Longer wheelbase robbing responsiveness from bike.

Serious Cat

My 2013 Cannondale Caad8 has a wheelbase length in 979mm ballpark . During the week I visited lbs and they had a 2015 Synapse in my size in stock. I decided to take it for a short ride. The Synapse has a 996mm wheelbase and I was really taken aback at how utterly lifeless it felt compared to the Caad. When pressure is applied to the crank on the Caad there is an immediate effect and its almost like the bike responds enthusiastically, by contrast, I felt when the pedals were turned on the Synapse it went ok then, yawned and ponderously started to go forward. To say the Synapse was a disappointment for me is an understatement as it felt like riding an unresponsive barge to be honest. Is the extra wheelbase length a factor in sucking the life out of a bike something that anybody else has ever experienced ?

MountainMonster

It could be you are trying compare apples and oranges, no?

jgsi

In a word - no
I raced a couple of seasons ago on a Synapse - cut and shut for purpose (not unsetup bike from a shop on a short ride)- it did all right.... not about the bike .. it's the rider.
I reckon Marcel Wust can rest easy on his review section in ProCycling... his opinion counts as his has several teeshirts as regards how a bike should and should not handle.

comsense

What was the difference in the wheels and tyres?
I'm somewhat doubtful the wheelbase would be an obvious difference in a straight line. Fair enough if you are horsing the bike into corners or twisty descents you probably would see a difference. BTW, I've a Caad X with a massive 1008mm wheelbase and I find it well balanced handling wise.

dennisn

Mountains from molehills.

ai_1

Serious Cat wrote:

My 2013 Cannondale Caad8 has a wheelbase length in 979mm ballpark . During the week I visited lbs and they had a 2015 Synapse in my size in stock. I decided to take it for a short ride. The Synapse has a 996mm wheelbase and I was really taken aback at how utterly lifeless it felt compared to the Caad. When pressure is applied to the crank on the Caad there is an immediate effect and its almost like the bike responds enthusiastically, by contrast, I felt when the pedals were turned on the Synapse it went ok then, yawned and ponderously started to go forward. To say the Synapse was a disappointment for me is an understatement as it felt like riding an unresponsive barge to be honest. Is the extra wheelbase length a factor in sucking the life out of a bike something that anybody else has ever experienced ?

How exactly would a longer wheelbase affect acceleration?
I think you can be pretty confident that the perceived lifelessness of the bike was down to either your expectations, how you were feeling on the day, setup differences (tyre pressure, saddle position, bar position, etc) or a combination of these. I think this is a perfect illustration of the overemphasis given to the importance of test rides. Riders are too subjective and there are too many variables for a typical test ride to tell you anything of much value about handling or ride quality. Your extreme descriptions of a bike that seemed like it "yawned and ponderously started to go forward" and "felt like riding an unresponsive barge" are simply not credible or useful. They're the sort of nonsense that bike reviews are typically packed with, although in those it's more often positive nonsense rather than the negative variety.

speshsteve

i don't agree with the original posters comments however longer chain stays could conceivably add more flex and therefore drive train losses.

Buckie2k5

pretty sure a synapse is designed to be slightly less "racier" than the caad.

Frame will flex more and have a more relaxed geometry

socistep

I've got a 2013 CAAD8 which is off the road at the moment due to a cracked frame, its going back to cannondale.

A couple of weeks back I got a 2015 synapse tiagra, being set up as winter/2nd bike as has disc brakes/mudguards - the synapse is heavier then the CAAD8 (i'm assuming due to heavier wheels) and is slightly more sluggish to set-off and then slower uphill, however on the flat I'm not noticing a massive difference and the synapse is definitely a more smoother ride.

mr_evil

It takes a big change in wheelbase before its noticable. If you want to compare two bikes fairly, then you really need to use the same wheels with the same tyres at the same pressure.