Greetings all – my LBS fitted me for my first road bike yesterday (longtime mountain biker). They recommended a bike from the Cannondale Synapse range. I gave a ~$2,500 budget and a Groupset requirement of Shimano 105 or higher. Not interested in used bikes due to lack of a frame warranty.
The Bike Fitter I worked with encouraged me to go above my budget by ~$500 and get the Synapse Carbon 2 LE, which is currently 35% off online. But, I see the Synapse Alloy 105 meets most of my requirements for $1k less. My only fear with the Alloy 105 is the mechanical brakes.
My questions – is it worth going over my budget to get the Carbon 2 LE at a big discount? How big is the performance difference between the hydraulic brakes on the Carbon 2 and the mechanical brakes on the Alloy 105?
TL;DR – is it worth going over budget to get a higher spec bike in the same model range at a big discount? Alloy vs. carbon frame? Mechanical vs. hydro disc brakes?
Bikes in question:
https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/endurance/synapse/synapse-105
https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/endurance/synapse-carbon/synapse-carbon-2-le
by Hakay_91