Umm, being that I work at a Cannondale dealer and have already assembled about 20 scalpels, I can give a very definate no to that statement. The scalpel has carbon flex stays, no pivot on it at all. The thing with soft tails, is that it is an old design, but there is still a cult following for them, which keeps them in production. And to popular belief, there are very little problems with versatility either.

Are you thinking about the Gary Fischer Sugar?

My bad, I looked at the cannondale Geometry and it looked like there was a pivot at the chainstay.




http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/06/geo-4.html

Check out this link for some trails in the Pa area...

http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-st...S_4573CRX.ASPX

Repost
 

I'm going to repost this thread, i think we got quite off topic. Please dont come to these forms if you intend to argue or troll.

Edz: Thanks for the trails! :)

No need to repost. Let me get this back on topic.

People, really let's get this back on topic, let's help this guy out now.


Konarider24
Forum moderator.

it really depends on what you consider rough terrain... as it looks like from most people's point of view you want freeride bike toughness, xc-race short travel suspension as well as xc climbability.

you will definitely have to look for a compromise between the various styles of mountain biking.

are you sure you want a softtail specifically or simply full suspension?

these days small travel forks are rarely made for tough, huckable bikes... what is your view of short travel in the front? 90mm? and for downhilling, a long travel fork with handlebars high up in the air would be more stable and comfortable, not to mention a safer riding position.

from your post, you want it to:
-jump, take very rough terrain, beat up
-maneuver easily, go fast, good enough gears to tear uphill.
-short travel full-suspension

those are completely seperate qualities found in opposite ends of the mountain biking continuum, thus you must make a compromise...

reasons why tough, jumpable, rough terrain, beat-upable bikes don't have good enough gears to tear uphill: third chainrings, sometimes even the smallest as well, are taken out and replaced with a bashguard and boxguide/chainguide for ground clearance and the fact that when you take rough jumps, a lot of times you'll land rough and your chain will fall to the bottom bracket area, no matter how good your bike or how plush your suspension is, unless you choose your line and land well every single time. the stance for a bike like this is laid back, saddles usually tilt upwards a bit, long travel forks in the front make it for

xc bikes are made to go fast and are designed to save weight = lighter, so easier to maneuver and go uphill, faster. you usually ride them with a stance close to that of a road bike, without the drop handlebars.

speaking along the lines of specialized, there are two 'compromise' bikes that may or may not suit you:
the enduro line (sx trail and sxtrail2 included) and the stumpjumper fsr, with the latter being more xc-oriented and generally faster, more maneuverable and easier to 'tear uphill', where the former is tougher, can take very rough terrain, and more beat-upable. the stumpjumper fsr would probably cater more to you if you absolutely hate huge-front-travel forks with handlebars so high they make you feel like you're being born again.

both are full-suspension bikes, if that's what you meant by softtail... which according to earlier posts than mine, no.

you know, you can just get both a kona stab supreme and a cannondale scalpel and call it a day...stick it in a half-truck-half-car like a subaru baja and you've got the best of both worlds!

http://www.newmilfordbike.com/home.htm

in New Milford of course. never been there. Looks like they sell Cdale.

don't chuck out your old Nishiki, someone might like those 7 speed gripshifts.

Right... anyways to bet back on topic, I would look into a giant trance. It is not a softail, but from the looks of your post it will suit you a bit better for your riding style. It runs 4 inches of travel front and back. The bike does not run a huge fork or anything like that but this is a really tough bike. This thing is used from xc to 4x, so it can be jumped. It has enough suspension in the back to smooth everything out a bit, but the bike pedals really nice to you can go uphill well. It has an air shock so you can run it as stiff or loose as you feel the need to. The low end model starts at 1250, while the highest end tops out at 3600. (I am not quite sure what your budget is) If you have the chance check one of these things out.