# Cannondale Specific 3D Printed Accessories



## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

I have been a Cannondale owner/rider for several years and it seems that, at least for the Synapse, Cannondale has a penchant for going in a non-traditional route. In particular with regard to the seat tube and seat post shapes and sizes. I am also an action cam user and weight-weenie and needed to mount my camera on the rear of the bike. So I am posting here to show what I have designed for myself and figured if I need it some other Cannondale owners might need them also.

In 2009-2012 Synapse's came with an odd sized aerodynamic seat post. Of course like all other manufacturers on the aero bandwagon, none were interchangeable. All my options were either too big, too cumbersome to use, too heavy, too ugly or any combination of those factors. Here is what I ended up doing. Brushed off my old mechanical drawing skills and set down to create my own. Had the ones I needed printed with a commercial 3D printer (Shapeways) and have been very happy since. Here is the rendering of the Synapse mount.









GoPro 2009-12 Cannondale Synapse Seat Post Mount

This is based on the GoPro mounting system. I used GoPro as the standard, even though I use Sony AZ1 mini action cams, as there are a plethora of mounts at all price points available locally and online. I have also created some direct mount adapters to go from Contour's T-Rail system (I still have three working Contour cameras) and Sony's Mini to GoPro.

Now fast forward to 2014-2015 and Cannondale has once again deviated from the norm and equipped the Synapse with a 25.4 mm seat post. The majority of the world is back to 27.2 mm, so I think Cannondale just does this to mess with us. So I drew up a mount for the smaller than normal seat post.








GoPro 25.4 mm Seat Post Mount < Works with 2014-2015 Cannondale Synapse seat posts.

If anyone else would find these useful they are up on Shapeways site available for direct purchase. These parts are made of nylon that is fused together in layers by a laser and are as strong as any injection molded parts currently available. With regard to weight, The older Synapse mount using Stainless Steel screws and nuts (not included) weighs under 20 grams, the newer 25.4 mm is under 18 grams. On MTBR and Weightweenies a few people have ordered my parts and I suspect more people can use them. I would have posted this in a more generic forum but these particular mounts are Cannondale specific and wanted the Dale community to see them.

Because of the way the GoPro waterproof housing is designed with such short tabs, if you mount this with the arm level yo will need a short extension like this one.







If you flip it and mount it upside down with the arm pointing down the mount can be used directly. Most 3rd party GoPro frames do not require the use of an extension. My AZ1 to GoPro and Contour T-Rail to GoPro do not require the extension in any orientation.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

How strong is the plastic form the 3D printers? Just good for a proto type, or can/would you risk an expensive digi cam on it without fear of I breaking??

I like the looks of you work BTW, nice..


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

I have been using mine every day for a couple of months. Without tools you cannot break or rip these apart. They are as strong as any of the myriad injection molded parts out there. And since they are nylon they give a little before they will break. This is a different method than home/hobbyist 3D printers and printing, they use PLA (cornstarch based plastic) or ABS (think LEGO), predominantly. On my EVO i run two Sony AZ1, (that over $400 worth of camera equipment nearly every ride) without fear of losing any of it through mount breakage. I use a combination of the seat post mount and the direct AZ1 to GoPro mount. I have also mounted my Contour on occasion. here is an older picture of my previous mount using the Contour T-Rail direct mount.










Another with the AZ1.









Doing it like this, with these parts, allows me to direct mount without using a bunch of adapters strung together. In the case of the Contour, completely retaining the quick release features of the T-Rail system. The Sony is already splashproof, so no real need to keep it in its waterproof case on road rides, that is 50 grams per camera that I don't have to carry with me.


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## Diopena1 (Jul 21, 2011)

Good stuff!

I've been curious about 3D printing, and using it to "prototype" some stuff, but, if I'm not mistaken, the scale is limited.. 
Can't wait til you can 3D scan and print an object without having to sacrifice your first born! The 3D printing materials have evolved, they have an extruding style printer out now, where you can use silicone/rubber polymer as your printing media. 
Imagine if you could 3D print carbon? <- that would be way cool!

Regardless... I will wait til prices drop, since I have a few ideas I'd like to create


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

Thankx


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

Its not just for prototyping, especially for small parts, even though they have many of the same types of things I have, look at racewaredirect.co, all their parts are 3D printed even the titanium items they have in their store. I think they charge too much, and they duplicate a lot of the stuff the Chinese already manufacture on the cheap, for example $42 for a $10 Chinese on eBay chaincatcher. I try to focus on stuff that doesn't exist or where the available selection is too universal, too heavy, too cumbersome to use, too ugly. I don't want to string adapters together to get something to work. I don't want to compete with K-Edge, Rec-Mounts, Garmin or GoPro directly making stuff they already sell.

