Bike Check: Lachlan Morton's Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-Mod Ultimate - Leadville 100

Aug 12, 2023 at 5:26
by Betsy Welch  
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Lachlan Morton may still wear the EF Education-EasyPost pink of his WorldTour squad, but the 31-year-old is most definitely on his own program. Ever since the team launched its 'alt tour' in 2019, Morton has been racing on dirt more than the road, and he has the freedom to not race, too. He's completed the Tour de France as a one-stage bikepacking trip, set an unofficial fastest known time on the Colorado Trail, and ridden from Munich to the Ukraine border to raise money for refugees.

Yet, the Aussie's love of racing hasn't died entirely, and there is one event high on his bucket list of 'wants to win.' That's the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race, which kicks off in Colorado Saturday. Morton has finished second and third in Leadville before and hopes that 2023 is the year for the top step. He's got a two-time champion — and seemingly unbeatable competition — in Keegan Swenson to upset, but his prep has never been so dialed.

Nor, he thinks, has his bike. Morton's brand new Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-MOD Ultimate is the ultimate ... Leadville bike. Admittedly tweaked for this race and this race alone, Morton's rig may be fugly but it works for him. "I think this race is somewhere between a mountain bike race and a road race so it’s just to get a bit more of an efficient position," he says. "It’s a little bit more aero. It’s not really about the aero though, it’s about getting your body in a position that’s more efficient."

Morton's spent the last few months tweaking the position, racing the bike in two gravel races in East Africa. He's come up with some pretty unique geometry, including a 640mm bar with a 145mm adjustable stem slammed to an alarming 70 degrees. It's as close to the same reach as drop bars without being drop bars. "It feels pretty similar to a road bike, which is nice," Morton says.

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Name: Lachlan Morton // EF Education-EasyPost
Age: 31
Hometown: Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia
Height: 180cm
Weight: "between 60 and 65kg"
Instagram: @lachlanmorton

His entire cockpit might be the most curated part of the bike — he's got old-school bar ends for standing up on the course's most stout climbs and tape on the bars where aero bars would be (they're banned) for the flat sections. "It saves your upper body a bit because you can be in a more aggressive position."

Morton's other big flex is a 42t chainring, bigger even than the 40t that Swenson is running. It should be fine, he says, if he's got the legs when the last massive climb of the race arrives around mile 80.

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Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-Mod Ultimate details
Frame: Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-MOD Ultimate
Fork: Lefty Ocho carbon, 100mm travel
Wheels: FSA Gradient Off-Road I29
Tires: Vittoria 2.35 Vittoria Mezcal with Airliner Light XC
Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 AXS Eagle, SRAM XX1 10-50t cassette, 42t Hollowgram chainring, Hollowgram SiSL crankset 175mm
Handlebar: FSA KFX Carbon flat bar cut to 64cm
Stem: FSA Varius adjustable stem 120mm/40 degrees
Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 Space
Size: Medium
Weight: 21.6lbs/9.8kg

bigquotes"Since racing this series, I've come to realize that the bike set up is pretty important. And I spend a lot of time riding, so I think about these things a lot. I'm constantly trying things out of interest more than anything."

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I like the bar ends mainly because you can get a nice position on the steeper, looser climbs. You end up being able to stand and you end up sorta centered and there’s still a decent amount of traction. So, on Powerline you can stand, normally you start to lose a bit of traction doing that.
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Aero bars are banned at Leadville; most pros have added tape for comfort instead.


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A 42t chainring is a serious flex.
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Another way to shave weight? Take off one side of the SPDs.


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Morton will start with 18 psi in the rear and 17 in the front "which will probably look more like 20/19 by the finish."
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Morton still rides for EF Education-EasyPost but doesn't see any road racing these days.


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It ain't pretty but it's fast.

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Standard pre-race protocol.



