Innovative Technology

The Synergy is the world's first internally geared road bike. What does this mean? The Synergy is the first drop bar road bike to use Shimano's advanced internal gearing and true STI-style shifting (SHimano Total Integration). This means it uses the same integrated shift-brake lever used on high performance road bikes. As a result, the Synergy offers a unique blend of performance, verstility and low-maintenance not available on any other road bike.

Internal Gearing

The Synergy features Shimano's highly efficient Alfine internal gear hub. Internal gear hubs are an advanced gearing technology, whereby all the gears are fully enclosed within the rear axle of the bike. These hubs are called planetary gears - much like the tranmission on a car - giving a very wide range of gearing in a very compact space. So unlike chain bikes that have fully exposed (external) sprockets and derailleurs, internal gear hubs compress all of this gearing into a compact, highly efficient cylindrical component (hub) inside the rear axle.

Fast, Easy Shifting

The Synergy controls the Shimano Alfine hub uses the Versa integrated shift-brake lever. The Versa shifter - located on your right hand on the drop handlebar - provides the ergonomic and performance characteristics you would expect of a high end road bike.

However, with the internal gear design, the Synergy is much easier to operate than traditional externally geared road bikes using chainrings, derailleurs and chain tensioners. The Synergy's 8-speed Alfine hub eliminates all the overlapping and redundant gears inherent in external gear configurations, so they require fewer gear changes to cover a wide range of gearing. For instance, each gear change on the Synergy is like changing 2-3 gears on a chain bike - so you can transition quickly from hill climbing to sprinting with fewer gear changes.

In addition, with the Synergy's unique design, the gearing is independent of pedaling. So unlike externally geared bikes that require you to pedal through a gear change, you can change gears on our internally geared bikes any time, even at a complete stop; so you are always in the right gear for any situation. Plus, with the Synergy, gear changes are much smoother, ensuring more seamless transitions on any terrain or in any riding condition.

Wide, Versatile Gear Range

The Synergy offers a very versatile range of gearing for all types of terrain and riding styles. Using the Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal hub, the Synergy was designed to keep up with whatever the road dishes out. It offers a gear range equal to 95% of a the gearing on a road bike using a compact road gearset, and 92% of the range of a full triple crankset. Think about it – how many gears do you really need? Shimano’s internal gear hub merely spreads out the gears for you into more natural and useful jumps between gears, giving you all the gear range you need in fewer steps. This gives you the verstility to power you up hills with the same confidence you'll have dashing along city streets or conquering winding country roads.

Fast Wheel Changes

Flat tire? No problem. The Synergy even makes it easy to change the rear tire. With its horizontal dropouts and Axle Release levers, the rear wheel slides straight off the back of the bike. To re-attach the wheels, use the set screws on either side of the rear wheel to tension the chain and alignement the wheel, the tighten in place with the quick release levers.

For additional details on changing the rear wheel on the Synergy, read this PDF - Technical Tip - Changing the Rear Wheel on the Synergy

Road Riding & Commuting

Club rides, event rides or daily commuting - the Synergy is the perfect choice. It's lightweight design, compact geometry and high quality components will make your long rides are fast, smooth and worry-free. Best of all, its sealed internal gearing protects your gears from the elements, enabling you to shift more consistently, and ride more confidently, even when the weather is at its worst.