“Endurance race, not endurance cruise”. With the 2019 range in full flow from the big retailers, Cannondale have released the update of their all new Synapse. The Synapse has long been one of Cannondale’s most popular ranges, catering for a huge range of the road bike spectrum. Whether you love a Sunday social ride with friends, or you’re targeting an international spring classic, the new Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Di2 is a fantastic bike.
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This is for the riders. You know the ones — the chargers, the searchers, the hammers with nothing to prove — except to themselves. The ones who live to go long and go hard, and return home with nothing in the tank but the glow of a ride well ridden. It’s comfy, fast and built around performance.
What’s to Shout About?
Introducing our first-ever SAVE SystemBar — ride-smoothing comfort and sleek, integrated style without the hassles of a one-piece design. The SystemBar’s elliptical SAVE bar-shape offers more smoothness than a standard bar, protecting you from the bumps while keeping you connected to the road. Multiple stem lengths and 8 degrees of pitch adjustment let you set your position just the way you like it, and a detachable mount holds both a Garmin and a Fabric Lumaray light. It’s smooth integration without the frustration.
For those who think that to get the all-day capabilities of an endurance machine you have to give up the go, Cannondale say think again. Lighter and stiffer than ever, with asymmetric and size-optimised frame design and a rider position that encourages excess, the all-new Synapse is built to go hard, longer.
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Size-specific diameters on the frame, head tube and fork steerer, along with three different fork offsets, ensure that each frame size matches the weight and power of the rider for whom it’s made. Its the kind of Nth degree obsessiveness that elevates the truly great above the merely good.
The Features:
The Di2 components have seen the major change, with the junction box hidden in the down tube. It’s easy to set up and the changing is as crisp as you’d expect. We particularly like the semi-synchro option.
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It can also fit 32mm (measured) tyres and has mudguard eyelets ready for the gritty off season riding. Embrace the backroads, the rough roads, the highways and the byways. Gone are the days of 23mm and 120 psi, often 85-90psi and 28mm is doing the job just fine! This also means means you don’t have to get a whole new run around just to keep it well maintained through the darker months.
When its just not for the sake of saving grams – in other words, when its combined with racey snap and sublime feel – theres just no substitute for light weight. The Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Di2 weighs in at an acclaimed 950 grams. Believe it!
An asymmetrically designed frame and fork balance pedalling and disc loads to deliver World Tour sprinter level stiffness. Get ready to lay down power and rail corners like you wouldn’t believe. When things get spicy on the descent, the Synapse Ultegra Di2 has you covered.
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The new save systems completely transform the ride. Carefully engineered to offer more comfort when you’re out in the saddle. The SAVE SystemBar – ride – smoothing comfort and sleek, integrated style without the hassles of a one-piece design. As well as this the Synapse Ultegra Di2 has a 25.4mm SAVE post and integrated seat binder work with the rest of the SAVE system to enhance comfort and reduce fatigue.
Engineered to tune the harshness out of choppy road surfaces, and tune you in to whats happening at your tyres contact patches. The Save Micro-Suspension has been carried through from the 2018 model so that you can concentrate on the important stuff – like nailing the right line or beating the sun home. The seat tube splits asymmetrically to meet with the wide, 73mm BB30A for maximum stiffness with minimal weight.
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Endurance Race Geometry strikes the perfect performance balance between full race aggression and the relaxed upright comfort of other endurance rigs. Hidden mounts and a removable seat stay bridge ensure that the Synapse is fully mudguard-ready for long days with no spray.
The Verdict:
We were big fans of the 2018 Cannondale Synapse, but the 2019 version has really blow us away. Sharp, sleek and performance driven. There feels like nothing it won’t do. Comfortable over the longer rides, but ready to switch on the heat when you need it.
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Value - 81%81%
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Performance - 90%90%
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Aesthetic - 72%72%
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Durability - 80%80%
