Great review with good description of the bikes characteristics. Interesting bike. It's a bit heavier than I thought it would be but under 30lbs is about right for a DC bike. A wheel and tire upgrade will make it XC ready along with lighter cassette.

First, I bought it year ago, it was with XT, and SLX cassette. Changed all to XTR (except cranks) - and it is 27.2lbs or 12.34kg (size L with tubes!). XTR shifts lika a butter, IceTech rotors are sharp as f and all is very light and snappy. 2023 vs 2022 - So I see: Tektro (savings), cassette Deore (savings), and rotors. That's why price is as it is.

Very nice bike

You read the specs off the website (that are wrong) while showing the actual build. You said Sram SX drivetrain while showing the Shimano XT drivetrain. You said Shimano 501 brakes while showing the Tektro Gemini SL brakes. At least get that part right. Getting XT over SX is a huge bonus. Getting Tektro brakes instead of the 501’s? Not so much. The Gemini’s are horrid. It’s a solid bike though. What size did you test? You mentioned a 90mm stem. My size Large came with an 80mm stem. It’s definitely not a down country bike in my opinion. Travel numbers alone do not a down country bike make. The frame geometry has something to do with it too. And the Scalpel SE is very different than other bikes that share the same travel numbers. I tend to think of the Scalpel SE as a sort of “lunch ride” version of the Scalpel Hi Mod XC race bike.

Would like to see 1-2 min added in the beginning going over the specs.

Would this be a decent bike for Marathon riding (as a mid-level 56 year old amateur)? Looking for a replacement for my 10 year old Giant Anthem X...