Congrats

You will love it. When you get your new peddles it will be even nicer.

 

Congratulations! You are going to really enjoy that bike. My search took me seven months. Anytime I could I would check out what I could taking time to ride several different bikes. There are lots of great bikes out there but once I took the Synapse for a spin I new my search was over.

It's funny too because it was the last one I tried. I have a Cannondale mountain bike and I thought it would be interesting to try another manufacture and for some reason the Synapse didn't appeal to me right away. But like the mountain bike the Synapse just felt like it was made for me.

For me there's just something special about Cannondales. Enjoy your new ride!

Cheers,

Scott

 

Congrats. It's a great bike. It'll take couple more rides to fine tune your position. Once you start doing 30-50 mile bike ride is when you really appreciate the Synapse.

Good decision on going with pedals 1st. Once you get comfortable with your bike, attempt with clips. It makes a world of difference with riding, but get use to new kind of soreness. It's hard to convince a person to try clips because YOU will initially fall couple of times, but just like anything else, it'll get easier and before you know it, you wont even think about it anymore. My bud didnt want anything to do with clips and it took the whole bike group to convince him. Once he finally "Clipped" in, he immediately kicked himself in the A** for not doing it sooner. whole summer wasted he said. lol.

 

Congrats you are going to love it and the SRAM shifting is really easy to use. Got mine in Oct. but never road it till Dec. 1st and have put 750 miles on it. Really comfortable ride. As for clips you might want to go with mtb clips you will find a lot of threads about the difference of mtb and road clips. Personally I have mtb on all my bikes as it cuts down on shoes and I like to be able to walk when off the bike. Again enjoy.

 

agreed. most noticeable is mtb has either 2 or 4 (egg beaters) sided which is great and easier to engage imho. That's how I evolved...Pedals, cage pedals, mtb clips and now road clips. Nothing wrong with sticking with mtb clips.

 

by all means if MTB clipless work better and are easier go for it. That's what I am planning on doing once I get my new road bike. Much easier than road pedals imo

 

Took the bike out for the first test run this morning. It was 30 degrees, but pur sunshine. I was amazed how easy the SRAM shifters work. I went through all the gears up and down a few roads in a park near my house. The bike moved with ease and no problems with the brakes either. The seat is something to think about, but it was the first ride. I traveled about 20 miles for the first ride. Stay tuned for more updates.

 

Just another update, weather was nice here today bfore the storms came. Second full ride on the Cannondale was 30.23 miles. The trip up the river was nice but the head winds back were killing me. I went through all the gears on the bike again and the shifted with ease, even when I went up three different hills. The brakes worked great and the bike ride was nice. I am still not sure about the bike seat yet. Any suggestions on seats for 5'10 205lbs person.

 

Most will agree that the stock saddle is less than desirable. I switched mine out after 6-7 ride. Saddle selection is going to take some time. I went through 3 saddles before I one fit. My bud when through 5 saddles in a month when he finally found one that works. You're just gonna have to go through some trial and errors. Hopefully the bike store has some demo selections you can try.

 

replacing cannondale seats

Hi guys.
Interesting to see this discussion lead to seats. I was just logging in to pose a question to the forum about this very subject. I am in training for my first Imperial + century - the tour de Leman (around lake Geneva - 180km) and have decided after many incidents of numb nuts to replace my saddle. I tried a Specialized Romin SL over the weekend and while it cured the numb nuts problem and is an improvement over the stock cheapo one supplied on the Synapse 6, my butt was still hurting after 2.5 hrs. going to try now the (very expensive) Selle SMP Pro and will feedback to the forum. I am just wondering if there is any experience out there with the Selle SMP saddles? BTW both seats were loaners from my LBS - most obliging.

OLM

 

Glad to hear you are liking it. I just found a killer deal on an '11 Synapse. Can't wait to get it home and take it for a nice long ride. Hoping that going from an aluminum cross bike to the carbon synapse will make a big difference.

Matt

 

Matt, I believe you're in for a treat! You're going to love your Synapse. Congratulations!