Here is an example of an esoteric part likely not going to be made by anyone. Guy in Brazil has a new Neil Pride Bura SL Di2 bike, he wanted to move the Junction A from under the stem to near the bottom bracket, like many Di2 bikes there is one additional water bottle boss on the downtube, he asked me if I could draw something up. I thought about it for 5 minutes and said yes, because I could use it on my Di2 EVO. Here is the result.








I suggested he use a nylon M5 x 10-12 mm bolt to hold it onto that third water bottle boss and then the Junction A will just slide in place. Approximate total weight with nylon screw 2-3 grams. Shimano will never make this, nor will all those Chinese cloners, because there just isn't a big market for it. For something like this, nylon parts using selective laser sintering, makes as strong a part as any.

Where I see the current potential is with these small niche items that none of the big boys care about. It will be years before we see bigger parts using any of several 3D print technologies, right now they just make parts much more expensive. There is a company doing titanium frame dropouts using 3D printers.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

Nice work. Have you considered mounts for all the Magic Shine type cycling lights? The rubber band mounts supplied with that type of light are pretty bad.

I built my own mount with a CX bike 'interrupter style' brake clamp. Something that was 3D print produced would have been much easier.


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

I don't ride at dusk or at night so I don't use any lights other than blinking red. So I am not familiar with how the MagicShine mount attaches to the light itself. Is is some proprietary connector or snap in of some kind, or does it just use a 1/4" x 20 tripod screw? If the latter, I would likely never do a mount for it, as you can get tripod screw adapters all day long on eBay for under a buck, and then just attach them to a solid GoPro style mount like the K-Edge GoBig or their combo mounts.


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## Horze (Mar 12, 2013)

Good job Waldo When in doubt DIY.

I am a little concerned about the length of protrusion though. Seems a little long.


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

*Di2 Junction 'A' Tape-on Clip*



Horze said:


> Good job Waldo When in doubt DIY.
> 
> I am a little concerned about the length of protrusion though. Seems a little long.


That protrusion is just the clip, and bear in mind that you are looking at a zoomed in rendering. The part itself is only about 28 mm x 10 mm x 7 mm. That locking clip only extends 1 mm.


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

*Di2 Junction 'A' Tape-On Clip*

I made this up a while ago, just never clicked the 'make it for sale' checkbox. It is still beta and I don't know how tight or loose it fits. I reversed engineered the clip from two clips I had in my possession. Such a small sample might not be precise. Here is a tape-on version of the Di2 Junction 'A' Clip.








Di2 Junction 'A' Tape-on Clip

Here is how I would mount this. Using a piece of 3M Extreme Mounting Tape or 3M Outdoor Mounting Tape (you could also use the permanent hold tape if you never want to remove it), place it on the bottom of the clip and trim to fit. Carefully locate where you want to mount the clip on the stem and clean with an alcohol wipe. Pull the red backing tape and place clip on bottom of stem. Use a nylon tie strap to temporarily secure the clip to the stem. The recess between the two slide guides is plenty for even a thick strap without interference. After 24 hours remove the nylon tie strap. This will give you the cleanest installation possible and eliminate all indications of how its mounted.

I had forgotten about this part, but someone in the Felt sub-forum asked. Those guys are jumping all over it. Wanted to share the love with you guys.


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

Haven't been on this forum in a while but I have added a lot of Cannondale specific stuff to my collection of 3D printed mounts. here are a few of them.

A Garmin Varia mount for the Cannondale Slice RS, which can also be used to mount any Edge device behind the seat for anyone that races their RS in a sanctioned track event.








Garmin Edge|Varia / Cannondale Slice RS Mount

A GoPro mount for the Slice RS








GoPro / Cannondale Slice RS Short Seat Post Mount

A GoPro mount for the older aero seat post of the Synapse








GoPro 2009-2012 Cannondale Synapse Short Aero Post

I still have the Di2 stuff as well as a lot of other new things I have worked on over the past year, mostly for Fizik saddles, the cyclic FLY6 and a lot of other one off custom models as well.


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

Starting Monday June 13 through Sunday June 19, use code *SFONSALE20* to save 20% on all products printed in Strong & Flexible plastics from my Shapeways shop.


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## Horze (Mar 12, 2013)

Come on, you have been busy making these pesky little fittings. Haven't you?


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

Why yes, I have been busy :blush2:


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