Cannondale Synapse Feminine 4

[skinimini]

I have this bike and I love it! I've been riding only about a year, so I'm not as knowledgeable about specs and quality of the components as others might be. In my experience, it's light, responsive, and it's fast. I chose it over a Trek Madone 4.5 because I can really "feel" the road. The Trek seemed to be a cushier, perhaps even smoother ride. But I really like the fast, sporty feel of the synapse (and the roarange color really gets a lot of attention). It just really comes down to personal preference. The saddle has also been incredibly comfortable for me.

I've had the bike for about 3 months now, and I've only had a couple of minor problems, most likely due to my inexperience. Sometimes when downshifting from the large to small chainring, it takes a couple of times shifting for the chain to move. Again, this is probably due to operator inexperience and not a faulty component. I just don't quite have the touch yet. It has been back to the lbs several times to have the cables tightened (correct terminology?). At first, I had a lot of chain slipping and low gears not engaging. The first time in, the bike mechanic was convinced it was my error until he got on the bike. I know this is pretty typical of new bikes, but I seem to spend more time getting minor adjustments than my other newbie friends. However, I'm having less and less of those problems--it's been a couple of hundred miles now since the last adjustments.

All in all, I'm very happy with the synapse 4 and look forward to many happy miles on this bike. I hope this helps and sorry I can't give you a more technical review. Happy shopping!

I'm 5'3" and the WSD 48 works perfectly for me. No toe overlap and I really needed the more compact frame. I know it's really individualized though.