

Once you get used to it, switching the suspension on and off becomes something like a sixth sense - kind of like lowering or raising the dropper post.” The lockout lever has been integral to the Synonym, as the company explains: “For riders coming from the classic enduro/trail scene the remote switch on the bars may seem like something that just adds clutter to the cockpit, but actually our core test riders swear by it. This is aimed at ensuring there is minimal unwanted suspension movement when pedalling but also, according to NS Bikes, to provide active suspension that helps on technical climbs. The anti-squat is above 100% throughout most of the travel, sitting at 124% at sag in the lowest gear, dropping to 117% in a middle gear.

The suspension has been designed to provide a bike that pedals very efficiently with a progressive leverage ratio and regressive end. There’s a 1.5” tapered head tube up front and Boost axle spacing out back. All cables and the rear brake hose are internally routed, though the latter does pop out of the down tube and kink around the bottom of the shock and into the end of the chainstay, which looks a little convoluted but presented no issues during riding. The frame has been optimised for 1x drivetrains as is common these days. A short rocker linkage drives the vertically mounted shock with oodles of space for a big water bottle, with high and low positions, and spare tubes and tools strapped to the frame. The TR, as it’s built to take more abuse, weighs a claimed 2,050g, which is still damn light.įrame weight has been kept low by omitting a seatstay pivot and instead using flex into the flattened tube profile.
#Set apart from the rest synonym full#
At the heart of the Synonym is a full carbon fiber main frame and swingarm with the same mold used for both the RC and TR the only difference is that a higher-end carbon layup is used for the RC to shed a bit of weight for a claimed frame weight of 1,900g.
