ActiveCyclingCannondale Synapse looks like the future of cycling – but perhaps not for the road bike hardcoreIt’s a bike with battery power, integrated lights and radar, an app and the potential for more… but it’s not an ebikeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveCyclingCannondale Synapse looks like the future of cycling – but perhaps not for the road bike hardcoreIt’s a bike with battery power, integrated lights and radar, an app and the potential for more… but it’s not an ebikeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
It’s a bike with battery power, integrated lights and radar, an app and the potential for more… but it’s not an ebike
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Cannondale)
(Image credit: Cannondale)
A lot of thebest ebikes, aimed at a techy, hipster market are already more or less smartphones on wheels. You’ve got theAngell ebikewith its built in lock and alarm system,GoCycle G4iwith its traction control and lighting, andVanMoof S3, which pioneered the app-controlled, multi-functional commuter bike. There are ebikes with crash detection that can contact the emergency services, ones with automatic gearing, ones with advanced screens built in. There are all manner of techno innovations that could eventually make their way to standard bikes viaSmartSenseor a system like it.
The battery sits just below the water bottle mount(Image credit: Cannondale)
The battery sits just below the water bottle mount
The battery sits just below the water bottle mount
(Image credit: Cannondale)
As I say, in the case of the Synapse, the feature set has actually been kept deliberately quite short. However, there are ideas familiar to ebike users, such as using the Bluetooth on your phone, once it has Cannondale’s app on it, to power the bike on as you approach it. So the integrated Lezyne lights turn on, the radar – a variation of Gamrin’s Varia system – powers up, and you’re ready to go.
The lights are designed to be used all day, and can adapt to ambient lighting conditions. So during daylight, they just provide a little extra visibility – always welcome – without draining the battery pack too much. But if you go into a tunnel, or as night falls, the focussed beam boosts up to its full 350 lumens.
(Image credit: Cannondale)
(Image credit: Cannondale)
The Varia rear radar system is another great safety system. I must admit, when cycling I am perfectly happy to either look over my shoulder or largely ignore what’s going on behind me. However, I can see that a radar system would be extremely appealing to a lot of riders. It’s also probably the kind of thing where, once you start using a Varia radar, you never want to go back to not using one.
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The Varia radar will let you know how far this car is up your wazoo(Image credit: Cannondale)
The Varia radar will let you know how far this car is up your wazoo
The Varia radar will let you know how far this car is up your wazoo
(Image credit: Cannondale)
For now, that is the extent of the SmartSense system’s powers. However there are junction boxes on its integrated wiring that could be used to add further devices – bike computers being the obvious example.
I could see this system really coming to fruition on a more urban-commuter kind of bike, where keeping the weight down is less of an obsession. As it stands, the battery is only enough to power everything for a few hours, so you will have to charge it every day – admittedly this is not a huge hardship. Interestingly, you can’t use it as the main or even backup battery for Di2 electronic gear shifting, if you go for that option.
Cannondale says that the integrated power supply means the lights and radar weigh 35g less than if you installed it all separately, so that is a good plus point for the MAMILs.
You can also recharge your phone with the SmartSense battery, although only once it’s off the frame(Image credit: Cannondale)
You can also recharge your phone with the SmartSense battery, although only once it’s off the frame
You can also recharge your phone with the SmartSense battery, although only once it’s off the frame
(Image credit: Cannondale)
Well anyway, that aside, none of this innovation would matter much if the Synapse wasn’t also a great bike to ride, but it is. Our chums atCycling Weekly took it for a first ride recently and they seemed to like it. This bike builds on 15 years of learnings from the Synapse lineage and while the idea of a road bike that is actually comfortable to ride is no longer a mind-blowing one, I have no doubt that the Synapse is a lot of fun to ride, and also no doubt able to shift like a slippery eel when it’s required to, and get you up hillssanscardiac arrest.
Cannondale Synapse: pricing
(Image credit: Cannondale)
(Image credit: Cannondale)
The new Cannondale Synapse will be available in 4 carbon models, priced £2,400 to £9,000 ($2,400 to $9,000 in the USA) in sizes 48 to 61.
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