# 2013 to 2014 Synapse - A question of geometry and fit/ride (with data)



## r0gue (May 21, 2015)

Hi everyone. My first post. Sorry to be taking before I've had a chance to give, but I promise I'm pretty forum sticky when I find a welcoming board, so I imagine I'll be around. Thanks for any help you can provide. Specifically I'm hoping to find someone familiar with the Cannondale Synapse and the changes from 2013 to 2014. I'm looking at a 54cm.

I currently ride a 52cm Evo Hi-Mod and I'm contemplating a Synapse to calm down and comfort up my riding, lift the front of the cockpit a bit, and ride with some 28s on it. I love the paint scheme of the 2013 Hi-Mod and came across a good deal. In doing my research, I've noted that they made some pretty dramatic changes from the initial 2013 "71" with the red and blue tips paint to the 2014 "71" that is entirely black and white. I've captured them in this graphic from a spreadsheet clip.

I'm hoping the 2013 isn't a flawed design but my gut tells me if they changed this much that perhaps I should stay away because there's a problem. My reading of reviews had trouble getting much of value other than some hints that the design team changed some things to accommodate the race team (those changes would likely be counter to my goals of smooth ride and stable handling over race specific geometries). BUT -- Looking at these numbers (specifically the ones I've highlighted in green) it seems perhaps they have made it MORE stable?

Any geometry-smart cyclists out there care to share thoughts on the data here? Any C-Dale astute folks that are familiar with these model year changes wish to share? Given my objectives, should I buy the 13, or wait for the 14 to come down in price to get the changes incorporated in my next bike? 

Thanks All!


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## NealH (May 2, 2004)

I would get the 2014. The trail number seems a bit high on the 2013 and they may have changed this on the 2014 to mitigate a slightly "slow" or "sluggish" steering response. Don't make too much of this however. Nevertheless, the numbers on the 2014 are more in line with what I would expect on this size frame.


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## r0gue (May 21, 2015)

NealH said:


> I would get the 2014. The trail number seems a bit high on the 2013 and they may have changed this on the 2014 to mitigate a slightly "slow" or "sluggish" steering response. Don't make too much of this however. Nevertheless, the numbers on the 2014 are more in line with what I would expect on this size frame.


Thanks for the reply! I'm not so much looking for quick steering for this style of bike. Here's my current ride. As you can see, I've stacked up the stem a lot. And I find it to be a little too harsh of a ride for my style of riding. I'm looking for a smoother ride and better stability hands off. That stability thing -- would that come from that 6.3 trail? Honestly, they call it a 54cm, but it's close in a lot of ways to my 52 Evo.

And hopefully being taller in the front will alleviate some neck and shoulder pain without requiring so much spacer. It does seem they've lowered the tall head tube on the 2014 updated model vs. the 13, huh?? THANKS AGAIN!!!!


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

I have a Evo and a 2014 Synapse.

Comparing both geometries, yes the Synapse is more stable. It has a slightly longer wheelbase and the steering is a tad slower, less nervous. Not slow or sluggish, but noticably 'calmer', more behaved than the more nervous, quicker race geometry of the Evo. It's still point-and-shoot, very sharp and precise. The Evo is great descender but I think the Synapse is even better because of that calm and stable handling, yet is still quick enough to steer with precision.

I never liked the older Synapses but the 2014 re-design is night and day better IMO, they've improved it in all it's aspect, geometry, stiffness/efficiency, weight... even the look!  The old one was feeling a bit too slow and sluggish to me, not like an hybrid bike but... the new one is comfy and easy to ride but it still feels like a bike you want to, and can, go fast and hard with and it's a more efficient pedaler than the old one, go hard, accelerate, stand up and go and it does go, in that regard, as well as the Evo. So personally, I would rather pay a bit more for the 2014-2015 than get a good deal on a 2013 as I think the performance of the new one is worth it.

The Evo is by no means a harsh bike in my opinion (unless you have small tires with old school high pressure) but there too, the Synapse absorbs the road imperfections better. Obviously, the possibility to use bigger tires can make a dramatic difference. The Evo is more or less limited to 700x25 while the Synapse can go to... what, 700x32 or more? Mine is a disc brake models so I don't have the clearance limit of rim brakes, I've seen one fitted with cyclocross file threads...

