My Cannondale Synapse.

[simmi]

Cheers Folks, It is quite loud I will admit so will perhaps lay off the red tyres for now
I do quite like the look of the different colour bottle cages seems to go well with the red/white design.
I am off work today, was up at 7am for my first ride but it is very cold cloudy and windy.
I want my first ride on it to be a pleasant experience so am hoping the day brightens up later on.

 

[Mo1959]

Cheers Folks, It is quite loud I will admit so will perhaps lay off the red tyres for now
I do quite like the look of the different colour bottle cages seems to go well with the red/white design.
I am off work today, was up at 7am for my first ride but it is very cold cloudy and windy.
I want my first ride on it to be a pleasant experience so am hoping the day brightens up later on.

Hope it does. It's always nice to get a few rides in in decent conditions. I know bikes eventually get covered in all the filth off the roads but it is annoying when they are new and shiny.

 

[cyberknight]

Very nice !

 

[billy1561]

That's a great looking bike! Out of experience it's also a wonderful ride. Great choice

 

[Mo1959]

Did you manage to give it a run Simmi?

 

[simmi]

Did you manage to give it a run Simmi?

Hi Mo,
Got out for a couple of hours, I feel now that my cycling has arrived in the 21st century!
It was so good in so many ways, smooth and I really felt connected with the bike.
Obviously the Synapse carbon frame was the biggest change but it was more than that, the saddle the 105 gearing the riding position the bb30 bottom bracket, all in al a great package!

 

[Nomadski]

Hey! You got the fancier lighter version of my Cannondale Synapse Alloy 105 - http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p4332/CANNONDALE-SYNAPSE-ALLOY-105-2012.

Really nice bike, although being my first I have nothing to compare to. Sure you will have a lovely ride on it.

I did swap out my chainset for the Shimano 105 one though, would recommend for yours too (just make sure you get a decent bottom bracket adapter as I had loads of creaking with my one initially).

 

[Rob3rt]

Hey! You got the fancier lighter version of my Cannondale Synapse Alloy 105 - http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p4332/CANNONDALE-SYNAPSE-ALLOY-105-2012.

Really nice bike, although being my first I have nothing to compare to. Sure you will have a lovely ride on it.

I did swap out my chainset for the Shimano 105 one though, would recommend for yours too (just make sure you get a decent bottom bracket adapter as I had loads of creaking with my one initially).

Unless having an issue with the bb30 BB, why would you recommend swapping to a 105 chainset?

My opinion is not to bother, I get on well with BB30 and wouldn't touch a Shimano chainset, but that is personal preference, just curious why you prefer the 105 chainset?

Also, Simmi, if you do decide to do this, DO NOT use a press fit adapter. With Cannondale carbon frames these are a permanent addition and you will void the warranty by removing it and will likely do damage to the frame.

 

[RWright]

I liked yours so much I went out and bought one for myself this afternoon. At least I have someone to blame it on now.

I got an older one (2006) but it appeared to be in good shape and I thought the price was good (especially after I got thru negotiating). Now I can check out this CF hoopla without breaking the bank. I liked the way it rode at the guys house but I only rode it a mile or two. I just got back and did a little tweaking, put on pedals and one of my saddles. I am going out right now to put a few miles on it.

 

[theloafer]

Hi Mo,
Got out for a couple of hours, I feel now that my cycling has arrived in the 21st century!
It was so good in so many ways, smooth and I really felt connected with the bike.
Obviously the Synapse carbon frame was the biggest change but it was more than that, the saddle the 105 gearing the riding position the bb30 bottom bracket, all in al a great package!

hi simmi
great looking bike mate . got mine in 2010 but with the sram apex (old legs ).. and love mine to bits got the shop to change a few things as it was to much black+white

 

[simmi]

I liked yours so much I went out and bought one for myself this afternoon. At least I have someone to blame it on now.

I got an older one (2006) but it appeared to be in good shape and I thought the price was good (especially after I got thru negotiating). Now I can check out this CF hoopla without breaking the bank. I liked the way it rode at the guys house but I only rode it a mile or two. I just got back and did a little tweaking, put on pedals and one of my saddles. I am going out right now to put a few miles on it.

If it is anything like mine you will be well pleased, look forward to hearing how you get on.

Unless having an issue with the bb30 BB, why would you recommend swapping to a 105 chainset?

My opinion is not to bother, I get on well with BB30 and wouldn't touch a Shimano chainset, but that is personal preference, just curious why you prefer the 105 chainset?

Also, Simmi, if you do decide to do this, DO NOT use a press fit adapter. With Cannondale carbon frames these are a permanent addition and you will void the warranty by removing it and will likely do damage to the frame.

On the basis of one ride I am very happy with the chainset, the bb30 fsa gossamer combo seem very good and in fact feel much stiffer than my previous HT 2 tiagra chainset setup.
Normadski, obviously had an issue with his and I respect that but can't see myself changing.
Not sure why Shimano don't make a chainset to fit a BB30, it would make life so much simpler!

 

[Rob3rt]

I like BB30, it suits me, I have 2 bikes (both Cannondale) with BB30 bottom brackets and I have one high end crankset which I swap between bikes. It is a 1-bolt change over, takes a couple of minutes and it encourages me to inspect and look after the bearings and removing the crankset makes it a whole lot easier to clean both the crankset and bottom bracket area on the frame.

 

[simmi]

View attachment 21089

hi simmi
great looking bike mate . got mine in 2010 but with the sram apex (old legs ).. and love mine to bits got the shop to change a few things as it was to much black+white

Very nice, some good additions needed a bit of colour to liven it up!
Not gone clipless yet? go on live a little, after you have fallen off half a dozen times you soon get the hang of it

 

[Nomadski]

Unless having an issue with the bb30 BB, why would you recommend swapping to a 105 chainset?

My opinion is not to bother, I get on well with BB30 and wouldn't touch a Shimano chainset, but that is personal preference, just curious why you prefer the 105 chainset?

Also, Simmi, if you do decide to do this, DO NOT use a press fit adapter. With Cannondale carbon frames these are a permanent addition and you will void the warranty by removing it and will likely do damage to the frame.

I didn't have anything but bother with my FSA Gossamer, the end came by my own hand really, after a hundred miles or so my pedal decided to reveal it had been misthreaded and corked itself in the crank. Spent a while trying to track down a replacement crank and failing as there was no stock until January (this was early November) so I thought sod it, Ill get a Shimano 105 crankset to match the rest of the setup.

Apart from the bottom bracket issue (which seemed to be an Evans greasing fail) everything had been super smooth, and the crankset just feels smoother, more robust, and my pedaling and even gear changing feels better.

Just my experience with it. I'm sure if I didn't have any problems the FSA would still be on the bike.

 

[RWright]

I just got back, first ride, brand new tires, p fairy got me. You better believe I was careful changing that tube with my new (to me) carbon frame I had only ridden about 10 miles on so far.

I hope you like yours as much as I like mine. I am very happy right now. A lot different than my 2.3, in mostly good ways too. Shifting isn't as slick as on my Ultegra 6700 components and drive train makes a little more noise but I was expecting it to. I have 105 with 10 speed but the earlier generation, the cables are not hidden under the bar tape but it really doesn't bother me at all. The riding position is wonderful. Bars feel good, the old style hoods even feel fine to me. Barring catastrophic failure of something major this is going to rank right up there with one of my better purchases ever. I have not ruled out seeing if I can switch my Ultegra over to this but it is not that important, the 105 is more than adequate. I may just wait until UI2 comes down in price in the next year or two and if it is even possible then ... well you know how it is. It is always something.