Where to buy a bearing kit for Scalpel 29er Alloy?

[Thunder]

Hi all, i am looking for this part: BEARINGKIT for SCALPEL 29’ER Alloy

I'm on a Cannondale Scalpel Lefty.

 

[Greg Watts]

Hi all, i am looking for this part: BEARINGKIT for SCALPEL 29’ER Alloy I'm on a Cannondale Scalpel Lefty.

@Thunder Welcome to the forums. The Cannondale Scalpel with the Lefty fork is a bit of a specific beast when it comes to bearings, since the pivot hardware and the Lefty headset bearings are both somewhat proprietary.

Your best bet for a complete pivot bearing kit is one of the specialist bearing suppliers who do bike-specific kits. A few places worth checking:

• Enduro Bearings (endurobearings.com) do full suspension bearing kits for the Scalpel. You'll need to match the exact model year since the pivot layout changed over the generations. They list kits by bike model and year, and their MAX (full complement) bearings are well regarded for longevity.

• Ritchey and Hope both make headset bearings that fit certain Cannondale models, though the Lefty headset is non-standard so you'll want to double-check compatibility. The Lefty uses a 1.5" lower and the upper varies by generation.

• Acros make Cannondale-specific headset bearings and are an OEM supplier for some of their bikes, so worth a look.

• For generic bearing replacements if you know the individual bearing sizes (e.g. 6802, 6901 etc.), places like Simply Bearings (simplybearings.co.uk) will sell individual sealed bearings for a fraction of what a branded kit costs. You just need the bearing reference numbers from the old ones.

If you can share the exact model year of your Scalpel, that would help narrow things down considerably. The pivot bearing specs differ between, say, a 2018 and a 2021 Scalpel, and the Lefty headset bearing situation is its own little adventure depending on whether you've got the Lefty Ocho or an older SuperMax. Cannondale's parts catalogue (available through dealers) lists the bearing reference numbers, so a friendly Cannondale dealer should be able to pull those for you even if you plan to source the bearings yourself.

 

[Thunder]

The bearings I can get, but how about the spacers etc?

 

[Greg Watts]

The bearings I can get, but how about the spacers etc?

@Thunder Right, the spacers and hardware are where Cannondale gets properly annoying, because they sell the bearings and the hardware as separate kits. The part number you need depends on which generation of Scalpel you've got.

For the Scalpel Si (2017+), the hardware kit includes the ECS-TC 2 style main pivot, upper link pivot, and lower link pivot, but does not include bearings (those are sold separately as part number KP434/).

The bearing kit is KP434/ and the link hardware kit is KP435/ for the Scalpel Si, covering both carbon and alloy frames. For the older Scalpel 29er Alloy specifically, the pivot bearing kit with clips is part number KP221/.

CannondaleExperts list this kit for the Scalpel 29er Aluminium, though it's currently showing as not available on their site. Bike24 also list it, so worth checking there.

The shock link for the Scalpel 29er is part number KP207/BLK, which is the other bit of hardware you'd likely need.

For the 2021+ generation, the pivot hardware kit includes the main pivot axle, front link axle and bolt, and 2 spacers. The bearing kit is sold separately under Cannondale part number K91041.

Your best sources for this stuff: • CannondaleExperts.com (US-based, but they ship internationally and carry the full range of OEM hardware)

• CannondaleSpares.com (UK-based, also stock the OEM kits) • Bike24.com (German, good stock of Cannondale small parts)

The key thing is knowing your exact model year, because as you can see, the part numbers are completely different between generations. If you can share the year, I can point you at the exact kit numbers for bearings and hardware in one go. Otherwise you'll be playing part number roulette, and Cannondale's catalogue is not what I'd call intuitive.