ljp3

Calling the LBS's looking for a regular Synapse 3 Ultegra, without any luck, one store had a Hi-Mod version in 56. I test rode the bike and love it! However I still had my heart set on the regular version, save some money and TBH the Hi-Mod is more bike than I need.

The owner did some research and the earliest he would get the regular version in stock is late June early July. If I do not want to wait, the owner is willing to discount the Hi-Mod to $3200. To me that makes it a done deal? Being the skeptic that I am... Why discount it so much and with no prodding from me? I do not see anything on the bike I would want to upgrade, although I cannot find much info on the wheels. Even if I do not like the wheels I have a set of Fulcrum Racing 3s that I like a lot.

heffdiddy

To move inventory.

Campag4life

25.4mm wacked out seat post is the reason I wouldn't buy one.

Young Version

Why is this a deal breaker?

cnguyen0320

He’s concerned that you may go somewhere else or talk yourself out of it if you are given time to wait and think. If it’s a good deal and you like the ride, go for it. For me, a bike now > a bike later

Bacciagalupe

I'm sure that it's mechanically fine. The real question is whether it fits you / geometry is right for you.

ljp3

The fit should be good, we went through a 30 minute fitting process before the test ride. He said he would do some additional measurements and tweaks if I buy.

bikerjp

I was all set to buy the new Synapse until I started to look at the Evo. Based on a fair bit of reading I discovered that the Evo is lighter, stiffer and more compliant than the Synapse. Granted, compliant is certainly subjective but I found the Evo a much more appealing bike and the sloping top tube and goofy seat post on the Synapse kind of turned me off. Overall, I still think the Synapse is a great bike and that black "71" scheme is pretty sick, but the Evo really does have it all. If you are set on the Synapse then definitely go for the deal on the hi-mod. If you are looking for a reason not to buy it - Evo.

ljp3

Thanks for the replies, I have decided to move ahead with the purchase . So barring anything negative with the final fitting I should be riding my new bike this weekend and its first century in June...

ljp3

Have to admit I did not try the evo, when we discussed what I would be doing they thought the Synapse and Rokh would be the best fit. I also tried comparable Spesh Roubaix, Giant Defy, and Giant TCR; the TCR felt like the next best bike for me.

daihard 

Hope it's not too late. I just picked up a 2014 Synapse Carbon 3. If I'd been presented the same deal as you (i.e. $3,200 for the Hi-Mod 3), I would think hard but still lean towards the regular Carbon 3. It would solely be because of the different cassettes. They both have a 11-speed cassette, but the one on the regular version is 11-32 whereas the Hi-Mod has 11-28. The 32T gear comes in handy when I ride steep hills (as I often do here in Seattle). Just my 2 cents.

bikerjp

Same here. As a middle age guy with back issues the Synapse seemed the ideal bike - stiff, compliant, performance oriented (Cannondale races this in some of the classics) with a taller head tube for a somewhat more comfortable fit. I've ridden one for the past two years and love it. When I started thinking about a "dream" bike I was going to go for the new Synapse hi-mod and all the reviews were really positive. I mentioned wanting to get the new Synapse to my LBS and they simply said don't discount the Evo. I didn't have a chance to test ride either, but having ridden both the older Synapse and the Caad I decided there was not a great deal of difference in the bikes and it came down to aesthetics. I simply liked the Evo more. Now that I have 500 miles on it including 2 200km brevets I have no regrets at all and it is really fun to ride. Not trying to talk you out of the Synapse and for the price it's a great deal. I just don't agree with the marketing of "endurance" and "race" bikes. The differences are subtle and a few extra spacers accounts for a lot of it. The Synapse is a very raceable bike and the Evo is very comfortable. Buy what you enjoy riding.

Cassettes can be swapped. I wouldn't buy a bike based on the cassette.

dalava

It may need a different RD, tho. The 32t would require a mid- or long-cage RD while a short-cage can handle 28t.

