Cannondale has today launched its latest gravel bike, the Topstone. It’s an alloy framed machine with an all-carbon fork. It’s named after a dirt road near Cannondale’s HQ in Connecticut.
Cannondale has designed the Topstone with the same OutFront geometry as used in its SuperX cyclocross bike. OutFront uses a 55mm fork offset, paired with a slack head tube angle of 71 degrees (70 degrees on the XS bike). On the SuperX, we found that this leads to off-road stability, without losing steering precision. Transferred to the Topstone, this should give confident handling on a range of surfaces.
Top spec Topstone comes with SRAM Apex 1 and a dropper seatpost
(Image credit: ADRIAN MARCOUX)
The Topstone’s reach and stack are similar to the Cannondale Synapse endurance bike, so Cannondale says that it inherits that bike’s comfortable and sporty ride position. There’s plenty of clearance for 42mm tyres and you can fit 650b wheels and tyres if you want more air volume.
Cannondale has equipped the Topstone for longer off-road adventures, with mounts for a bag on the top tube and three bottle cage bosses. As you’d expect it’s disc braked and has internal cable routing.
Here's Cannondale's launch video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b0MQtOaoQI
Topstone specs and prices
The Topstone will be sold in three specs, with the top spec SRAM Apex 1 bike getting a dropper post with 55mm of travel and internal dropper cable routing. Gear ratios are 40 teeth at the front coupled to an 11-42 cassette. The bike’s wheelset uses WTB ST i23 Light rims on Formula hubs with 12mm thru-axles. Tyres are WTB Nano TCS 40mm tubeless ready. Price is £1799.99.
105 spec gets an FSA 46/30 chainset with an 11-34 cassette
(Image credit: ADRIAN MARCOUX)
Next down is the £1499.99 Shimano 105 variant. This comes with an FSA Omega ME supercompact 46/30 chainset and an 11-34 tooth cassette, for some really low range climbing gears. Wheels substitute WTB ST i23 for the Light version on the Apex build, although the set-up is still tubeless ready.
Finally, the entry level Topstone comes with Shimano Sora and is priced at £899.99. There’s an FSA Tempo supercompact 46/30 chainset and 11-34 nine speed Sunrace cassette. With no in-series Sora disc brakes, the bike comes with Promax Decoder R cable operated calipers. Rims are CX 2.0 and shod with wire bead 40mm WTB Nano tyres.
Bikes are sized XS, S, M and L, with immediate availability.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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