging that this is the plushest suspension or the best ride. I'm fine with that as my primary use is endurance racing, which in it's current form seems to have a lot of "mild" terrain - smooth trails or gravel roads.

The SRAM XO blackbox derailleur is pretty swank, a little flashy to have a carbon derailleur (full cable housing = joy and happiness), but I guess that goes with the territory. I rode this wheel set last year and it's super stiff and light, so no complaints there. The Avid Juicy Ultimates I think I can get my head around. The Thomson seatpost is perfecto.

Items I'll have to learn a little about are the following:

1. Lefty. Light, stiff... but how about that maintenance? Time will tell.

2. Gobi saddle. The colors are dapper, but I've become quite a Specialized saddle man, I like that Body Geometry gap.

3. DT shock. We'll see if it's up to the challenge... all carbon and looks snazzy. This bike is spec'd as a XC race machine, and I'm forcing it into endurance racing. I place a premium on robustness.

4. Cannondale Hollowgram cranks. Right now the double cranks are installed. I might give that a whirl for fun for a while, but my intent for endurance races is to go with the triple. Maybe if I keep riding with Craig I can develop the strength to get by with this as it is. In the back of my mind I'm craving XTR. Why? They're functional. They're durable. They're light enough. A path of certainty.

5. Cheapest Crank Brothers Eggbeaters installed... thanks. I drop serious coin on a bike, and you spec'd it with the eggshell model with the cages that crack if you ever hit them on a rock. I thought as a consumer I was signalling I didn't like cheap sh*t by looking at bikes in this range. I'd prefer the SS (stainless steel) model. They've proven to take a licking and keep on ticking.