I never tested the Synapse, but I have an EVO hi-mod. I bought it as a frameset so I was able to set up the way I like. It's a hell of a bike, lighter, stiffer, yet very comfortable. It's actually more comfortable than the Cervelo R3SL, the other bike I have.

cderalow

While I'd agree, the oddball seatpost size could be a deal breaker, the Himod versions get an SL-K light one from FSA.

There are a few others out there, but you probably wouldn't need to upgrade from the stock one honestly on a bike that's not really in the weight weenie range

2702

You have back issues with a EVO? I started a thread where in my CAAD 8 I use to 80mm stem and a 10 degrees rise. If I was to buy a SS EVO I probably need a 15 degrees rise with the shorter head tube length in the EVO.
I too have back issues, oh yeah, I stuck with the 80mm stem after saying I was going back to 90mm In the thread.
If I was going to go with an endurance bike I would go all in with a Domane, I test rode the newest Synapse Carbon and there just was not a big difference in ride quality vs a Caad bike. IMO you have to search for the worse roads and do test rides over it to try to find the ride difference.
All said, this is just my view and to not talk down the current Synapse.

bikerjp

Both bikes come with the same 6800 RD so I suspect either could take a 32 cog.


That's my point. Even with back issues the Evo is not torturous and I've done two long rides (200km) so I have spent hours on the bike. A 60cm Evo is fairly close to a 58cm Synapse. I could have gone with a 61cm Synapse and got a bit more stack but the end would just be a few less spacers. I doubt I'd change the overall setup. Currently I have a 120mm stem and dropped 15mm from the full stack height. I have plenty of room to modify the stack or reach if needed.

daihard 

Very true. Good thing I wasn't given an option to buy a Hi-Mod 3 for $3,200. I would have passed up and now would regret it.

fstshrk

Yes, exactly.

fstshrk

Some of us don't and won't use a carbon seatpost. Especially when we get a Thomson seatpost that is perfectly reliable.

bikerjp

Isn't the smaller diameter seatpost supposed to be part of the ride compliance? Wouldn't a stiff aluminum post negate that benefit? I have an aluminum post on my bike so I don't think it's that big of an issue, but in this particular case seems sort of a step backwards.

cderalow

yes, but the lower models come with aluminum posts from cannondale. (C1/C2/C3)

the ultegra and better models get carbon posts by FSA

Dudelsack

Because of the risk of asplosion I can't believe no one has said it yet...

Campag4life

I am a big fan of FSA and ride both their handlebars and seat posts. That said, the SLK post that Cannondale uses is the bottom of the barrel with lateral 2 bolt clamp orientation and a far cry from FSA's 27.2mm K-force Light 2 bolt carbon post I ride which is popular in the pro peloton and for good reason....rock solid clamp, light and not back breaking. I like the concept of the 25.4mm seat post for compliancy. I would be fine if the industry moved in that direction. But they haven't. The std. is 27.2mm. There aren't really any good carbon posts on the market to support 'Cannondale's' standard of 25.4mm post. I like Cannondales. Again, I like the 25.4mm post diameter. But until FSA makes their K-force Light in a 25.4mm diameter or another company steps up with solid 2 bolt clamp, I wouldn't consider one. The simple reality is...the top bikes in any genre are so close, many times the biggest differences are the seatposts aside from slight geometry differences and BB differences. A crappy seatpost ruins any bicycle...including all the BS integrated aero single bolt post bikes out there. When a company goes rogue and decides they want to set themselves apart be it seat post or BB, then they have to lie in the bed they made but I don't have to.

daihard 

Just to be clear, it is the Hi-Mod models that come with an FSA seatpost. The regular Carbon 3 (Ultegra) comes with a C2 seatpost (albeit still carbon according to Cannondale).

zymphad

Who knows. I doubt this will remain a Cannondale feature and will become another standard in the industry. Currently this is only seen on Cannondale bikes and so it's sort of proprietary. As for safety, no idea why it would be a deal breaker since these seatposts have successfully completed Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. I mean he goes on about nonsense that this is inferior FSA and bolting isn't good enough for him... Whatever.

Campag4Life has a lot of eccentric opinions on bikes.