The bars will be higher up compared to the Evo when comparing same sizes yes but you have wiggle room there with spacers and stem sizes. What's important for confort and neck pain is to make sure it fits you, not only the height of the bars but the reach, width, the angle you set the bars and levers too and your whole position on the bike.

Also, you say a Synapse 54 is the size of a Evo 52 but that's because you look at seat tube lengths and that's the most useless measure on a bike IMO, especially when comparing a frame with a more classic horizontal horizontal top tube (Evo) to a sloping top tube (Synapse). You can slide the seatpost up and down anyway so that length is not a good way to check sizing. You should rather be looking at the A) horizontal top tube, O) reach and N) stack. These measure have a much more important role in the way a bike fits you.

Normally, between the Evo and Synapse, I'd suggest staying in the same size, unless you are not happy with your current size (might be your case if you have neck and shoulder pain?) or if you are aiming for a different thing (like me).


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## r0gue (May 21, 2015)

Dan, Thank you SO immensely much for the time you've taken to thoughtfully reply. Unfortunately I'm getting slipped up by model year semantics. I am looking at this one Synapse Hi-MOD Disc Dura Ace Di2 - Synapse Carbon - Endurance Road - ROAD - BIKES - 2014 which is the new style carbon with the split seat tube at the BB. I thought it was a 13, but the website is calling it a 14 in the URL. 

The newer one (that I used as contrast in my spreadsheet) is this one Synapse Hi-MOD SRAM Red Disc - SYNAPSE CARBON - ENDURANCE ROAD - ROAD - BIKES - 2015. And they are calling it a 2015. So the geometry differences I described are between 14 and 15. So if the 13s are truly the one you described as less desirable than the 14, maybe I'm ok. The one offered to me is the first link with the red/white/blue fork tips. 

As for the Evo, I think it's on the hairy edge of small for me. And the Synapses come in 51 or 54, so 54 seemed the ticket.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Haaa I see.... Yes I was assuming the 13 was the old one... but we're talking about 2014 vs 2015. The 2014 Hi-Mod Disc Di2 is the exact model I have. The split seattube Synapses are what I call the new ones, they were introduced in 2013 but they are 2014 models so I wrote 2014-2015. These are the ones you want! :thumbsup:

So between both... I think there's an error in the geo charts, the 2014 and 2015 are the same frames made in the same molds, just different paint jobs... so geometries are the exact same so you can't go wrong either way, it's just a matter of choosing the right size... I'm not sure which geo chart is the correct one, I'm guessing the 2014 is applicable to both models you are looking at and the 2013 column is the old design measures...

So now the factors to decide (beside prices), do you prefer Di2 or SRAM Red? Shimano or SRAM discs? Enve wheels or the Cannondale branded wheels? Color? These things are very personal.

My take:

I could live with either shifting styles. Di2 is nice, fast, reliable, never goes out of tune and has a certain cool factor but SRAM Red works very well too (got Red but with rim brakes on another bike), it's light and the Yaw front derailleur does it's job of eliminating having to trim the front derailleur all the time like Shimano's mechanical groups. Di2 has a con compared to Red IMO, I'd prefer more feedback in the buttons, to feel you actually pushed the button through your fingers or ears, but I'm being extra picky when I say that, with time you get used to it, it's mostly a thing when it's freezing and you wear thick gloves. Other than that, the hood shapes, some prefer one or the other. Myself, I don't like Shimano's mechanical lever shapes and the way you shift too much, but these hydraulic Di2 are great, slimmer, smoother, no weird bulges where cables come in... I always like SRAM's Double Tap too.

I don't have a good opinion of SRAM/Avid for hydraulic discs though, mostly through their mountain bike brakes I had bad experiences with, so I'm not super keen on SRAM disc brakes... but that's me, and I haven't heard complaints on these models for what it's worth. But, having the Shimanos, they are fantastic! Super smooth, precisely controllable modulation, powerful and Shimano's hydraulic discs have one of the best reputation in the industry as far as reliability, durability and at being trouble-free.