 

Everyone has a different preference for saddles due to their pelvic and performance needs. Last year I finally shelled out $100 for a saddle due to numbness and discomfort with a WTB mt bike saddle. The money was well spent. Take a look at Terry saddles. I have the Terry Fly version. Here's the version I have.

Terry Fly

Congrats on the new ride!

 

The Synapses are nice bikes... I was looking high and low for leftover Synapse 5 (green) in a 52 CM. Ended up getting a leftover Supersix 5 for even less!!!

Best of luck- and LOVE your new bike!!

Chris

 

Nice! I just picked up a 2013 Supersix 5 yesterday! Leaving the synapse behind.... Both great bikes! Congrats to the OP

 

Shimano makes a very nice clip in pedal that is $80 on Amazon. Shimano PD-A600 Ultegra SPD Road Bike Pedals. They also sell the SH 56 Multi release cleats that will save your ass. These cleate alow the normal twist to exit AND also release with a more natural "I need to get released now" motion you would use if you were trying to put your foot to the ground ASAP. Shimano and other brands sell touring road shoes for these cleats and these cleats are also used on mountain bike shoes/peddles as well. I ride with MTB shoes as I ride both kinds of bikes.

The yuppie purist will frown on my selection of peddles/cleats and shoes, but they work well, are far more easy to release from the peddle and are the least expensive option to boot. I have used this peddle for a season and own a 2011 Cannondale Carbon Six with lots of upgrades - wheels, tubeless tires, upgraded crank, shifter, seat, chain and carbon FSA bars. Love the bike. especially in the hills.

 

My Synapse is also plenty stiff and still leaves it very comfortable for rough roads and the occasional cobblestones i ride on. With 1100 miles on it since Dec.1st, I am as happy as the day I bought my Synapse 6.

 

It's just Helitech excuse to get a new bike I did the same. Oh look? My handlebar wraps are worn. Time for upgrade!

 

Glad to hear that you're enjoying your Synapse. I'm well into my second season on mine (2011 Synapse Carbon 6 Apex) and am loving the bike and road biking in general.

I have about 1100 miles on it so far. It's a very forgiving bike but also rewarding the further you push it. I started out as a noob last year and am now only a semi-noob. Haha! But the bike's been right there with me the whole time, doing everything I need it to.

Smooth ride, great build quality, reliable, looks great. All around great bike.

 

Came across this thread during my search for Synapses - I found a really good deal at a bike shop farther away and at this point in time, my LBS has said that they will price match if they call the other guys and they have my size! Was going to go with the alloy version but if I can get several hundred off the carbon...then that's a deal I can't pass up! Glad to see the positive reviews here.

 

So far I am enjoying in mine (2012 Synapse 3), definitely smooths out the vibrations and is pretty comfortable.
Of course only had 3 rides on it so far.

And I run SHimano 959 spds on mine ( may look at bit weird in baggies, t-shirt and mtb shoes)..

 

Anyone know why the carbon Synapse 6 has switched over to Tiagra? I don't see as many bikes with Apex for 2013, not just within Cannondale and am wondering if there's a reason for that. Not as many Apex sales?

 

I would think it was to hit their price point at entry level for the carbon frame and they couldn't do it with Sram Apex.

 

If that's true then I can see why people gripe about getting less and less for your money every year with bikes.

I think the Synapse 6 went up about $400 in 2012.

 

Synapse and Supersix both went up for 2012. So glad I found my size in leftover 2011 Supersix 5 earlier this year. Not only did I no pay the price increase- but also got $400 off the 2011 MSRP.

Damn Tektro brakes will be the first things gone!!!

Chris

 

Bummer, I wasn't in the market for a road bike last year. Anyway, I was able to recently purchase a 2012 synapse carbon 6 with Apex for several hundreds off so I'm pretty pleased about that. I wasn't interested in paying so much and going for Tiagra components in 2013. I rode it for about 15 miles last weekend and it was wonderful. Comfortable and it could really punch it when I wanted to go fast. Maybe I'll post a picture once I figure out how to do that on this forum.

- Another happy Synapse owner