Q&A WITH DAVID DEVINE

We talk to Cannondale’s Global Senior Director of Product on the thinking behind the new Synapse

Q

Where did the inspiration come from to make this new, more user-friendly Synapse

A

We interviewed riders about how they ride, get ready to ride, what their concerns and pain points are, what they look for when they shop. Interestingly, integrated seat binders and concealed cables weren’t front of mind. We baked this into the brief.

Q

Where does the Synapse sit within Cannondale’s bikes?

A

We started reorganising our line last year and have three simple categories we call! Race, Endurance and Gravel. !In Race we have road-racing bikes like Evo, System Six and even gravel-racing bikes and time-trial bikes. Endurance is Synapse where we can just design for road riding with a bit more comfort plus make it capable for some “all-road” style riding. Then Gravel covers the Top stone bikes.

Q

Where did the inspiration come from to add so many integrated ‘extras’?

A

Our research shows that over the last three years, some of the ‘extras’ have become essentials. Tra"c and other road users are a reality. It’s a novel step forward including the lights and radar on the bike as you roll it out from the shop, but it leads to a more intelligent system that’s easier to use and live with so you can just get out the door and go for a ride. People’s lives are busy, so why not just have one battery to charge for your lights and radar?

Q

Do you see even more SmartSense integration in Cannondale’s future?

A

Hopefully we’ve designed the system to be able to expand so we can add in other components if necessary or if riders have interest. As we’ve presented and talked about SmartSense with customers and riders, it seems it really has got the imagination going for a lot of people. We look forward to being able to evaluate some of these ideas and plan for the future of SmartSense, so watch this space!

Q

The launch range for Synapse is more concise than previous models – will we see an SE edition or higherend versions

A

We did the ‘LTD’ as a sort of special edition, or SE-type, model. It comes with the larger 30c tyre with the more all-road casing and some pretty wide gearing courtesy of Shimano GRX. As of now the plan is based around the single frame which comes in right around 1000g. The 1 RLE has a full Shimano Dura-Ace kit, plus our highest level of wheels and cockpit and all the SmartSense bits on there too.