If there is any indication that XC riders are starting to see the light on slacker, more forgiving geometry, it might be Cannondale‘s recent reboot of their Scalpel HT Hi-Mod XC race bike.
This will be the hardtail that their sponsored XC riders will be taking to competition (though some may opt for the superlight F-Si Hi-Mod 1), so it definitely gives some insight into their design thinking and direction. The geometry is noticeably slacker and the Lefty Ocho fork has a good deal of offset as well.
They’ve used what they call Proportional Response Geometry on the Scalpel, which basically means that geometry gets tweaked between sizes to keep the rider centered over the frame.
In addition to the 110mm of travel from the Lefty fork, the frame also features flex zones in the chainstays to better absorb chatter.
All the cable routing is internal, so I’m not sure if you can run a dropper post on it or not, though they’ve definitely become more popular on XC race bikes
The carbon frame weighs in at 895 grams and the complete bike sells for $5000 USD.
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