The Cannondale Synapse's simple beauty

published 29 March 2018

Cannondale's bikes have long been popular with endurance riders. Its new model will continue to impress, says Sarah Moore

The Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Disc is one of the most searched for bikes on the internet, points out Stu Bowers in Cyclist. And "the reason is fairly obvious look through past reviews and you will struggle to find anything but high praise for Cannondale's endurance bike".

Cannondale designed the new model "conscious that the endurance rider still wants a lightweight, responsive bike, the same as a bike racer", designer David Devine tells the magazine. "These aren't passive bikes they're made to be pushed and so the Synapse gets the same construction tech as our lightweight race bikes... There's not a whole lot of fluff... Its inherent beauty is in how simple and refined it is."

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And the redesign has worked the way Cannondale has managed to move its endurance bike closer to a race bike in terms of handling and responsiveness while dialling in more comfort is "very impressive", says David Arthur on Road.cc. Comfort has been improved thanks to wider tyres, a new seatpost and refined frame design. And the lighter frame certainly makes a big difference: the 7.25kg bike is one of the lightest disc-brake-equipped endurance bikes the review site has tested "it's knocking on the door of some race bikes". With all models disc only, Cannondale describes the reduction in weight as "getting disc brakes for free", which is a nice way of looking at it, says Oliver Bridgewood in Cycling Weekly.

Thankfully, Cannondale's engineers have a knack for translating geometry into great handling, says Bridgewood. "We found descending on the Synapse an absolute joy Our tester was able to take the bike down a number of technical descents and when really digging into tight switchbacks the Cannondale Synapse carves beautifully like a slalom skier." The Synapse was "easily one of our best rides" of 2017.

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Sarah is MoneyWeek's investment editor. She graduated from the University of Southampton with a BA in English and History, before going on to complete a graduate diploma in law at the College of Law in Guildford. She joined MoneyWeek in 2014 and writes on funds, personal finance, pensions and property.