If Cannondale’s ‘full suspension’ Topstone Carbon Lefty gravel bike is too outlandish for you, then maybe the standard Topstone Carbon 3 could be up your street. The standard Topstone shares the frame with the Lefty model but sits as Cannondale’s speed-orientated gravel bike.
Having put plenty of miles onto the new, more middle-of-the-road gravel offering, including an overnighter on the Ridgeway – the UK’s ‘oldest’ road that dates back at least 5,000 years – I can confirm I have had plenty of fun!
Poised, playful, and super fast, Cannondale has put together a winning formula – this frameset is undoubtedly the building block for one of the best gravel bikes of the year, proven by its inclusion in our Gravel Bike of the Year awards.
Cannondale Topstone Carbon 3: frameset
Cannondale has long been known for pioneering weird and wacky suspension solutions and on the Topstone Carbon, it is no different.
This time Cannondale has gone all out to drop those seat stays. They sit at a similar height to a lot of full suspension linkages seen on mountain bikes, and it’s at this junction that the ‘Kingpin’ technology can be found. A thru axle and a set of bushings here allows the seat tube to act like a leaf spring. The lack of moving parts, and low friction bushings on the system, aim to reduce maintenance as well as save a claimed 100 grams over conventional cartridge bearings.
The real flex is engineered through the carbon layup, which has been really impressive at providing comfort whilst not feeling sluggish. Cannondale says this allows for a full 30mm of flex at the seat tube and 10mm of vertical compliance at the rear dropout – both of which are pretty significant numbers for a ‘rigid’ frame.
(Image credit: Richard Butcher)
Notable too is the compatibility with Smartsense, which is Cannondale’s own external battery and light/radar setup. This bike pleads you to leave asphalt behind, so I’m not sure many people will consider the radar package aimed at traffic detection, but for long-distance riding, the long battery life of the light setup could be worthwhile. The mounting point for the battery at the bottom of the down tube is also a great place for an extra tube or tools, which Cannondale does sell a strap for.
Cannondale also seems to have returned to some sense and simplicity with the Carbon Topstone frameset and quite frankly it’s a very welcome sight for riders and mechanics alike.
A standard…