Hi. This is my new everyday bike. I've had some back problems on stiffer bikes, and after trying a Synapse, I asked my LBS for a good deal on a 2012 model. They didn't have anymore available, but they supplied me with a 2013 model, and it was actually about $100 cheaper than the winter sale price they were asking for the 2012 model
I got a 105 model, and took it out for one ride before I stripped it completely. I had som bits lying around, and then I have bought a 2011 RED groupset from Wiggle in the UK. After the 2012 set hit the shops, the price has dropped significantly on the old model. If I were to do it again, I would however gotten the new crankset, because it's the only piece that offers a significant weight reduction. I know the front der is better than the old one, but then I would need the new shifters. And that would be at a much higher price. If the FD is no good I'll use the Shimano 105 with bolt tuning. Should be only 10 grams more than the SRAM
I weren't expecting the frame to be particularly light, but when I put it on the scales (it's a size 51) it was 1205 grams. And that includes BB 30 bottom bracket, RD hanger, cable stops and bb cable guide. So I'm guesstimating the frame to be around 1100grams.
Here's a pic of the bike with a few parts on it:


I've seen the weight on Synapse forks stated at around 450 grams, so after I cut mine down to 220 mm, this was a pleasant surprice:

When It came to the brakes, I had some Red calipers I wanted to use. I need powerful braking, and IMO you will only get that with dual pivot calipers. I changed the brake clamp bolt to aluminium, and put on KCNC pad holders. Here's the front brake:

For the back I'm going to try something different. One of the online shops here in Norway had a sale a while back, and I bought a set of Brams M5 brakes. A lot of people praise these brakes, and the marketing claims them to be some of the most powerful brakes in the world (or something like that) IMO they are the worst piece of bike shit I have ever owned. Going down steep hairpin bends with these, It's impossible to get anything near normal braking power. I have tried adjusting the distance between rim and pads, but for no good. Althoug locking ones wheels is not something you would wish for, I would like to know that my brakes can actually DO IT, because that means I have brakes that will give me enough power in any situation. All the brakes I have tried from top of the line Shimi and SRAM, via moutain bike hydraulics, to the cheapest cantilevers, can do this easily. The M5's have no chance in hell. When I tried to pull really hard on the levers, I managed to pull the brake cable out of it's fastener. And yes, It was securely tightened.
So why would I still use it? Well, I've ridden motorbikes for many years, and I'm used to do most of my braking with the front brake. So maybe the poor performance of the M5 caliper will make it a decent rear brake, just for scrubbing of a little speed or aiding the front brake, when I need to stop quick. So I will try it on, but if it's still shit, there will be a Red caliper at the back too. Anyway, here's the brake complete with pads and mounting bolt:

Up front I got a new Zipp SS handlebar. Claimed weight 190 grams. On my scale 188. Very good.
For the seatpost I'm thinking about a KCNC sc, as they are quite light and reasonably priced. It will also match the stem. But I weigh 190 lbs and plan to use a Selle Italia SLR with carbon rails, so I want a different cradle to distribute my weight better on the rails. Found a post in here about Lynskey selling a carbon cradle with Ti bolts for $25. A real bargain But then they wanted $105 for shipping to Norway. WTF
Chain reaction is selling an aluminium cradle for Thomson seatpost:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20501
This is for the Elite seatpost, but the cradle itself looks identical to the one used on their Masterpiece post. I guess the weight shouldn't be that bad compared to a carbon one. I have also looked at the Smud carbon cradle, but it doesn't seem to provide that much support area for the rails.
If anyone have any other ideas for seatpost or cradle, please let me know. And if someone can tell me if the Thomson cradle can fit the 27 mm Kcnc seatpost it would be appreciated

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Why does Shimano paint their groupsets the way they do? If i wanted fifty shades of grey - I'd buy the book.

I'm using a SRAM Red 2011 crankset with KCNC chainrings. Here's a couple of pics on the scale:


And here's the crank complete with rings, bolts and washers:

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Why does Shimano paint their groupsets the way they do? If i wanted fifty shades of grey - I'd buy the book.

For the seatpost I'm using a 27 mm KCNC scandium. I didn't want to use the aluminium lower cradle that came with it, since it provides very little support for the saddle rails. I found a nice carbon cradle at CarbonCycles. It was only $16 including shipping Here's a link: http://www.carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=101&p=1238&" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The weight was 15 grams on my scale. A little bit heavier than the stock KCNC, but with much better saddle rail support.

I had to do some dremeling on the post to fit the clamp.

The seatpost was cut down a little, and the complete weight ended up at 139 grams:

The Synapse has a special clamp for the seatpost, so I had to go with the stock. Replaced the bolt with titanium, and it came in at 27 grams.

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Why does Shimano paint their groupsets the way they do? If i wanted fifty shades of grey - I'd buy the book.

I have made some changes to the headset of the bike. The Cannondale Si topcap and compression plug has been replaced with an Extralite Ultrastar and a KCNC topcap. Then I went to work on the big cone on top of the headset. I removed the stock one, and did some work on one I had lying around from a CAAD 9:


I milled it down to about 4mm stack height.


When I did a test fit, the new ring touched the frame when I assembled the headset. This can normally be fixed with shims/micro spacers between the headset split ring and the top cone. But instead i sanded off the bottom of my new ring until it fit. Which of course is a better way than actually ADDING a part that shouldn't be there in the first place. As well as the added weight of a micro spacer (which is probably several milligrams ) I painted it black and put it on the bike with spacers to give me the same handlebar height as before the mod. Weight of the original setup is here:


And this is with the new homemade part:


And finally, this is how it turned out on the bike:

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Why does Shimano paint their groupsets the way they do? If i wanted fifty shades of grey - I'd buy the book.