One For The Road

Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Carbon finished with FSA K-Force and SRAM Red

Those who have been following the blog will know that this is the first season the Altura Patterson Training team has made an appearance on the UK road racing scene. We have been lucky enough to secure the support of Cannondale, along with our various co-sponsors in this venture, and I've made the most of the opportunity to build myself a really special road bike.

This lovely white machine is a Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod, which is Cannondale's lightest and stiffest carbon layup. The bike started life as an Ultegra SL compact, but with help from FSA and SRAM, I've upgraded it to a no-compromise dream bike. It's a 48cm, which is not the smallest frame that Cannondale build, but it is a very small bike.

I started by replacing the shifters, and front and rear mechs with SRAM Red. I've been using SRAM Rival on my training bike for two years now, and I have been really impressed with the smoothness and reliability of the system. SRAM Red was the obvious choice for this bike. Not only do I have a super light setup and crisp shifting, I have a perfect colour match!

Cannondales are built with BB30 bottom bracket cups as standard, and the FSA SLK-Light BB30 carbon crankset in 170mm was part of the original specification, so I left it on. Crank Brothers supply pedals for all of our team bikes, and our road bikes are sporting these Quattro Ti pedals. The Fast Kiwi (above centre) is our team mascot, and appears on all of my bikes.

The original Ultegra SL brakes have been replaced with FSA K-Force front and rear. The original FSA 420mm alloy bars have also been upgraded to this 400mm FSA K-Force carbon compact set. I can now ride in the drops and reach my levers comfortably, even with my very small hands.


This Lizard Skins bar tape is lovely stuff, and it's unlike anything else on the market. It is grippy without being sticky and has a tactile feel and shiny finish. Everyone who touches it responds by saying "oooh" and putting both hands on the bars. Lizard Skins supplied us with a choice of white or red, and I have a psycho-sematic response to the colour red - I see it and it makes me go faster. I swear I get an extra 20 watts out of this red bar tape. I'm also certain that anyone who has a SRAM Red system on their bike will want this red bar tape, as it compiments the shifters beautifully. Red is the new white. You heard it here first.

The original spec Fizik Tundra saddle had to go, and I managed to procure this white Specialized Ruby Pro 143, which fits the look of the bike and, most importantly, fits my backside. I also have a Prologo Nago PAS, which I use on my mountain bike and I swap between the two. The Prologo neoprene pod seatpack keeps essential C02 cannisters and allen keys handy without scuffing up the aero carbon seatpost.

The finishing touch is a set of Panaracer Extreme Lite tyres, which stick to the road in all conditions, and are actually pretty durable, despite their light weight.

So, how does it ride? It's unlike any other bike I've ever ridden, in fact it's another species altogether. My last carbon bike was a Specialized Ruby Pro, which was lovely to ride, but not in the same league as the Synapse for sheer raceability. I ride two gears up on this bike. I took 11 seconds out of my PB on Long Hill, from 16:29 down to 16:18, riding straight from work with a rucksack on. The BB30 bottom bracket is so stiff, if I turn the pedals in anger I have to hold on tight to the bars. I've developed an ability to sprint that simply didn't exist before.

Despite its small size, the bike has a reasonable wheelbase, and feels stable and planted on the descents. I can descend the bottom section of Buxton Road in the drops, barely touching the brakes, with total confidence, whereas I'd always felt nervous on my old training bike.

I'm really enjoying racing my new road bike, and if I didn't enjoy mountain biking so much, I'd happily ride this bike every day.

Jenn