CANNONDALE SYNAPSE HI MOD
No active suspension? No problem
MODEL: Cannondale Synapse Hi-mod Disc Team FRAME: Synapse Disc Hi-mod Save Plus, quick release FORK: Synapse Disc Hi-mod Save Plus, quick release GROUPSET: Shimano Dura-ace Di2 9070 SHIFTERS: Shimano R785 Di2 hydraulic BRAKES: Shimano R785 hydraulic CHAINSET: Cannondale Hollowgram SISL2, 50/34t CASSETTE: Shimano Ultegra, 11-28t WHEELS: Cannondale Hollowgram Si Carbon Clincher Disc TYRES: Schwalbe Pro One tubeless, 28mm HANDLEBARS: Cannondale C1 Ultralight, alloy STEM: Cannondale C1 Ultralight, alloy SEATPOST: Cannondale Save, carbon SADDLE: Fabric Scoop, titanium rails WEIGHT: 7.65kg (size 56cm) PRICE: £6,000 CONTACT: cyclingsportsgroup.co.uk
SAM’S SUMMARY ‘The Synapse shows you don’t need gimmicks – just a bendy seatpost and tubeless tyres. I’ve ridden these cobbles before on 28mm clincher tyres, and the ride quality was far better on tubeless. Still, you can’t take anything away from the frame. I’d put money on the tube shapes as being the Synapse’s real assets – having ridden one without tubeless tyres and with alloy wheels the bike is still far more comfortable than, say, Cannondale’s all-round racer, the Supersix. It couldn’t compete with the plushness of the Domane’s rear end or the bounce of the Roubaix’s front, but the Synapse was more agile and responsive than the other two.’
Beuvry-la-foret but locally referred to as Marc Madiot after the double Paris-roubaix champion – was only recently unearthed, then extended, by les forcats du pavé, ‘the convicts of the cobbles’, who repair the cobbles and hunt for new stretches every year.
Thanks to the convicts’ work, Secteur Marc Madiot is now a 3/5-star difficulty, 1.4km sector with a false flat and some shallow turns, which the Synapse is making look easy. It’s the lightest bike here so no surprise on the very slight ascent, but it’s the ease with which it seems to be holding onto the road as Sam pushes a huge gear through the corners that is surprising. It looks like a pretty normal race bike, but it looks perfectly at home here.
The cobbles finally give way to smooth tarmac, permitting a chance to breathe and take stock. According to Sam, the Synapse is in its element in large part because of the Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres. Both my Roubaix and Rob’s Domane have tubeless-compatible wheels, but only the Synapse came with tubeless tyres. Sam has ridden these roads before too, on a set of clincher Continental GP4000 IIS, and believes the tubeless comparison is like ‘night and day’.
‘The tyres are 28mm but they’ve come up much bigger because of the wide wheels,’ he says. Rob suggests his 32mm Bontrager R3 tyres are giving him the same level of comfort and grip, but he does concede that
The Synapse is the lightest bike here, but it’s the ease with which it seems to be holding onto the road as Sam pushes a huge gear through the corners that is surprising
on the smooth bitumen they feel somewhat sluggish. Tyre pressure is undoubtedly coming into play here – both are running sub-80psi, but the difference is the Schwalbes are that much narrower and lighter than the Bontrager, ‘but I can still run them this low without worrying about pinch-flatting’, Sam adds.
On another bike I might be jealous, but as we thunder onto the climax of our ride, the Trouée d’arenberg, the Roubaix once again proves it’s not just a fancy lick of paint.
The big one
At five stars and 2.4km long, the Arenberg is a formidable foe. It may be a stretch to say Paris-roubaix’s