ROAD Project All Road - Cannondale Synapse Carbon Ultegra Di2 Disc

el~rio

Likes Dirt
Not sure how well a road bike will be recieced here, but here goes.

New bike time! What I have planned is a high performance road bike for riding off the beaten track (roads?). My riding lately has been featuring a fair few dirt roads and rougher country roads, so a bike that I can use to explore any reasonable roads, from rough country roads to hilly dirt roads in the middle of nowhere, is on the cards.

My choice of steed is a 2015 Cannondale Synapse fitted with Ultegra Di2 and hydraulic disk brakes. The smoother ride and extra tire clearance ( about 34mm! ) sync really well with the riding I have planned for the bike. The Di2 is something I decided my next road bike needed after talking to others with it. The disc brakes on a road bike I'm rather impartial towards, however they do make it easier to fit larger tires as you don't have to squeeze them past caliper brakes. It's also getting harder and harder to get an endurance road bike without disks so I figure I may as well jump on the bandwagon. And finally my favorite thing about the bike, not a mechanical cable in sight! Goodbye cable stretch, clogged up outer cables, spongy brakes caused by cable compression, misaligned gears. I could go on.

Spec is as follows, for now I'll just start with the stock spec and add changes in bold and future changes in brackets.

Frame - Synapse Disc, BallisTec Carbon, Di2 ready, SAVE PLUS, BB30A 56cm
Fork - Synapse Disc, SAVE PLUS, BallisTec Carbon, 1-1/8" to 1-1/4" tapered steerer
Crank - Cannondale HollowGram Si, BB30A, FSA rings, 50/34
Bottom Bracket - FSA BB30
Shifters - Shimano RR785 Di2, hydraulic disc
Cog Set - Shimano Ultegra 6800, 11-32, 11-speed - Shimano Ultegra 6800 12-25, 11-speed
Chain - Shimano HG700, 11-speed
Front Derailleur - Shimano Ultegra 6800, braze-on
Rear Derailleur - Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 GS
Rims - Mavic Aksium One Disc, WTS
Hubs - Mavic Aksium One Disc, Centerlock
Tires - Mavic Aksion WTS, 700x28c, folding - Continental GP 4000s II 700x28c
Pedals - Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL 6800 Clipless Road Pedals
Brakes - Shimano RR785 hydraulic disc, 140/140mm
Handlebar - Cannondale C2 Compact, butted 2014 alloy - 3T Ergonova Pro 40cm
Stem - Cannondale C2, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 6 deg. - ( 3T Arm Team 120mm -17° )
Headset - Synapse Si, 1-1/4" lower bearing, 25mm top cap
Brake Levers - Shimano RR785 Di2, hydraulic disc
Spokes - Mavic Aksium
Grips - Cannondale Grip Bar Tape w/Gel, 3.5mm - Lizard Skins DSP 3.2 Black
Saddle - Fabric Spoon Shallow, Ti Rail - Prologo Zero II CPC Tirox Black
Seat Post - Cannondale C2, UD Carbon, Di2 Battery, 25.4x350mm (54-61)
Bottle Cages - ( Elite Custom Stealth )
Extras - Tate Labs Barfly 2.0


Bike is ordered and should be here any day now, inital impression to come once I get the bike build up and out for a few rides! Wil post up some pics of the parts I've already got for the build and why I've chosen then soon!
 

danncam

Likes Dirt
not bagging, just wondering. Why did you decide to go the endurance road bike compared to a cyclo-cross route?
 

el~rio

Likes Dirt
not bagging, just wondering. Why did you decide to go the endurance road bike compared to a cyclo-cross route?
All of Cannondale's 2015 cross bike's come with Sram hydro disks.........

But seriously most of my riding will still be on road, including hopefully regular mountain climbs up Falls/ Hotham/ Buffalo, some rather fast group rides and a road race here and there. So something that doesn't slow me down too much but I can still take down a dirt road to make a road ride more interesting is what I'm after.

I am very interested in some of the new "gravel grinder" style road bikes though. If I lived near a network of good dirt roads I'd look very closely at the Specialized Diverge, GT Grade and Jamis Renegade.
 

el~rio

Likes Dirt
So will a set of cyclo cross tires fit your bike? If they do, you're all set I suppose.
I've measured the clearance and the tightest is the chainstays at about 34mm. The widest tire I'm planning on using at the moment is 30mm, although a few people have said they come in closer to 32mm. Between having a MTB background, only weighing 66 kg and being young, I think 32mm will be plenty of tire for me!
 

el~rio

Likes Dirt
Bike has arrived! Hopefully I get a chance to build it up tomorrow. In the mean time here are the parts I've accumulated for the build.

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A pair of GP 4000S II, because I've been nothing but impressed with the ones I've had, in a wide 28mm for a smooth comfy ride.

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Prologo Zero II CPC Tirox. I've got the normal cut out version of this saddle at the moment that's working really well for me but wanted to try the CPC version that has a grippy textured surface on it.

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A 12-25 cassette because I was never going to use the 11-32 with a compact chainset. Seriously, who needs a 34/32 on their road bike? Not to mention the huge jumps between gears it would have.

IMAG0624.jpg
A pair of carbon Ultegra Pedals because I needed new pedals and the rest of the bike is Ultegra.

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3T Ergonova Pro 40cm. Have these bars in a 42cm at the moment and really love them, but curious to see how a bar a little bit narrower will feel. These measure 40cm at the drops and 38cm at the hoods.

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Lizard Skins DSP 3.2 Black. The white bar tape the bike comes with was never going to make it out of the workshop and I've been very happy with the 2.5 DSP on my current bike so figured I'd give the thicker stuff a go as it fits in well with the theme of the bike.

IMAG0595.jpg
Tate Labs Bar Fly 2.0. Needed something to hold my Garmin and the built in spot to mount a Di2 junction box on the underside made this mount an easy choice.

Thats all for now i think, I will hopefully have some pictures of the bike fully built up for you all tomorrow!
 
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