Collision/Upgrade suggestions
 

Was riding my bike home this weekend and got hit by a car. The girl ran a stop sign and hit the rear of my bike at about 20mph while I was crossing the intersection. I was thrown off the bike, hit the hood of the hood of the car and some how managed to land on my hands and feet without getting very hurt at all. The carbon fiber frame held up strong too not even a scratch on it. Although I now have two bent wheels, a bent stem, bent handle bars and a broken shifter. The driver is paying the cost for the new parts I need, but I was thinking about throwing in a few hundred dollars of my own for some upgrades. However, Im new to cycling, this is my first bike and Im not very familiar with what is available. I definetly want to make the Synapse a bit more aggressive and I was thinking the best way would be to get a different stem and some different wheels. Im looking for a set of wheels that is in the 300-500 and a stem that will give me a more aggresive position over the bike. Do you have any suggestions? Here is what I have:


Rider: 5'10 150lbs
Frame: 53 CM Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2
Fork Synapse S.A.V.E.
Wheels: Shimano WH-R550
Crank Shimano 105 Compact, 34/50,
Rear Cogs Shimano 105, 12-25
Bottom Bracket Shimano 105
Front Derailleur Shimano 105
Rear Derailleur Shimano Ultegra
Shifters Shimano 105
Handlebars Cannondale C3, 31.8 mm
Stem Cannondale C4
Headset FSA Carbon integrated
Brakeset Cannondale C2
Brakelevers Shimano 105

The aggressiveness of your bike's setup comes mostly from the overall geometry of the frame...head tube length, stem angle, seat tube angle, etc. A more aggressive riding bike has steeper angles and shorter head tubes, which increases the responsiveness/twitchiness of the handling. So, doing a stem switch isn't going to have much effect on the aggressiveness of the ride, though you can increase the aggressiveness of your position by taking out spacers under the stem, flipping the stem down if it isn't in this position already, etc. to get into a lower position.

Stems tend to come in various degrees of slant. I'm not sure how many degrees of slant the c-dale one you have has, but the ones from deda are 8 degree (expressed 82/98), thompson is 10 degree, ritchey 6 degree, etc. Getting one that has a higher angle such as the deda or thompson and flipping it down will likely get you into a slightly lower position. Specialized also sells stems that come with different shims that can be used to adjust the angle from something like 4 degree to 16 degrees; I've got one on one of my bikes and it works well.

On the wheels, maybe move up to an ultegra wheelset from shimano (I see them selling here and there for around $300), maybe neuvation or rol wheels, or look around to see if you can find some easton's on sale. $300-500 is not going to get you super wheels; then again, putting super wheels on a synapse is a bit of overkill.

The driver is likely clueless about bike parts, so you should replace the stuff with better items and then just bill them for it. It will be cheaper for them than a lawsuit or going to jail, so they'll go along with it.

Make sure you get a police report, witnesses, everything. She probably thinks your bike costs like, 15 bucks.

+1

File the report!

You had better make darn sure that the frame is okay. Before settling I would suggest sending the frame to Cannondale to inspect for hidden damage which would be SOP in this situation. You will not be able to collect for damage discovered at a later date.

Williams 19's-climbing or 30's-all arounders, Rol Volants, and Neuvation M28's are prime wheel candidates. Colorado Cyclist also for custom.

I called the police right after the accident and filed a report. I checked the frame with the guys at the lbs and we couldnt find any cracks or scratches. But your absolutley right I will suggest sending it back cdale before I order anything.