Blazing Cannons

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On The Lefty

Introduced in 2013, the Lefty’s Hybrid Needle Bearing System allows for the Lefty’s fork leg to glide nearly stiction free. The needle bearings reside in machined square grooves in the fork leg, and are self resetting, ensuring that the bearings never fall out of place. The entire system is completely sealed, and the bearings live in a self contained oil bath, ensuring a long service life, and double the period between service intervals compared to regular forks. The new design also eliminates the rubber boot that was standard fitting on previous incarnations of the Lefty. The boot has been replaced with a Durathon seal that keeps the oil in, and the dirt out.

The Lefty comes in 3 design iterations, suitable for use across the range of riding that mountain bikers require. The Lefty OPI Alloy is the general purpose Lefty, designed for use across a multitude of riding types, from light XC to hard trails and all-mountain. The Lefty Carbon is the lightest Lefty available, meant for hard core XC racers who count every gram. The heavyweight of the range is the Lefty Supermax Carbon, designed from the outset to be the strongest and stiffest Lefty you can get. Meant for Trails and All-mountain riders who like dropping off steep drops, the Supermax will even handle downhill duties and drops off vertical climbs with aplomb.

Head into your nearest Cannondale dealer today and find out why the Lefty gives you the single sided advantage.

Riding The Synapse

The Cannondale Synapse recently won Cycling Plus “Bike of the Year” accolade. There are good reasons why the Shimano 105 equipped Synapse won this laurel, and we look at some of the reasons why.

While many of us lust after the highly strung, high performance thoroughbreds in a manufacturer’s range of road bikes, there is a reason why the mid level frames designed with an eye to endurance and comfort sell so well. While the Synapse comes in a range of equipment levels, including the range topping Synapse Black Inc., Ultegra and 105 equipped Synapses sell well. Catering for the mass market of century riders and gran fondo enthusiasts where the majority of road riders are, the Synapse frame fits this role to a ‘T’. The Synapse is designed for riders who love to ride, especially for those who count the mileage of their rides in 3 figures. Balancing frame flex and stiffness, the Synapse frame is constructed from Cannondale’s BallisTec carbon where a mix of high stiffness and high tensile strength carbon fibers are composited together with a high impact strength resin. This allows the frame to flex when required for riding over road irregularities and rough surfaces, but allowing the rider to ‘snap’ the frame with power for that burst of acceleration.

The fork and seat stays are designed to work together. The SAVE Plus front fork is laid up from carbon fiber and shaped to let the front wheel track smoothly over rough surfaces but minimising the vibration coming through the handlebars. The SAVE Plus rear triangle works in conjunction with the front fork. The rear stays are twisted in a helix shape, absorbing bumps for better rider comfort and control. In addition to this, the seat tube and seat post are designed to flex together in a controlled fashion to maximise rider comfort during long hours in saddle. The seat tube is also asymmetrically split in a Power Pyramid where it meets the oversized BB30 bottom bracket, giving maximum stiffness with no unnecessary weight.

The Synapse frame is designed from the outset with long road rides in mind, using S.E.R.G. or Synapse Endurance Race Geometry. This particular set of frame design angles and carbon layup lets riders have the best of both worlds, a comfortable, mile munching frame that still has the ability to get up and go when the situation demands it. S.E.R.G. gives the rider a slightly more upright riding position, while putting the rider in perfect control, no matter what the road conditions. This confidence bolstering frame lets the rider concentrate on the ride, handling both climbing and descending efficiently and without drama.

This Balance Between High Performance And Riding Comfort Is What Makes The Synapse A Very Capable All Rounder.

Some riders might think the Synapse is biased too much toward the easy riding side of things, but this isn’t so, as has been proven by Team Cannondale selecting the Synapse to contest some of the Classics. This balance between high performance and riding comfort is what makes the Synapse a very capable all rounder, no matter what level of equipment you specify on it. The Synapse deserves the accolades it has won, and you can find out why for yourself at your nearest Cannondale dealer.

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