Review: 2011 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 Ultegra

I’ve put about 750 miles on my Synapse and I figure it’s about time to write a review of the critter.  But before I get in to the Cannondale, I should give some context on the bike I was riding before.

In 2001, after 8 years living in AK with exactly zero miles ridden on the road, I moved to Virginia and finally got myself a road bike again.  I picked up a new Lemond Zurich with Ultegra components.  I’ve always been find of steel frame bikes and the Lemond struck me as one of the great, affordable steel frame bikes available at the time. It was certainly a great bike… maybe more than I needed.  I was about 220lbs and fairly out of shape. But it’s a fast, good handling bike that I could ride has hard as I wanted without worrying about riding past the limits of the bike.

Over the first 9 years I owned the Lemond, it didn’t get the attention it deserved.  I maybe put 500 miles in the saddle over that time.  It’s almost embarrassing to admit it, but it was hard to accept I was as out of shape as I was and riding anything longer than 10 miles was difficult.  Then last year my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer.  It was quite a wakeup call to me.  The day after I found out, I got the Lemond down out of the shed, strapped on my shoes, and went for a ride.

Over the course of the year I trained for and completed a 50k charity ride.  Today 50k doesn’t seem like much of a ride, but at the time it was a huge deal.  And that Lemond was more than happy to put up with me grinding out the miles and getting back in shape.  Over the course of 2010 I rode about 1,000 miles, most of them on the Lemond.  I got the cycling bug back and invested in a proper mountain bike (a Gary Fisher 29er hard tail) and did about 100 miles on local single track.

I rode the Lemond through the winter putting a few hours a week on rollers and riding in the woods when the snow cooperated.  In the spring, I got the Lemond back on the road and did a 100k charity ride.  During the ride I realized I was starting to push this bike pretty hard.  The ride is stiff and on long rides it starts to become jarring.  And as I’ve improved my fitness level, I’m climbing much harder.  I could tell that my 200lbs frame was causing my Lemond to get pretty sloppy on the climbs.  As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it was time to invest in a new ride.

After trying out a few of the “plush” bikes on the market, I decide the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 Ultegra was the bike for me… even if the name evoked some sort of ego problem I might have, the bike felt great on the test ride.  I’ve been a big fan of the Ultegra group for a while.  You don’t pay the price penalty for the cutting edge DA components but you get the trickle down advantages.  Ultegra is built like a tank, and even with a gear masher like me the group just puts up with all the abuse and keeps right on trucking.  I paid list price for the bike, but I got a 2-for-1 deal on new pedals.  I had the old-style Look pedals on my Lemond, and rather than invest in old tech, I bought 2 pair of DuraAce.  The Bike shop cut me a huge deal on them and threw in some water bottles and cages too.  All in all a decent deal.

The Synapse is the first carbon bike I’ve owned.  Frankly, up until this point every road bike I’ve owned has been steel frame.  All my mountain bikes have been aluminum but I’ve stuck with steel for road bikes.  This bike is totally different than anything I’ve owned in the past.

The Synapse is part of a growing group of “plush” bikes; bikes with a relaxed geometry that allow riders to go greater distances without feeling like they need to have their spines reinforced.  With the SAVE geometry on the Synapse that Cannondale touts as “acting like a mini suspension system” combined with the carbon frame, this bike is comfortable.  I mean really comfortable.  There are bumps I would hit on my Lemond that would literally make my shins hurt.  On the Synapse, while the bumps aren’t magically gone, they’re much easier to deal with.  No pain in my legs (or my butt) from bumps that got me up out of the saddle on my Lemond.

The relaxed geometry makes the Synapse a little less crisp in the corners compared to the race bikes I’ve ridden in the past.  For the most part, it’s not a bad thing.  There are a few corners I had to be a bit more alert on than when I’m on my Lemond lest I drift wide and end up in someone’s lawn.  However even on steep, curvy descents at 40+ mph the Synapse really instills confidence… probably because of how smooth a ride it is.  I’m sure there’s some tradeoff your brain makes on a quick downhill where even though the steering isn’t as tight as you may like, your teeth aren’t rattling out of your skull so it still “feels good.”

On the climbs the synapse really excels.  With the stiff rear triangle and the super beefy BB30 bottom bracket, the Synapse is able to deal with pretty aggressive climbing from a fat guy like me and doesn’t seem to lose much energy in the process.  It’s a riot to run this bike up and down rolling hills and feel like you’re a kid on your BMX bike again.  And the compact FSA crank helps keep the mashing in check especially as the grades get north of 10%.

Visually, it’s a fine bike.  I wouldn’t say the paint job is striking, but it’s well done and I’m sure will still be stylish in the coming years.  And while the plush bikes all have some interesting geometries, the overall look of the bike isn’t something anyone will necessarily remember.  That said, it’s not hard on the eyes.

My two main concerns with the Synapse when I bought it was the saddle and the tires. I’m pretty particular about saddles and the stock fizik saddle on the Synapse didn’t look like something I was going to enjoy.  After 700 miles I’m actually pretty happy with it.  I’ll still likely swap it out before the end of the year, but even after 50 or 60 miles I don’t find myself even giving it a second thought.  I guess that’s the best praise you can give to a seat… if you’re not thinking about it while you’re riding, it’s doing its job.

My concern with the tires turned out to be well founded.  The stock Shwalbe tires were wide and had a very low max pressure (about 100 to 110 psi I think).  The tires were clearly designed for comfortable riding, but not really going fast or dealing with sketchy road conditions.  On the swept streets of central MD they did fine, but my first ride in Tennessee (where debris on the side of the road is much more lethal looking) I got a cut in the tire that basically went all the way through and was an inch wide.  I found the local bike shop, bought a pair of Specialized Armadillo Elites and haven’t looked back.  While the Armadillo’s are a bit bumpier ride, they’re basically bulletproof and have a much higher pressure rating.

The one thing that I wasn’t expecting was how much a pain in the ass it is to change the angle of your seat.  The seat is held on to the seat post by 2 disks that get clamped on to the post by a through bolt.  I usually ride with a few degrees of forward slope on my saddle, so I figured out how to adjust the seat.. basically, pull the bolt, remove the seat, pry off the disks, put them back on in the orientation you want, put the saddle on, and tighten it.  Sounds easy, right?  Nope.  Getting the two disks to align is a massive pain.  I won’t get in to the details, but in a nutshell it took me 20 minutes to get everything lined up and put back in place.  That’s not really acceptable.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the Synapse.  A few rough edges like the saddle adjustment and tires are more than made up for by the quality of the ride.  The Synapse just makes you want to ride all the time, every day.  That’s exactly what I want from a bike. After the first 700 miles I’m looking forward to the next 7,000.