numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
Invisible mudguards very nice
My new Synapse disc!
- Thread starter Wafer
- Start date
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One of the problems with the front wheel/disc was because the local roads are garbage, the wheel takes a lot of hits. After so many hits and with cheap wheels the wheel seemed to move and knock the disc mechanism out of sync. This meant that every so often I had a squeak as the pad rubbed. Did my head in hence upgrading the wheels.
I had my local mechanic/wheel builder make me some "Stans Alpha 400" which seem pretty bomb proof and half the weight of the originals. Also had Hope hubs so the wheels are just so slick. here's a photo: No guards though now.
I had my local mechanic/wheel builder make me some "Stans Alpha 400" which seem pretty bomb proof and half the weight of the originals. Also had Hope hubs so the wheels are just so slick. here's a photo: No guards though now.
OP
OP
Wafer
Veteran
- Location
- Somerset/Devon border
Looks good. Basically these in the Stans Alpha option? http://www.merlincycles.com/hope-hoops-pro3-road-series-wheel-57956.html
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
Hiya,
Bit of advice needed please on sizings and panniers from anyone with a Synapse Disc 5 2014 model.
I'm considering getting one (have narrowed to down to a Disc 5, CAADX, Trek Domane, Trek Crossrip or a Raleigh Maverick Elite) and see Evans have 2014 model going for £850 which looks very good value, but having spoken to 3 (localish) dealers I'm a bit confuzzled. Interesting how advice varies so wildly from shop to shop!
Evans in Sheffield tell me a 54cm will suit me fine (I'm just under 5'9", slim/athletic build) and that the bike has pannier mounts. Minster Cycles in Hull tell me the bike won't take a pannier and that 54cm will be borderline for me, Evans in York say they don't have any in but could order one, but that 54cm is smallest they can get in for the 2014 model and it will be too big for me!
Bonkers.
Can anyone advise on a) how they think the bike compares to the others on my shortlist
b) if it will take a proper pannier rack and if you've fitted one yourself, how you've found it
and c) if a 54cm is likely to work for a bloke of my size
I appreciate that I need to get into a shop and get on one but could do with some advice to potentially save me a wasted 2hr round trip in the car tomorrow.
Thanks, Andy
Bit of advice needed please on sizings and panniers from anyone with a Synapse Disc 5 2014 model.
I'm considering getting one (have narrowed to down to a Disc 5, CAADX, Trek Domane, Trek Crossrip or a Raleigh Maverick Elite) and see Evans have 2014 model going for £850 which looks very good value, but having spoken to 3 (localish) dealers I'm a bit confuzzled. Interesting how advice varies so wildly from shop to shop!
Evans in Sheffield tell me a 54cm will suit me fine (I'm just under 5'9", slim/athletic build) and that the bike has pannier mounts. Minster Cycles in Hull tell me the bike won't take a pannier and that 54cm will be borderline for me, Evans in York say they don't have any in but could order one, but that 54cm is smallest they can get in for the 2014 model and it will be too big for me!
Bonkers.
Can anyone advise on a) how they think the bike compares to the others on my shortlist
b) if it will take a proper pannier rack and if you've fitted one yourself, how you've found it
and c) if a 54cm is likely to work for a bloke of my size
I appreciate that I need to get into a shop and get on one but could do with some advice to potentially save me a wasted 2hr round trip in the car tomorrow.
Thanks, Andy
F70100
Who, me ?
I have a 54cm 2014 model Disc 5.
Answers:
a) Don't know
b) Yes, though I can't remember which brand the rack is. It was fitted by my local Cannonade dealers. I've only used the rack bag shown with the drop down sides so can't comment about full size panniers though I don't expect it would be a problem. The bike UK spec bike doesn't have lugs on the seat stays for a rack, hence it's secured with a P clip to the seat tube. Lower mounting is shared with the mudguard lugs.
c) I'm 5'8" with 30" inside leg and of "slightly above average" build (83kgs) and feel that the bike is a perfect fit for me.
