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FAST BIKE FRIDAY – CANNONDALE WOMEN’S TOPSTONE CARBON 4

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

This week’s Fast Bike Friday feature is focused on the popular Topstone Carbon gravel bike, with this particular model the Women’s Topstone Carbon 4 being marketed as a women’s bike. Why the distinction? We’ll look at the details further into the Blog, for now let’s just focus on the Topstone Carbon range as a whole.

The Topstone Carbon has become one of the more established gravel bike options available to consumers and has quickly gained popularity thanks to its unique looks and cleverly engineered performance qualities. There are many iterations of the versatile Topstone Carbon with a ‘Lefty’ sub-range of bikes being the most recent addition, bringing a Lefty front suspension fork and 650b wheelset to Cannondale’s gravel bikes, however at the heart of all of the Carbon Topstone bikes is the already iconic Kingpin configuration at the rear of the carbon frame.

Cannondale are renowned for being able to find the best athletes able to showcase just what their bikes can do and the Topstone Carbon has already been pushed to its limits by some of the most dynamic riders currently competing in some of the most demanding gravel and adventure events out there. Cannondale athlete TED KING has spent the last few seasons pushing the limits by taking on numerous epic rides which have been a mix of organised events and solo challenges with the Topstone Carbon successfully featuring in his exploits.

Another major news story that has captured the imagination of cycling fans across multiple cycling disciplines over the past few seasons is the progression of Lachlan Morton as an athlete who is capable of not only competing in grand tours such as the Giro d’Italia as part of the EF Eductaion-NIPPO pro cycling team but is also able to take on and excel in some of the most demanding gravel and multi-day events out there including the inaugural GBDURO in 2019. Lachlan piloted his Cannondale Topstone Carbon to victory in this gruelling event which saw riders compete over the length of the UK with a route that started at Lands End in Cornwall and finished at John O’ Groats at the top of Scotland with the great majority of the race taking place on gravel and off-road trails. The Topstone Carbon handled this ultimate bike-packing challenge with gusto, proving itself as a competent machine capable of taking all that can be thrown at it, day after day.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

Watch Lachlan take on the GBDURO onboard his Topstone Carbon

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Morton on his fully-laden Cannondale Topstone Carbon

 

So let’s get back to the bike itself and consider how and why the Topstone Carbon’s frame gained so much attention when it was first launched. Cannondale’s unique Kingpin configuration was celebrated at the bike’s launch thanks to its compliant rear end which has been achieved with some clever carbon fibre engineering, dramatically dropped seatstays and the placement of a pivot-point – the Kingpin. The Kingpin allows the seat tube and chainstays to flex more dramatically than they would without it; the carefully considered layup of the carbon fibre and the refined shape of each tube profile means that the rear of the frame is able to flex continuously without any lasting fatigue to the frame and significantly this configuration retains all of the stiffness and responsiveness that is demanded of a conventional carbon frame. What does all this mean in practice? Well it means that the Topstone remains immediately responsive to pedaling input both in and out of the saddle with the declared 30mm of rear wheel travel only coming into play when you hit the rough stuff. There’s no unwanted movement on smooth surfaces and there’s no requirement for an elaborate lockout; simply put, the bike has hit the sweet spot between being light and responsive and comfortable and compliant with the minimum of gimmicks, just solid, logical engineering.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Cannondale’s Kingpin is the key to that 30mm of rear wheel travel

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

Clever carbon layup and shaping allows for more flex

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Wide, boxy bottom bracket area means the Topstone Carbon is responsive to power input 

 

This particular model within the Topstone range is billed as a Women’s Topstone Carbon 4 but it’s important to point out that there is no significant difference between this frame and the Topstone Carbon frames that are NOT deemed as women’s models. The frame’s sizing and geometry are identical, it is essentially the same bike. This is a trend that has been growing right across the bike industry with Trek and Specialized also following this ethos on a great amount of their bikes. Bike brands are abandoning the belief that women’s body proportions are vastly different to men’s; that’s too much of a generalisation, it’s more the case that our proportions are all individual regardless of gender. Sizing is consistent across the range regardless of gender, so if you’re looking at a size medium women’s bike all of the measurements and angles are identical to the men’s size medium.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Sizing and geometry are consistent regardless of gender

 

As you’d expect from an out and out gravel adventure bike the Topstone Carbon bike features multiple bolt-on bosses throughout the frame and fork allowing you to attach multiple bottle cages, bike-packing bags or even mudguards for a practical all-weather mile-muncher. Tyre clearance is good too, with the bike coming spec’d with 700c x 37mm wide gravel tyres; Cannondale state on their website that the bike will comfortably take a 700c x 40mm tyre with 6mm of clearance between tyre and frame/fork.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Full carbon fork with bolt-on bosses for mudguards or racks