The wheels are also a big difference. The Enve are worth a lot more and you get the great DT 240 hubs (not the 350 as the specs say... unless it's just me that got lucky?), they are more aero (if it matters on such a bike, not sure) and they are some of the stiffest wheels I have ever ridden. That's both good and bad. Good, no loss of power through flex, so they power instantly and are wonderful climbers, they're great to sprint on or climb all out standing up and so on. Manufacturing quality is second to none on these rims and they are made for performance. The bad thing is, they steal a bit of the Synapse's smoothness as they're not only stiff sideways, being taller rims, they're also stiffer vertically... But, with 700x28 or bigger tires, that's not too noticable. Mine came with smallish 700x25c tires, I switched to bigger tires, it complements the bike better (especially on dirt/gravel roads). Oh and Enve have some of the worst skewers I have seen, cheap plastic bushing you need to align manually, they creak and need to be checked often, I threw these in the spare parts bin in no time for safety/peace of mine...

The Cannondale wheels, I don't know much about but they're a tad lighter than the Enve's and being shallower, they probably provide a smoother ride. SRAM Red is a bit lighter as a whole than Di2, so with the wheels, I think the 2015 SRAM Red bike is lighter overall than the 2014 Di2...

For me, one of the deciding factor was... Well, I wasn't even too sold on Di2 at first but I drooled over that bike for a while and it was offered to me at a price I couldn't refuse, Di2 or not... And I did grow to love Di2.


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## r0gue (May 21, 2015)

Dan Gerous said:


> So between both... I think there's an error in the geo charts, the 2014 and 2015 are the same frames made in the same molds, just different paint jobs... so geometries are the exact same so you can't go wrong either way, it's just a matter of choosing the right size... I'm not sure which geo chart is the correct one, I'm guessing the 2014 is applicable to both models you are looking at and the 2013 column is the old design measures.......... And I did grow to love Di2.


Thank you again Dan! 

I will try to chase this down, *and I hope you are right*!! I have read a few reviews which _seem_ to indicate that the racers that used the first release of this bike convinced them to lower the head tube some. But maybe they were racing the OLD version. I'm not sure... I had assumed they didn't start racing the Synapse until after the seat tube was split.

As for fit, I can't imagine that the 51 is right for me as my 52 seems smallish already. It would have a 1cm smaller tt and a few more cm of standover. I think I'm on the right track with the 54cm.

Di2 is an uneasy feeling for me. I've been immensely pleased with my SRAM Red. But the discs are an unknown for both. There's so much value in the discount I'm being offered, that I think it's like a gift upgrade to Di2. Or a similar gift to carbon wheels. So I guess I take the chance. I'll be test riding it this afternoon. Half-day-VaCaTioN FTW!!!!


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

r0gue said:


> Thank you again Dan!
> 
> I will try to chase this down, *and I hope you are right*!! I have read a few reviews which _seem_ to indicate that the racers that used the first release of this bike convinced them to lower the head tube some. But maybe they were racing the OLD version. I'm not sure... I had assumed they didn't start racing the Synapse until after the seat tube was split.
> 
> ...


I think it's the old generation that the pros complained about. They were raced once in a while in classics but not that often, as even in super rough races, most of them usually prefered the SuperSix... but they liked the 2014 so much they forced Cannondale to let them race it ahead of schedule (they were supposed to be secret until the Tour of Flanders 2013 but they started to use them in Strade Bianche a few weeks before).

Testing is the best thing to do, enjoy the ride!


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## r0gue (May 21, 2015)

*A little update:* I spoke with a factory rep who confirmed all Power Pyramid/BB30A models are the same geometry for a given size. I spent a few hours at the shop today. Gave it a good test ride. It is definitely taller like I'd like to have. It certainly fits me better than my 52 Evo. Much better!


But, .. It had a little more "hanger rash" than I had expected (little paint chips, and a scratch on the crank). and... The left shifter had a lot of rattle over the rougher pavement. I've read about that in reviews. I decided to stew on it for the evening. The rattle might get on my nerves and make me regret spending all the money, It's a lot of money. A big decision.


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