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99 Comments
  • 138 0
 This is a side of mtb that I'm not really into but I have enjoyed these bike checks.
  • 35 0
 It's been truly fascinating to see the weird and different ways that people are solving their bike this race.
  • 14 0
 The course defined the bikes. Riders are just trying to adapt. That stem is still crazy though
  • 7 1
 I also have very little awareness of this niche part of the the sport, but I have heard of the Leadville for 25+ years. Since my first real MTB in the 90s was a Cannondale that was way too big for me but I loved it anyway, this is My Guy. Go get 'em Lachlan!
  • 9 9
 @suspended-flesh: niche? One of the biggest mtb races in western hemisphere
  • 6 0
 @big-red: What's really fascinating is to follow Lachlan on Strava. His weekly rides are off the chart insane.
  • 7 1
 @GZMS: I meant that in the sense that it's an ultra-endurance mtb race, and not too many of those exist. I know it's very prestigious and I remember when Lance Armstrong crushed it. I don't follow it, however.
  • 11 0
 @GZMS: it's niche, no matter how famous it is. Kind of like StrongMan competitions.....world famous, but its still just 20 or so genetic freaks that can throw a Volkswagen beetle over a 6meter high wall.
  • 6 0
 @suspended-flesh: Maybe it's a regional thing but there are at least half a dozen 12 hour or 24 hour races within a five hour drive of me that are actually on singletrack and not gravelduro races like Leadville.
  • 2 0
 @jmd07aa: Fair play.
  • 3 0
 @GZMS: Yes, It's niche since it's ultra distance ... I lived in Colorado for 10+ years and it was even niche there
  • 3 0
 @GZMS: It doesn't really seem like a mountain bike race tbh.
  • 1 1
 @Mtbdialed: im not talking about famous.. 1700+ people were on a startline. Not exactly 20 freaks. If for contesting a win, yes 20, but thats how it is in all sports.
  • 1 1
 @bman33: still, more people participate than in pretty much any other race
  • 3 1
 @GZMS: It's once a year, sure large turn out. That said, most MTB'ers, even many XC guys, just aren't riding for ultra distance. XC and Enduro for the most turn out on a yearly basis. DH and gated racing....not as much (although DH growing again on the East Coast. Even more MTB'ers that don't race anything at all, and just ride, but not ultra. It's a great event, just niche.
  • 2 0
 @GZMS: Niche isn't a bad thing. Maybe just accept that it isn't on the radar of most MTBes and especially PB people, who are still probably a majority of (former?) gravity riders despite what the industry is trying to sell us.
  • 1 0
 @suspended-flesh: i dont need to accept anything as i dont really care. Just sayin that PBers are often a bit in a bubble.. and often think that the profile/preference of a casual rider in BC/PNW correlates with an average racer in the north america/world.. for the most part, it doesnt.. and idk what you mean by not being on the radar..
  • 1 0
 @GZMS: Pinkbike was created for that 'bubble' on purpose years ago since most publications/mags were XC oriented for the most part. Pinkbike has brought in more non-gravity oriented content over the years (not good or bad just an obervation). Seems Vital is the one hanging onto that bubble for the most part now.
  • 53 6
 This is the first time a Lefty isn't the ugliest thing on the bike...
  • 1 0
 Agreed.....
  • 30 0
 "It feels pretty similar to a road bike, which is nice,"
Ouchh
  • 29 6
 Dylan did it better. All that trouble to make flat bars feel like drop bars, or could just use drop bars...
  • 13 5
 His bike is certainly better looking. This looks like something an old guy with helmet mirror would ride, except with the stem flipped.
  • 24 1
 is this a flatbargravel?
  • 37 0
 its trail road country
  • 17 1
 Gravelcountry
  • 5 0
 @atourgates: Aerodynamic Mountain Cycling
  • 16 0
 Downsgrinding
  • 8 0
 Grindcountry
  • 6 0
 Flavel
  • 16 0
 He uses the number plate to scratch his nose
  • 11 0
 I used to run -25 degree stem on a Cannondale F-Si and it did provide a lot of control and lowered my center of gravity. It also looked fast. But still… what the actual ****
  • 11 0
 Why so low psi and how does it increase during race?!
  • 8 1
 I suck at science but I'm guessing altitude.
  • 25 0
 I'm assuming he is expecting the PSI to increase a tiny bit as the day warms up. When air gets warmer it expands. You can see a similar effect in air springs on forks and shocks.
  • 11 0
 I raced in Bend OR. I started at 5AM cold AF. With elevation and temperature change I saw 5psi change at noon.
  • 6 10
flag RadBartTaylor (Aug 12, 2023 at 16:15) (Below Threshold)
 He's lighter than most small women, he can get away with that no problem. I used to race @ 175lbs or 80kg and was in the 20-22 range on the XC bike.
  • 3 1
 @RadBartTaylor: so I do run high volume 2.6 tires on wife rims but I usually run 19 from t and 21 psi rear. And that's all mountain riding, like ride the lifts at Whistler at those pressures.
I will admit I run Tannus inserts to help with the low pressures.
  • 1 0
 it is not low for his weight, quite common to have sub20 psi for sub 65kg riders (even at XCO races)
  • 5 1
 It's a misconception that high pressures are more efficient. When running tubeless, data shows that high psi only has a benefit on perfect pavement, and on any rough conditions, even rough pavement let alone offroad, lower PSIs roll faster. Especially on a hardtail and short travel bike where your tires are your suspension, you want to run the lowest you can get away with without pinchflatting or squirming.
  • 5 1
 For anyone that wants to nerd out, here's the data. This is from a road tire test, but you can extrapolate to MTB, especially a race like leadville. You can see on a perfectly smooth roller, higher PSI is more efficient (lower wattage), but on real world surfaces (even fresh pavement) there are only slight losses with lower-than-optimum pressure, and high losses if you are above ideal. And on roughened concrete they actually couldn't test to the ideal, because they couldn't go any lower without bottoming out the tire - in short, as low as possible achieves better total efficiency.
www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Tire_Pressure_and_Rolling_Resistance_7406.html
  • 1 0
 doesn't sound too low to me either

I run the same in my 2.6" tyres, and I'm 15kg heavier and don't have inserts
  • 1 0
 Ah the day heats up the PSI will increase.
  • 9 0
 Bike Industry: "we've spent the last 25 years improving suspension and frame geometry to dispel the mythic fear of OTB crashes."
Lachlan: "hold my osmo"
  • 1 0
 I was just telling a newbie yesterday how OTB crashes are pretty rare these days because of modern geometry Big Grin