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Bolt-on bosses included on the top tube allows for the fitting of a small pack

 

As we’ve very quickly grown to expect from brands producing contemporary gravel bikes the bike features one of Shimano’s gravel-specific groupsets, in this case mainly 11-speed Shimano GRX 800 along with a GRX 810 Shadow RD+ rear derailleur and Cannondale’s own BB30a OPI SpideRing chainset. The 11-speed drivetrain provides a really user-friendly range of gears that are capable of handling the wide variation in terrain and gradients that you’ll typically encounter on an all-day gravel adventure. Cannondale’s chainset features 46/30T chainrings and this is combined with an 11-34 rear cassette to give you all the gear combinations you’ll need.

Cannondale Women's Topstone Carbon 4 2021

A gravel-friendly drivetrain is ready for action

 

One of the key features of the Shimano GRX groupset is the gravel-specific shifter/brake lever combination which has evolved from their proven road bike levers. Significant changes from their road specific cousins include a higher pivot point for the brake lever, which in practice means that there’s more leverage when the brake lever is activated from the brake hoods rather than the braking position in the drops. As gravel riders tend to spend the majority of their time with their hands on the hoods this is a great improvement from Shimano. Another detail is small but significant, a matt, slightly rubberised paint finish to the levers means that braking and gear selection is safe and secure even in wet, muddy conditions.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

GRX shifters help ensure precise gear changes even under pressure

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

A GRX 810 Shadow RD+ rear mech features a clutch to keep the chain secure on rough terrain

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

The Shimano GRX 800 front mech is compact to prevent contact with large volume tyres

 

Shimano’s excellent GRX 800 groupset includes compact, powerful flat-mount hydraulic disc brakes combined with neat 160mm rotors. This set-up provides ample braking power both from the lever hoods and when you’re positioned in the handlebar drops. Shimano’s disc brake technology is well-proven across all cycling disciplines and these GRX brake calipers clearly take everything they’ve learnt over the years and tweaked the technology to specifically suit gravel bikes.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

GRX 800 flat-mount hydraulic disc brakes are compact but powerful

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

The GRX 800 flat-mount rear brake caliper sits neatly within the frame

 

An agile carbon gravel bike built to go fast and get rowdy needs a pair of handlebars that put the rider into a comfortable and confidence-inspiring position particularly when descending down steep, technical trails. Cannondale have included a pair of alloy Cannondale 3 handlebars with a 16 degree flare to help keep you in control even when things get sketchy; this slightly wider handle bar set-up gives you more leverage and helps you hold your line over unpredictable terrain.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Flared Cannondale 3 handlebars provide more control when things get rowdy

 

Cannondale have spec’d the Women’s Topstone Carbon 4 with a Fabric Scoop Flat Elite saddle which is well padded and provides good pelvic support thanks to its refined profile. The saddle is fitted to a Cannondale 2 UD Carbon 27.2 x 350mm seatpost which features a flattened profile to further enhance compliance and comfort when used together with the Topstone frame. Incidentally it’s worth pointing out that the Topstone Carbon frame also includes internal cable routing for a dropper post. So if that’s something you think you may want to fit in the future then the frame is ready.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

Fabric Scoop Flat Elite saddle is comfortable and provides good support

 

The Cannondale Women’s Topstone Carbon 4 gravel bike features a pair of tough but lightweight gravel-ready WTB KOM Light i23 TCS 28 hole tubeless ready wheels shod with WTB Riddler TCS Light tubeless gravel tyres which are 700c x 37mm wide and strike that all-important balance between being grippy AND fast rolling. Note that both wheels and tyres are tubeless ready, so if that’s your preference the wheelset can be easily converted to be run tubeless.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

WTB KOM Light i23 wheels are tough but lightweight and are well suited to gravel riding

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4 2021

WTB Riddler TCS Light tyres roll fast but provide ample grip off-road

 

The Cannondale Women’s Topstone Carbon 4 is a fantastic gravel bike option for those looking for a fast, agile and comfortable bike capable of taking on multi-day wilderness adventures when you’re fully laden with all you need to escape the rat race. Equally, if competition and performance is your thing then this bike already has enough race-heritage to give you the confidence to sign up for whatever challenge you want to take on.

Cannondale Womens Topstone Carbon 4

 

Blog written by Johnny Dodgin

Lachlan Morton photographs by Dan Monaghan

Bike photos by James Vincent