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Mt.Bike Action review of the Scalpel

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HAL 9000

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
anyone read the review in this months Mt.Bike Action of the new Scalpel yeah yeah I know they are in the tank with the big "S" and what ever Chris Cocalis is selling but I thought the review of the bike was pretty bias in my opinion.

"It's a short travel XC RACE BIKE!" not some idiotic all mountain thing that they seem to be in love with these days so I can't understand why they ragged on the suspension not being as couch like and plush as some damn all mountain bike.

also I've had my bike since February coming off a Scott Scale LTD hard tail and a Titus Racer X full suspension both excellent bikes and the Scalpel was exactly what I was looking for between those two, however...I've yet to experience any of this rear end flex of the seat stays when hammering outta the saddle and tire rub that they seem to have found with the test bike.

am I reading the review wrong or has anyone else noticed the obvious slam on the bike?
 
#2 ·
Haven't read the review. Though I haven't picked up a copy of MBA in a looooooong time either.

You can find problems with any bike. Just depends on what you prefer. There is no one perfect bike--it's all about tradeoffs. And most magazines' reviews are about adverts placed.

If you want straightforward, unbiased opinions that take into account most tradeoffs, read Consumer Reports. Or Dirt Rag. :thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
MBA are a pile of ****, same goes for Mbr, most of the others do an accurate review but never get scoring right and frequently get stupid things like spec wrong and over emphasise some stuff but not others that do matter.:nono:

Oddly overall they seemed to like it although the flexing issue with the rear tire rubbing the chain stay was a bit odd, I'll assume that R.C. has put on weight recently. :yesnod:
 
#12 ·
One of my points of contention with the review is that they claimed there was flex in the chainstays that allowed the rear tire to rub. I think that had to be flex in the rear XTR wheel as I have had zero problems, nor have my team mates one of whom is 189lb of mashing muscle and he thinks his Scalpel is one of the stiffest FS bikes he has owned.
Overall however they did describe how the Scalpel works, its not super plush and as they noted at the beginning of the review its specifically for XC racing. The rear suspension does tend to squat under braking, but that can work for you by keeping the chassis level as long as you know how to control the braking force.
Its called "Mountain Bike Fiction" for a reason, the only thing going for it is that its better than Bicycling, which isnt saying anything. Personally I take everything I read in the magazines with a big hunk of salt. Journalists are too easily swayed by marketing hype and advertising space. I will ride bikes myself at the Dirt Demo at Interbike and make up my own mind.

Kevin
 
#13 ·
The sad part is that people DO buy those mags and DO beleive whatever it is said there.

Same thing on forums and governments.......:p
 
#15 ·
I subscribe to MBA. But PURELY for any of the articles that aren't reviews of bikes and equipment. Sometimes I'll see some new parts or cool accessories that I'll look in too, but I never trust the judgment of MBA. According to them everyone should be riding a Specialized or a Titus, with the odd smaller company bike thrown in.
They do have some good articles on riding tips and other things like that, but make you're judgments of products on your own, MBA is biased to advertisers.
 
#18 ·
Dan Gerous said:
Yeah, all magazines are biased and MBA is one of the worst!
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Not to mention the 10 page presentation of the new Epic. Man, I really don't know how can someone still look at RC always with that "I've got a million of Specialized bucks to say this sh*t is good" silly smile and take his word for good - ask RC is the biggest load of bullsh*t I've ever read in my life. MBA is always like that: Specialized (it probably owns most of MBA stocks, so...) SC, Intense, Titus and Chumba. Go figure what they might get from Chumba, but whatever, that's too much in the face, they don't seem to even care anymore. They could give that mag for free, because it's a monthly catalog, nothing more than that. And they still had the guts to insult people who place info in foruns like MTBR, saying it's not reliable info, because people are going to biased when they ride a certain bike or like a certain brand. Man, how dare they? MBA only serves to Specialized nerds. That can't be taken as any serious source. Even more if it's about Cannondale. They don't even like Leftys and praise when it comes with Fox forks upfront. Really, leave that at the news stand. You'll get a better review watching Oprah.
 
#19 ·
speedmetal said:
This is why I subscribed to BIKE magazine. I was tired of all the BS with Mountain Bike Action. They ARE biased. What magazines do you guys read? Although sometimes I find myself checking out Dirt Rag at Barnes and Noble...
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BIKE is the only one I read, trust and have a subscription to but I do buy some of the others if they have something interesting in them, I haven't bought MBA in 2 years, apart from the things you guys have mentioned, MBA really needs a new look, get a decent graphics department, it looks like a comedy golf magazine.:rolleyes:
 
#20 ·
It's a shame MBA is the only US bike mag that comes to Brazil. But they are now sending Bicycling and Mountain Bike, athough I'd like to see Dirt Rag and Bike. We also get Bike Magazine and OnBike Portugal, but it only arrives on issues with 4-6 months late, so apart the good material, it's all outdated, but still worth the reading and for the pics on OnBike. Would like to see some UK print here as well. Everything but MBA. But I get mine free, my LBS receives a handful of issues every month and they give away for the best constumers. Can't see that as a plus (it's pretty offensive, really... :rolleyes:), but we really lack specialized (I'll wash my mouth later) media here... :madman:
 
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