Answers:
a) Don't know
b) Yes, though I can't remember which brand the rack is. It was fitted by my local Cannonade dealers. I've only used the rack bag shown with the drop down sides so can't comment about full size panniers though I don't expect it would be a problem. The bike UK spec bike doesn't have lugs on the seat stays for a rack, hence it's secured with a P clip to the seat tube. Lower mounting is shared with the mudguard lugs.
c) I'm 5'8" with 30" inside leg and of "slightly above average" build (83kgs) and feel that the bike is a perfect fit for me.
OP
OP
Wafer
Veteran
- Location
- Somerset/Devon border
I've not looked at panniers but can comment on a couple other things.
I was originally looking at CX bikes, saw a Crossrip but didn't feel the spec was as good for the money. Really liked the look of the Caadx, was going to go for it but shop was struggling to get them in (I sat on one that a customer had waited 2 months for). Ended up looking at more road oriented bikes and went back to look at the Synapse, very similar overall to the Caadx, just with narrower tyres and wider gearing. There are other differences but they weren't very apparent when I was looking so I went for it as they had it in stock.
I'm about 6'1" and have a 56cm Synapse, not substitute for trying yourself but a 58 was deff too big, didn't try a 54. Riding it since I kind of wish I'd at least tried a 54 to see, at times I feel a little stretched out but I've been riding a flat barred road bike/hybrid for several years so not used to proper road bike positioning.
There are certainly points for fitting proper mudguards, I don't know if the same points can be used for panniers? Panniers aren't something I've ever looked at so don't know what fittings they need.
I am very happy with the bike overall though I keep going through phases of eyeing up CX bikes again for the times when I want to pootle along gentle tracks, I have taken the Synapse on the canal path but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as when it's on the road so I end up avoiding it.
Sounds like the Trek Domane is a pretty good bike as well, no doubt others in a similar style, Whyte Dorset for example, I think in that price range there are a load of perfectly good bikes, go for the one that meets your needs and excites you most I guess.
I was originally looking at CX bikes, saw a Crossrip but didn't feel the spec was as good for the money. Really liked the look of the Caadx, was going to go for it but shop was struggling to get them in (I sat on one that a customer had waited 2 months for). Ended up looking at more road oriented bikes and went back to look at the Synapse, very similar overall to the Caadx, just with narrower tyres and wider gearing. There are other differences but they weren't very apparent when I was looking so I went for it as they had it in stock.
I'm about 6'1" and have a 56cm Synapse, not substitute for trying yourself but a 58 was deff too big, didn't try a 54. Riding it since I kind of wish I'd at least tried a 54 to see, at times I feel a little stretched out but I've been riding a flat barred road bike/hybrid for several years so not used to proper road bike positioning.
There are certainly points for fitting proper mudguards, I don't know if the same points can be used for panniers? Panniers aren't something I've ever looked at so don't know what fittings they need.
I am very happy with the bike overall though I keep going through phases of eyeing up CX bikes again for the times when I want to pootle along gentle tracks, I have taken the Synapse on the canal path but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as when it's on the road so I end up avoiding it.
Sounds like the Trek Domane is a pretty good bike as well, no doubt others in a similar style, Whyte Dorset for example, I think in that price range there are a load of perfectly good bikes, go for the one that meets your needs and excites you most I guess.
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like we have similar measurements so hopefully a 54cm might work for me. I know that's what Raleigh recommend for our height but then I guess each manufacturer, and each style of bikeframe will come up different. Only one way to be sure on that one I guess. It looks like your bag set up is ok, but this talk of shared lugs and p clips is making me think that the bike isn't really designed for full panniers and so I might be better off thinking again, given that I'll be using them daily.
Seems a shame to fit guards to such a good-looking bike as a Disc 5 in some ways...I was wondering if I do go for one whether I could leave the guards off and ride it on dry days (we don't get that much rain here in East Yorks compared to other parts of the country) and then wheel my old MTB out on wet days. But I think I might be kidding myself a bit with that plan...
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
My thoughts too. In many ways I think a CX would suit me better for a few reasons - I want to be able to use it on old railways lines and canal paths as well as road, wider frame spacings are prob better for panniers, the wider tyres and ride position prob suit riding in traffic in all weathers better than a road bike, and as I'm switching from my MTB which is the only style of bike I've previously ridden these features might also be good for increasing my confidence in the ride as opposed to a twitchier 'racer'.
