The new Cannondale Topstone Alloy gravel bike features dropped seatstays, increased tyre clearances and new luggage mounts.
The bike was originally 'leaked' on the Cannondale USA website ahead of an official announcement from the brand in April, but full pricing and specs have now been confirmed.
The new bike shares an overall shape similar to the 2022 Cannondale Topstone Carbon, but doesn’t feature a suspension fork build option or the Kingpin rear suspension system seen on the carbon bike.
Prices start at £1,150 / $1,350 /€1,499 / AU$2,199 for the Topstone Alloy 4, topping out at £2,150 / $2,300 / €2,449/ AU$4,999 for the Topstone Alloy 1.
New frame shape for the 2022 Topstone Alloy
The Topstone Alloy has a new shape for 2022, adopting dropped seatstays and slightly altered tube shapes.
The geometry chart currently displayed on the Cannondale site is, as far as we can tell, identical to the current generation bike.
The same five size range is offered with the new bike.
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy geometry chart
| | XS | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat angle effective (degrees) | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 |
| Seat angle actual (degrees) | 71.8 | 71.8 | 71.8 | 71.8 | 71.8 |
| Head angle (degrees) | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 |
| Front center (mm) | 593 | 603 | 621 | 641 | 659 |
| Seat tube (mm) | 410 | 458 | 505 | 553 | 600 |
| Top tube horizontal (mm) | 533 | 544 | 557 | 572 | 587 |
| Head tube (mm) | 86 | 115 | 147 | 180 | 212 |
| Fork offset (mm) | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
| Trail (mm) | 72 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| Bottom bracket drop (mm) | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| Bottom bracket height (mm) | 280 | 284 | 284 | 284 | 280 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,016 | 1,027 | 1,045 | 1,065 | 1,083 |
| Standover (mm) | 703 | 744 | 784 | 824 | 864 |
| Stack (mm) | 518 | 549 | 579 | 610 | 640 |
| Reach (mm) | 368 | 377 | 385 | 394 | 402 |
Mount anything!
In addition to the pannier rack and mudguard bosses offered on the original Topstone Alloy, the new 2022 Topstone Alloy gets triple boss luggage mounts on the fork legs and a forward-facing eyelet on the crown of the fork.
The latter will improve compatibility with some mudguards, but will also open up the option of running a fork-mounted dynamo light on the bike.
The new Topstone has the same three bottle cage mounts as the old bike and is still compatible with internally-routed 27.2mm dropper seatpost.
Increased tyre clearances
Tyre clearance on the new Topstone Alloy has been boosted officially to 45mm. This is the same as the new Topstone Carbon and an increase from 42mm on the previous-generation model.
No maximum tyre clearance is provided for 650b wheels. The bike uses a standard 12x142mm rear thru-axle paired with a 12x10mm front thru-axle.
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy range
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 4
The 2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 4 is the cheapest of the three builds, coming in at £1,150 / $1,350 /€1,499 / AU$2,199.
The bike is built around a Microshift Advent X 10-speed groupset set up in a 1x arrangement. A neat bolt-on chain guide is included to help keep things in check on rough terrain.
The bike rolls on a pair of WTB Riddler tyres laced to no-nonsense alloy wheels.
- £1,150 / $1,350 /€1,499 / AU$2,199
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 3
The 2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 3 sees a jump up to a Shimano Sora groupset, this time with a 2x double crankset.
It’s priced at $1,550 and rolls on the same wheelset/tyre combo as the Topstone 4.
- £1,400 / $1,550 / €1,749 / AU$2,399
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 2
The 2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 2 sits second from the top of the range of bikes.
This is priced at £1,750 / $1,900 and gets a Shimano GRX 400 groupset.
It also jumps up to a branded WTB I23 wheelset with matching WTB Riddler tyres. We’re particularly fond of its handsome olive finish.
- £1,750/ $1,900 / €2,199 / AU$3,199
2022 Cannondale Topstone Alloy 1
The Topstone 1 is the tippest-most-top of the range bike and features a mixed Shimano GRX 800/600 groupset.
It rolls on the same wheelset as the Topstone 2.
- £2,150 / $2,300 / €2,449/ AU$4,999
