Cannondale Synapse Feminine 4

[OakLeaf]

What do you think about the Scott Contessa? My boyfriend has a Scott cr1, he lowered the saddle and helped me get on it. It feels great. Only thing I can't afford the carbon for women $3000. Would you think the aluminum one $1350 would have the same feeling?

If the reach felt good to you on a man's frame that was too large going by the standover height, then you probably don't want a WSD frame!

[hid558]

Are the sram shifters easy to use? I've heard the are different and that you have to get used to them. I am thinking of a carbon bike because I have back problems and in my bike I feel quite much all the road vibrations and bumps. batsheva why did you get the ruby instead of the sypnase carbon? MartianDestiny you say you are 4'11" whats your standover? Do you still have the CR1? Oakleaf It felt great the seating position but I did feel streched out his is a 52cm

[Cataboo]

There was an sram red thread recently where a lot of people talked about whether or not they liked it and whether it was good for small hands.

You don't necessarily have to go all carbon to get rid of all the vibrations... a set of carbon wheels helps a lot with that. carbon fiber seat stays, seat posts, and forks also help a lot. same with carbon handlebars.

I have one all carbon bike & one titanium bike... both of them are a lot nicer with vibrations than my previous aluminum bike... the titanium vibration/bumps are just more... pleasant and not jarring, I'd say.

[MartianDestiny]

Are the sram shifters easy to use? I've heard the are different and that you have to get used to them. I am thinking of a carbon bike because I have back problems and in my bike I feel quite much all the road vibrations and bumps. batsheva why did you get the ruby instead of the sypnase carbon? MartianDestiny you say you are 4'11" whats your standover? Do you still have the CR1? Oakleaf It felt great the seating position but I did feel streched out his is a 52cm

I ended up buying a Wilier Izoard. The CR1 came in runner up. I was lucky enough to be able to ride 7 different bikes before I chose though.

Standover on my Izoard is ~28-28.25inches (by my measurement, so grain of salt). My inseam without shoes on looks like ~28.5-28.75 inches (I just measured that myself, which you should never do so, again, measurements are suspect).

As you can see I'm pretty darn close with standover on the Izoard. I think with shoes on I have ~1 inch of clearance. (Another benefit to trying before you buy. I'm not sure I'd have been brave enough to get this close with both reach and standover without riding it. The bike, by all respects, is almost too big for me, but my shop is amazing at getting fits dialed in and I just love the bike.)

If anything the Scott was better for standover and they do make one size smaller, even in the CR1.

[OakLeaf]

My inseam without shoes on looks like ~28.5-28.75 inches (I just measured that myself, which you should never do...).

FWIW, actually you can measure your own standover inseam easily and accurately (unlike most other body measurements). Plus you have the benefit of NOT showing the guys at the LBS how much flesh there is in your crotch! - inseam is totally my least favorite measurement at the LBS, and that's exactly why.

Just as always, you'll measure your standover inseam by pulling a bar, roughly the diameter of your bike's top tube, up into your crotch until it hits your pubic bone. A short piece of 1" PVC pipe is good. Duct-tape an erasable magic marker to one end of the bar. Stand on a hard surface, not carpet, at about a 45° angle to a mirror so you can see that the bar is level. Turn the bar so that the end of the magic marker is level with the top of the bar. If you want to be super-accurate, tape a small bubble level across the front of the bar and the magic marker. Then you don't have to use a mirror, but either use a plate glass door or tape a piece of paper to the wall. Pull the bar up, mark the glass or paper, then measure to the ground!

[batsheva]

hid558-

i got the ruby carbon as it was $1000 off for the 2008 model in my size (rare to get a 47cm in the shops around here - they're usually bigger sizes). I kind of wish I had got a top end Cannondale Synapse - but with $1000 off on the Ruby, it brought the Ultegra-SL compnents and carbon frame into a price I could afford - just! If there had been an equal choice between the two bikes at the same price though, I would for sure have gone with the C'dale..

[MartianDestiny]

FWIW, actually you can measure your own standover inseam easily and accurately (unlike most other body measurements). Plus you have the benefit of NOT showing the guys at the LBS how much flesh there is in your crotch! - inseam is totally my least favorite measurement at the LBS, and that's exactly why.

Just as always, you'll measure your standover inseam by pulling a bar, roughly the diameter of your bike's top tube, up into your crotch until it hits your pubic bone. A short piece of 1" PVC pipe is good. Duct-tape an erasable magic marker to one end of the bar. Stand on a hard surface, not carpet, at about a 45° angle to a mirror so you can see that the bar is level. Turn the bar so that the end of the magic marker is level with the top of the bar. If you want to be super-accurate, tape a small bubble level across the front of the bar and the magic marker. Then you don't have to use a mirror, but either use a plate glass door or tape a piece of paper to the wall. Pull the bar up, mark the glass or paper, then measure to the ground!

True, and thanks for the reminder. Let's just say I, err, didn't take this accurate approach last night

[hid558]

What do you think is better? I have the opportunity to buy a new 2009 Synapse 4 for $2138 or would you get a used 2007 Scott contessa for about $1500? At first I was looking for the Contessa used because new it's out of my price range. Then after looking so much I decided that I would go with the new Synapse 4, because its hard to find a 44 cm bike. I think the Synapse will fit better with my standover 27.5 cm. But I think I could manage the contessa standover.

[batsheva]

synapse. but then i'm biased! for $600 more i would definitely go with the new bike if you can stretch to that. the difference in price would have to be a lot more to make me get the couple of years old used one..

[tctrek]

Go with the one that feels the best! When two bikes call to you and their components are similar, I think it's all about which one is the most comfortable.