Endurance road bike on test: Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 RL
Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 RL: The concept
With the Predecessor models of the Synapse Cannondale paid particular attention to seating and riding comfort. The New synapse Carbon clearly follows a different concept: the marathon road bike has fixed lights with a brightness sensor, app connection and distance radar that indicates when a car is approaching from behind. The system is called Smart Sense, comes from Garmin and can be operated via the Cannondale app. This makes the Synapse a sporty bike for people who also want to be fast and safe on the road in everyday life, for example as a commuter on the way to work.
The riding experience on the Cannondale Synapse Carbon
The eye-catching and attractive colour scheme as well as the electronics package make the Cannondale road bike a face in the crowd. The comfort is passable, but no longer the stand-out feature of the Synapse. The high weight - to which the heavy wheels in particular contribute - makes acceleration feel a little sluggish. On the other hand, the additional equipment scores points. The fact that powerful lighting is a safety plus is undisputed. All the testers were impressed by the distance radar: the system is a big plus. Only the battery of the Smart Sense system could be more powerful, as the removable battery lasts just a few hours when fully functional.
That's what you get for your money
In the absence of comparable Marathon road bikes is difficult to categorise. The Synapse, equipped with a mechanical Shimano Ultegra groupset, is not an affordable road bike, despite the additional benefits of lights and radar. The cheapest Synapse model costs 1000 euros less without radar. In contrast, the top model Synapse Carbon 1 RLE with Shimano Dura-Ace, which costs 9,000 euros, appears to be cheaper than comparably equipped competition racing bikes.
The target group for the endurance bike
Anyone who spends a lot of time travelling in traffic, even in the dark, should find the Cannondale Synapse a more relaxed ride. Ideal for commuters as a sporty commuter bike; there are better, especially lighter marathon road bikes for competitions.
The Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 RL
- Price: 4699 Euro
- Weight: 9.4 kilos
- Frame/fork/steering bearing weight* 1130/451/73 grammes
- Frame sizes** 48, 51, 54, 56, 58, 61
- Seat/top tube/head tube 525/570/165 millimetres
- Stack/Reach/STR*** 591/387 millimetres/1.53
- Wheelbase/caster 1000/52 millimetres
Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 RL - Equipment
- Drive/Circuit Shimano Ultegra (2x11 gears; 50/34, 11-34 t.)
- Brakes Shimano Ultegra (160/160 mm)
- Wheels/tyres (weights)**** Fulcrum Rapid Red 900/Vittoria Rubino Pro 30 mm (front/rear 1569 g/2089 g)
Strengths: high level of safety thanks to light and radar, uncomplicated mechanics
Weaknesses: heavy, short battery life, integration could be better
The test results at a glance
In addition to the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 RL, we also tested the Canyon Endurace CF 7 All-Road, the Cube Agree C:62, the Giant Defy Advanced 1, the Specialized Roubaix Comp and the Trek Domane SLR 7 in our endurance road bike test.
*Weighed weights.
**Manufacturer's specification, test size in bold.
***Stack/reach projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (stack to reach): 1.36 means a very stretched, 1.60 a very upright riding position.
****Wheel weights including tyres, cassette, quick release/ thru axles and brake discs if applicable.
Julian Schultz
Editor
