The Synapse 5 Alloy has alluded me. Can't be found anywhere in Bay Area.

I did find a 6 Alloy that has Tiagra. It is priced well below MSRP. Is it even possible for me to take the 6 and swap out the components to 105? Is it even worth it? How much would I expect to pay to do that?

I rode the 5 disc today. I just love the feel of the bike. I rode a Z5 maybe? First. It was a men's and I did like it better than the womens version of the same. But then I tested the 5 Disc. It felt so good- until I tried to brake. I nearly got hit by a UPS truck as I couldn't stop even with the levers depressed completely. I immediately went back into shop. They confirmed brakes were not working well and said maybe they needed to be tuned. And another guy said it is common for disc brakes to take a few weeks to break in. No way am I taking 3 weeks to break in brakes! It sucks because I can't even say I will wait for the 2015s as they will all have disc.

You can buy 11sp Shimano 105 for pretty cheap right now ($407 shipped at Ribble.) You would need to pay somebody to install it. It would be best to negotiate with the shop you buy the bike from to get a discounted rate to install it. Basically you just say "if I buy this bike from you how much will you charge me to install 11sp Shimano 105?" and decide if it's a good deal or not. You'll probably need a new rear wheel too as most 10sp rear hubs aren't compatible with 11sp.

What do you mean nowhere? You can get 13 at goridebicycle for 999. What size are you?

What's this crap about disc brakes taking 3 weeks? That's bs. I've been using disc brakes for years on my mtb and they're fine out the gate. Don't believe the fear mongers.

Just buy something already!

105 is a great everything groupset, but the tiagra sets are perfectly fine these days. if it aint broke don't fix it

Seriously. Triple or double. Discs or double pivot brakes. Tektro or Shimano. Now Tiagra or 105. At a certain point, you need to pick the bike that fits you and suits your riding style. No bike is perfect, but many bikes in the $1,200 to $2,000 retail are marvels of modern technology. Light, responsive, reliable even reasonably comfortable. Are they perfect? No. You might need to change out a saddle, or brake pad, or chain down the line.

To to answer your question, Tiagra works very well. I posted a chart on one of your threads. Current 10 speed Tiagra is the same as 10 speed 105 of just 4 or 5 years ago. Even 9 speed Sora or 8 speed Claris would work well for years. That said, a bicycle is a long term investment so if you can swing it, 105 is better.

but, it makes no sense to buy a complete bike only to swap out the complete group set. If you really feel flush, consider getting some custom wheels. Or just ride your new bike for 2 or 3 years as is.

I talked to goride today. They have the men's but it has disc brakes. They have a '13 in carbon with Tiagra, not alloy. They are the ones who have the 6 in alloy I found. I am going there in morning.

Sorry I seemed to tick everyone off by being indecisive. This is a good deal of money and I am just trying to educate myself.

1. No, swapping brand new 10-speed Tiagra for 105 is not worth it.

2. I would not buy a bike from a shop that let me test ride a bike with non-working brakes.

3. Never, ever ride a(nother) bike without doing a quick brake check first.

4. Buy a damn bike already! :-)

Size 51

I forgot to add:

5. If disc brakes really took 3 weeks to break in, no one would be using them. Do not confuse the mal-adjusted brakes on your test ride bike with non-broken in disc brakes. Non-broken in disc brakes will still easily throw you over the handlebars, just with a slightly harder squeeze than will be needed once they are properly broken in (usually just takes a handful of hard stops from a decent speed).

Not ticked off. You are demonstrating to the forum the paradox of choice. If you just had 3 choices, chances are you would pick the best one for you and feel pretty good about it. Thanks to the internet and an abundance of lbs, too many choices is paralyzingly you.

Did you try Sunshine Bikes in Fairfax? They usually have a pretty good selection of Synapses.

Tiagra (4600, 10 speed) is basically identical to the 5600 105. It shifts great, the components last forever when maintained properly.

It is a shame that so many people get stuck on a component grade selection as the decisive factor.

Paralysis of analysis...happens to almost everyone at some point or another. You seem to have looked at a lot of bikes. At some point, you will just have to pick one and start riding it. Almost anything on a bike can be changed, short of the frame itself. You are not locked in to any groupo, so sweating over that is just wasted time in the end. Get a quality frame, upgrade the drive train and control systems as things wear out over the years.

I have been shopping new bikes myself right now.

Between 105 and Tiagra to be honest on shift quality with eyes closed it would be tough for me to tell them apart on a 2 mile test ride. That said the 105 brifters are "nicer" IMHO , I really do not need deraillor position indicators (Tiagra )......so 105 in that way is nicer.

I also rode a synapse with disks.....they were adjusted properly, probably nearly virgin so they might break in better, but the braking amount for lever input was VERY different than the rim brakes on the other 4 bikes I rode that day.......way more lever pressure for a given braking result, but maybe less grabby and a lot easier to modulate ?

I'd have to take it on faith from other owners experience that they change pretty quickly with break in :-)

I have been playing around with disk brakes on my converted MTB and there is no comparison in the rim brake arena. The disk system is capable of lock the wheel at any speed, but has such a smooth modulation that it rarely happens. Reading all the info on the 105 group bringing hydraulic disk controls into the fold is exciting and certainly makes it one of the most attractive workhorse Shimano groups available. Tiagra is certainly workable, but it is falling behind as Shimano advances what it considers to be its mid to high level groups.

I rode a few cycles with Tiagra groups when originally shopping. Under light to medium loads, they did shift fine. Where I found the difference to be was under heavy load. I could hit the cranks with everything I have and the 105 group would shift without error. Also, the 105 felt smoother in that instance, most likely because of finer adjustment interval. Just my take away. In the end, it only matters that what you buy does what you want. Each of us finds what works best and the awesome amount of choice makes it a fun time to be in the market.

You won't get the attitude from me. The more you learn the more informed your decision will be and there's no upper limit to that. You wouldn't believe what I looked into before buying a bike, not an expensive one either. This is just due diligence, a long way from extreme.

I think the way the bike industry is these days, the process of choosing a bike becomes more difficult. It just takes a while to wade through the information and begin to home in on what you want to do. And, be advised that no choice is perfect. There will always be compromises. The trick is to try to minimize those compromises.

Sounds like typical lbs mechanics/employees. Probably didn't have the brakes adjusted correctly and since they let a customer get on a bike and test ride and almost kill herself they aren't going to accept responsibility so they make up some excuses and hope the customer is uneducated and will believe that it's common for disk brakes to need 3 weeks to brake in before they will stop your bike. "Just jam your foot against the back tire to stop. That's what everyone does for the first three weeks!"

I saw your other bike buying thread and I gave you my $0.02 about buying a Trek Domane (which I have and love), and now you're here asking about Cannondale.

I have a Trek Domane and I just bought this a few days ago to use as my commuting bike. Mens 51cm Synapse Alloy 105 Disc. Braking is fine on my particular sample, no break in needed.



With regard to your question, there is no point upgrading the Tiagra to 105. I *wanted* disc brakes on my Synapse, but if it came with Tiagra instead of 105, I would have been perfectly happy. It makes ZERO real world difference.

I do have to go with the sentiment you're perhaps overanalyzing things a bit....once you get into this price range, most bikes are pretty good and anything that is not to your satisfaction can be easily changed out. In my case, the seat got tossed and I got an ergonomic seat. I'll probably adjust/shorten the height of my handlebar once I settle into it by changing the stem height and maybe the length. I might also change to a wider tire if I start taking the route that includes a bit of gravel.