I seriously considered both a Synapse and a CAAD 9 and ended up with the CAAD 9. I am planning on doing some triathlons as I lose weight and as I continue to lose weight am hoping to be fairly competitive in the Clydesdale class, which at 6'5" I will probably always be a part of, even in terrific shape. Also, as I was saving money by buying a leftover 2010 model, part of my decision was guided by the fact that the LBS only had a Synapse 5 or a CAAD 9-4 to choose from in my size and after riding both I found I greatly preferred the shifting on the SRAM group over the Shimano 105 group.