Erin Huck's Cannondale Scalpel Si - Mont-Sainte-Anne XC World Cup 2017
Erin Huck had a great 2016 season—finishing the year as the women’s U.S. national champion. Huck’s 2017 season has included six trips to the podium to date, including a gold-medal finish at the 2017 Pan American Continental Mountain Bike Championships and a third-place finish at the American National Championships a few weeks back.
Last season, Huck just missed a top 10 finish here at Mont Sainte Anne by the narrowest of margins. She hopes to change that this time around. Photographer Matthew Delorme caught up with Huck.
 | I’m loving the dualie on this course.... It definitely helps with some of those bigger hits as well as the higher-speed descents, plus there’s some fun stuff in the woods that having a full-suspension bike really helps with. |
Erin Huck rolls to a first-place finish in the Short Track XC event at the National Champs in July.
It looks like you're definitely running the full-suspension bike here?
Absolutely. I’m loving the dualie on this course.
Huck's Cannondale Scalpel Si 29 features 100mm of front and rear travel. Suspension duties are handled by Cannondale's Lefty Carbon XLR fork and a RockShox Monarch rear shock. Note the handlebar-mounted, suspension "lock out". The frame and rear triangle are a full carbon fiber affair and, per nearly two decades of tradition, the Scalpel features Cannondale's Zero Pivot seatstays.
It gives you a little relief on all the root mats and all the chattery stuff. It has to come in handy for stuff like Beatrice [Beatrice is a notoriously brutal descent] and the other big, rocky descents over there.
Yeah, it definitely helps with some of those bigger hits as well as the higher-speed descents. There’s some fun stuff in the woods that having a dualie really helps with.
SRAM Level ULTs get the nod.
Time ATAC XC pedals--always a solid choice in harsh, muddy conditions.
Let’s talk about tire choice. Are you going to stick with those Aspens?
Yeah, these are the Maxxis Aspen 2.25, so they are a little bit wider than the Aspens of yore. I like the higher volume. I’ve actually been riding them in most of our races this year. Our national championships were super, super muddy and I still stuck with the Aspens.
Prototype Maxxis 2.25 Aspens with a 170 TPI casing...
...mated to Stan's NoTubes Valor wheels.
Cannondale's Scalpel Si relies on the same "Lockr" carbon-fiber, suspension linkage that debuted on the Habit model.
Remember when rear end spacing didn't need to be explained? Oh, those were the days. The Scalpel Si features Cannondale's Asymmetric Integration (Ai) offset. It's like Boost, er, without being Boost at all. Let's just leave it at that, eh?
It looks like you've got a SRAM Eagle drivetrain here. What size chainring are you running?
So, I’ve been going back and forth between the 32 and 34. I’ve got the 32 on for today and we’ll have to see how it feels—I’m supposed to be taking it easy at this point in the week and these climbs are pretty dang steep. And there’s not any super flat sections where I’m going to want to be putting out big, flat power, so I think the 32 is probably going to be the right choice.
Huck is pedaling a a SRAM Eagle XX1-based drivetrain that's paired to Cannondale Si cranks. At the moment, a 32-tooth ring is taking the sting out of MSA's steep climbs.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Huck to Flat
Stoopid Melbourne