Hope there's nothing too gnarly on the Leadville course.
  • 2 0
 He just posted that he got 4th on the al-time Strava leaderboard for the Columbine descent so I guess it worked for him (I, on the other hand, would probably end up scattered across the countryside...)
  • 10 0
 My back hurts just looking at that bar and stem.
  • 4 0
 Anybody knows where he ended up? Can't find him in the results, but you can see him on the photos... is he racing under some pseudonym, am I blind or is he not ranked?
  • 7 0
 Found it out... timing chip didn't work, probably because it was wrapped like a burrito... anyway: top 10 for lachy
  • 1 0
 He was ninth to finish and ninth overall, 00:33:03 slower than Keegan Swenson, the winner... He wasn't listed in the results when I checked last night but he is today.

www.athlinks.com/event/370068/results/Event/1022514/Course/2263113/Results
  • 5 0
 Dear manufacturers: this is not an excuse for ever shorter stack bikes.
  • 2 0
 I want my next bike to have negative stack
  • 1 0
 @VtVolk: We should just look at street/freestyle BMX bikes for ispiration and bolt axle pegs on the front and steer from there. This is insane
  • 1 0
 Who cares how it looks. Does it look unconventional? Yes. Is it "ugly"? By most subjective standards, it's fugly AF. But he rode it to ninth at Leadville and the very next day used a similar cockpit setup to win the first stage of Breck Epic. And the second stage the day after. After four Breck Epic stages Lachlan is leading the GC by 14 minutes. Sure, the setup looks janky but it's obviously working for him.
  • 3 0
 Anyone know where Lachlan ended up at Leadville? I can’t see his name or number in the results
  • 2 0
 Wondering the same thing, maybe those low bars were a bit too sketchy on the descents.
  • 2 0
 DNS
  • 1 0
 He did race but it seems he is not in the top 10. Hard to find results after that.
  • 2 0
 @kusa: He was ninth to finish and ninth overall, 00:33:03 slower than Keegan Swenson, the winner... He wasn't listed in the results when I checked last night but he is today.

www.athlinks.com/event/370068/results/Event/1022514/Course/2263113/Results
  • 1 1
 "I like a wheel to be as compliant as possible whilst being as stiff as possible"

does h mean different directions?
because complience is the opposite of Stiffness

We need wheel stiffness classification so we could choose the rim matching our weight and riding style
  • 10 6
 kill it with fire
  • 2 0
 Lachan is so rad. Just loves riding his bike. Having a Coors before Leadville to boot.
  • 1 0
 He's still go "unfinished business" with The Three Peaks cyclo-cross race, when's the next episode?
  • 1 0
 TF is that stem? Just put flared drop bars on, or that weird double bar from Canyon
  • 1 0
 There's no way the seat clamp is between the limit marks on the rails of that seat.
  • 2 0
 Did he DNF? Didn’t see him in the results.
  • 2 0
 Has the [pertinent governing body] banned aero helmets and disc wheels?
  • 2 0
 He must be able to pull some mean endo's on that rig!
  • 1 0
 "Wow, just imagine if an ordinary rider attempted to ride with this specific setup!"
  • 1 1
 surley there must be a point when the bars are that low that low that a rider thinks... "maybe my wheels are too big?"..........?
  • 1 0
 Some dumb ass sh**, but good to see bar ends still get used to correct bad set up
  • 4 2
 lol
  • 7 6
 seriously ugly and hideaus thing
  • 1 0
 slap it together and called a revelation
  • 3 1
 Does he have ribs?
  • 1 0
 OMG -imagine if an average rider tried to ride with this set up?
  • 2 0
 Cannot be real, wtf
  • 1 0
 Is that a Coors bigboy can I see there?
  • 1 0
 I think I prefer the MTB with drop bars rather than this abomination.
  • 1 0
 At which point will they just mount the stem directly above the crown?
  • 1 0
 It's a gravel bike now. Does anyone race gravel bikes at Leadville?
  • 1 1
 Thought this was a post crash pic 4 sure.
  • 1 0
 Are the bars low enough?
  • 1 0
 Looks like a fun guy
  • 1 0
 That is "Ridicurouse"
  • 1 0
 SLAM THAT STEM!
  • 2 5
 How do they run such a low pressure on XC bikes?
  • 71 0
 You dont pump alot of air in the tires and the pressure stays low.
  • 2 0
 Judging by the weight reduction of the bike, the one riding the bike must be light too
  • 4 0
 rider weight- 60-65kg
  • 3 0
 I used to race at a body weight of 80kg and was in the 20-22 range, that seems about right for somebody his weight.
  • 1 0
 So what kind of pressures to you run on your trail bike?
I normally run 19 front 21 rear and go even lower for my local in the rain in the fall A'd winter to maximize traction. Running 2.6 tires btw.
  • 3 0
 I'm a bit of a biffer at 80kg and fun 19f 23r on my hardtail, 2.3 Maxxis, 26mm rims. I can easily imagine a proper flyweight XC racer going lower than that.
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