Cannondale fully revamped the Topstone Carbon body itself, each reshaping its tubes and redesigning the carbon layup for improved consolation. Particularly, the brand new body’s toptube now tapers much more than earlier than, and the seattube will get a extra pronounced curve to ship extra vertical flex, with out sacrificing out-of-the-saddle lateral stiffness and effectivity for sprinting.

It nonetheless delivers a claimed 30mm of rear wheel journey between the Kingpin 2.0 pivot and seattube/seatpost flex, with easy low-friction bushings and nearly no want for upkeep. However now the rear finish of the bike has far more of an opulent really feel to steadiness the experience with the Lefty up entrance.

An enormous a part of that was redesigning the person carbon layup of every body dimension to ship the identical plushness to riders of all sizes, particularly necessary because the rear journey depends on materials flex in shouldn’t be adjustable. Cannondale calls this Proportional Response Development, and it contains altering body tube sections and materials layup throughout the broad 6-size vary (47-61cm).

40mm Lefty Oliver gravel suspension fork

Matching the now-plush rear finish, the brand new Topstone Carbon now will get an additional 10mm of entrance wheel journey for many who decide up the gen 3 Lefty Oliver suspension fork. Nonetheless sliding on its traditional needle bearings, the brand new Lefty Oliver is as supple as ever. And it nonetheless has a 100-hour service interval – 2x so long as most standard suspension forks. Plus, now it additionally will get an up to date damper tune inside to enhance stability with the longer 40mm of journey and large 700c wheels since we final gave it a more in-depth look.

Cannondale describes it as “smoother, sooner, and able to deal with the hardest gravel terrain”. After having ridden it on some loopy rocky tracks, I can stand behind that. I believe the one factor holding me again on a Topstone with this new Lefty is concern of shredding no matter gravel tire I mount onto it.

In truth, the brand new Lefty Oliver v3 additionally has room for barely greater tires, now as much as 700 x 47mm. Curiously, the limitation shouldn’t be tire width, however moderately peak at full fork compression. So be suggested to not get excited and mount an enormous XC MTB tire on there simply because it appears to be like like it will possibly match. However there’s house for barely greater tires than Cannondale specs.

Greater Tires All Round

Whereas the brand new Lefty can match about 2mm wider (taller) tires than earlier than, the Topstone Carbon body and its inflexible fork get a a lot greater enhance in clearance. The brand new body can now match 700 x 52mm (2.0″) tires and the inflexible carbon fork can match a whopping 56mm tire (a 29×2.2″ tire) That’s much more than the 45mm of the earlier technology.

Fashionable Integration

Essentially the most fascinating bit for me right here is the brand new Stash Port storage contained in the downtube. A primary for any Cannondale bike, the brand new Topstone Carbon has a locking door beneath the downtube bottle cage bosses that opens as much as supply house for spares. Inside, every body comes with a custom-sized zippered StashBag with room for instruments, tubes, and a mini-pump or CO2 inflator.

Cables at the moment are routed internally for a cleaner cockpit, though the Lefty retains its entrance brake line outdoors. Cannondale opted for separate bars & stems with cables hidden however accessible for cockpit place adjustability. And the body options a normal Acros headset resolution with cables that move by means of the higher bearing to make it work with each inflexible and the Lefty suspension fork.

Key Tech Particulars

• ‘Out Entrance’ steering with 70.7° head angle and 55mm of fork offset for a mixture of nimble dealing with and stability at velocity
• BSA threaded backside bracket
• commonplace 27.2mm spherical seatpost
• inside dropper publish routing for many who need it
• traditional exterior seatpost binder clamp
• standard-dished rear wheel (no extra Ai uneven wheels)
• massive 700c tire clearance: 52mm body, 56mm for the inflexible fork, 47mm for the Lefty Oliver
• 12x142mm Syntace rear & 12x100mm Syntace entrance (inflexible) thru-ales or traditional Lefty 50 hub
• body fender mounts
• UDH for common derailleur compatibility

2025 Cannondale Topstone Carbon – Pricing, choices & availability

Cannondale calls the Topstone Carbon “three gravel bikes in a single”. Rally, Race, or Roam. That’s just about a do-it-all gravel & path shredder, a gravel race bike, or a bikepacking-ready journey bike.

Topstone Carbon with Lefty

Essentially the most iconic I believe is the one which I rode. The $6400 / 6900€ off-road-leaning full-suspension Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS, with a SRAM Rival +GX mullet Transmission and carbon Reserve 40/44 GR wheels. It’s the one full-suspension spec of the bunch. That is the bike for gravel riders seeking to get a bit extra rowdy. After which find yourself on tremendous rocky roads and even what most individuals would extra describe as mountain bike trails.

The opposite bikes all get the identical rear finish consolation of the revised Kingpin design. However they go for a brand new inflexible carbon fork that guarantees improved consolation largely from the power to run an enormous entrance tire and decrease tire pressures. You additionally save round 900g with a inflexible fork vs. the still-light Lefty. Though the Lefty construct makes up for it with lighter wheels.

Topstone Carbon with inflexible carbon fork

4 inflexible fork Topstone Carbon builds can be found. They begin at $3400 / 3300€ for the Topstone Carbon 3 GRX with mechanical Shimano GRX 600/800 12sp groupset (1x or 2x) & alloy WTB wheels. The $4000 / 4000€ Topstone Carbon 2 GRX builds improve to a full GRX 800 12-speed group. Once more it’s 1x or 2x, plus a nicer alloy bar & carbon seatpost.

The $4300 / 4300€ Topstone Carbon 2 AXS bumps as much as a wi-fi digital 1×12 mullet SRAM Apex + GX T-type Transmission combo.

And the ultimate $7300 / 7500€ Cannondale Topstone Carbon LTD Di2 goes all in on a Shimano GRX Di2 digital shift 2×12 groupset. Plus, the sunshine Reserve 40/44 GR carbon gravel wheels and fast-rolling 45mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tires.

Select your favourite setup at your native Cannondale vendor, typically in 1-3 coloration schemes relying on spec. They embody: Orange Slice, Smoke Black, Chalk, Deep Teal, Obsidian, Tigershark, Spruce Inexperienced, Jet Black, or Mantis with Caffeine and Quicksand.
 
Cannondale.com