But then you look at the specs and see that £850 gets you 105 gearset on the Disc 5 compared to Claris on a Trek CX, and that even lumping on an extra £110 still means settling for alu forks and Tiagra gearset on a Specialized CX and I become a bit reluctant to go that route. Why are CXs worse value in terms of spec? Is it a case of people being willing to shell out more because they look cooler or something?
On paper and in the pics that would be the Synapse as things stand, although the CAADX 105 is prob even better looking but comes in at £150 more as there seem to be no 2014 sale models to be had anywhere. But I need to make sure whatever I buy is going to take a full rack....hmmm, I'll have a look at Whyte's now too. Thanks again.
OP
OP
Wafer
Veteran
- Location
- Somerset/Devon border
Yeah, a lot of people are after that one bike that can handle tracks but doesn't suffer on the road. If you have a Focus dealer nearby the Focus Mares AX3.0 looks like it would tick the boxes. CX bike with road gearing and rack mounts. http://road.cc/content/review/134518-focus-mares-ax-30
The Synapse seems to been very popular but I think they made plenty of them whereas the Caadx doesn't seem to have had the same supply, so no 2014s left to put on sale!
I ignored Specialized and Trek early on due to the price for the components they offer. Decent companies who do decent bikes and there may be other reasons making the frames worth the extra price, but not what I was looking for.
The Synapse seems to been very popular but I think they made plenty of them whereas the Caadx doesn't seem to have had the same supply, so no 2014s left to put on sale!
I ignored Specialized and Trek early on due to the price for the components they offer. Decent companies who do decent bikes and there may be other reasons making the frames worth the extra price, but not what I was looking for.
w00hoo_kent
One of the 64K
- Location
- Maidstone or Greenwich
Don't know, but I wonder if the money goes on wheels? The Maddox's on my Synapse ended up on my Sirrus and I've just had another bunch of spokes go (3 in one hit) and the local bike shop has told me they don't think the rim will take another truing (I have no idea if this is true or not). I've had to rebuild the front with new bearings after all the bearings on the right hand side became rusted and started making noises like nuts in a washing machine. I bought the Synapse in March 2014 and the wheels might have seen 1500 miles total although once they moved to the Sirrus some of that was poor weather riding on London 'roads'. I'm hoping they will last out to the new year when I can afford some custom built wheels for commuting on the Sirrus... I can't imagine what state they'd be in if I'd tried to do CX style riding on them.
On my way back from today's ride I was thinking that it's been almost a year since I got the Synapse. The first few months I was constantly repairing punctures, and I was jarred off (Literally) with the state of the local roads. The Maddux had to go and I swapped them out, and ever since I did I haven't had one P. I'm using the same roads and today for example you couldn't see some of the pot holes because they looked like shallow puddles. Bang, boom, jarring noises that would have meant punctures on the Maddux, now just mean I should check my spoke torque when I get home. Chuffed with the wheels and think that dale should not be giving low end products on a quality machine. The rest of the kit on the bike is great I believe, but the slow, heavy wheels are a joke on a bike of this price. I understand they want to hit a specific price point, but when I got mine there was £300 worth of freebies thrown in, so why not use that extra cash on the wheels and give the punter a real quality bike.
Peteaud
Veteran
- Location
- South Somerset
Mine is almost a year old and has covered over 1000 miles on all the original stuff.
I did look at the new Mavic disc wheels but they are no lighter.
May go for the Kinesis wheels when wiggle get them in stock.
To be honest the bike has done itself proud, its done what i asked of it and i am very happy with it.
I did look at the new Mavic disc wheels but they are no lighter.
May go for the Kinesis wheels when wiggle get them in stock.
To be honest the bike has done itself proud, its done what i asked of it and i am very happy with it.
Easytigers
Guru
I really like the bike...love the colour scheme. Unfortunately my son says that it looks like a 'grumpy bike'...(don't listen to him as I think it's fab and he's only 6!!! What does he know!)
