The 2025 Cannondale Topstone Carbon delivers a class-leading technical-terrain gravel ride, but are the minor updates Cannondale has introduced enough to justify investing in an upgrade?
I would argue not.
Cannondale’s new Topstone is a bike that’s been refined rather than radically remodelled.
I can’t help thinking it should have been called the Topstone Evo rather than being unveiled as a wholly new bike – so subtle are some of the changes.
The new Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS will set you back £6,350 / $6,500 / €6,999 / CA$8,775.
Cannondale Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS frameset
Tyre clearance is up to 52mm for the frame (albeit 56mm for the rigid fork), and here it's 47mm with the brand’s Lefty Oliver fork.
SmartSense compatibility is gone, but has been replaced by a much more usable large storage port. This comes with a custom internal stash bag.
The Lefty Oliver has also had something of a makeover; inside, are the Generation 2 chamber damper and ISO high-ride air spring, improving both the spring rate on fast-bump response, and the control of the rebound and damping.
The travel has increased to 40mm, compared to the original's 30mm.
The bike now has a Universal Derailleur Hanger rear dropout, which brings compatibility with both SRAM’s direct-mount XPLR rear derailleurs and T-Type mountain bike derailleurs. It's fitted here on the mullet drivetrain that combines Rival AXS shifters, a Rival 1x XPLR crankset and a T-Type GX AXS rear derailleur.
With a suspension design that relies on the flex of key areas of the frame, it’s no surprise that Cannondale’s engineers have made the frame design size-specific.
The Kingpin leaf-spring design is proportional to the size of the bike, and when you compare the width of the thinnest section of the seat tube on the small bike to the extra-large, the difference is marked – 16mm on the smallest 47cm bike and 28mm on the largest 61cm.
The tube cross-sections also change according to size, as does the carbon layup. Cannondale says this means stiffness is scaled to deliver a consistent experience across the size range.
The rear suspension offers 30mm of travel, with around 25% of that delivered at the rear axle.
Up-front, brake hose routing is now internal through the head tube on non-Lefty equipped models.
Here, though, the front brake hose is routed externally to the crown of the single-sided suspension fork, owing to the inherent design of the Lefty Oliver.
The bottom bracket is a threaded 68mm shell – Cannondale’s retirement of the BB30 standard is now complete across its drop-bar bike range.
Cannondale Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS geometry
The front of the Topstone continues the ‘out-front’ geometry design of its predecessor, where the fork (rigid or suspension) is running a longer-than-usual 55mm offset; it's more typical for a drop-bar bike to run closer to a 45mm offset.
This is combined with a slightly relaxed head angle of 70.7 degrees on my 58cm test bike.
Cannondale claims this helps the steering feel light and agile even with larger-volume gravel tyres, which tend to slow handling. At the same time, pushing the front wheel forward adds stability on rougher terrain, while reducing the chances of toe overlap.
The 615mm stack and 389mm reach are spot-on for a gravel bike aimed more at technical riding than out-and-out racing. It puts a definite distinction between the Topstone and Cannondale’s race-focused gravel bike, the SuperX, which has a much lower 595mm stack and a centimetre more reach at 398mm.
The chainstays remain 420mm and the 105cm wheelbase is up 6mm to allow for the extra tyre volume.
| | 47 | 51 | 54 | 56 | 58 | 61 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheel size | 700C | 700C | 700C | 700C | 700C | 700C |
| Seat tube length (cm) | 41 | 44.6 | 48.2 | 51.8 | 55.4 | 59 |
| Top tube horizontal (cm) | 53.2 | 54.3 | 55.4 | 56.4 | 57.6 | 59.3 |
| Top tube actual (cm) | 51 | 52 | 53.1 | 54.3 | 55.7 | 57.4 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 69.9 | 70.7 | 70.7 | 70.7 | 70.7 | 70.7 |
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 | 73.1 |
| Standover (cm) | 71.6 | 74.1 | 77.2 | 80 | 83.1 | 86.4 |
| Head tube length (cm) | 9.7 | 10.1 | 12.3 | 14.2 | 16.4 | 19.6 |
| Wheelbase (cm) | 100.9 | 101.2 | 102.6 | 103.6 | 105 | 106.9 |
| Front center (cm) | 60.1 | 60.5 | 61.7 | 62.8 | 64.1 | 65.9 |
| Chainstay length (cm) | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Bottom bracket drop (cm) | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Bottom bracket height (cm) | 28 | 28 | 28.3 | 28.3 | 28.5 | 28.5 |
| Fork rake (cm) | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Trail (cm) | 7.3 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Stack (cm) | 55.4 | 56.1 | 57.9 | 59.7 | 61.5 | 64.6 |
| Reach (cm) | 36.4 | 37.3 | 37.8 | 38.3 | 38.9 | 39.7 |
| Axle to crown | 42.9 | 42.9 | 42.9 | 42.9 | 42.9 | 42.9 |
Cannondale Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS specification
The Topstone Carbon 1’s specification is a refreshing mix-and-match approach, which boils down to a mullet drivetrain that's ready for more extreme terrain, large-volume tyres and solid finishing kit.
The drivetrain features SRAM Rival AXS shifters and the 1x Rival chainset (with a 42-tooth chainring).
At the rear is a GX AXS derailleur with a direct-mounting T-Type fitting. Both the cassette and chain come from the GX mountain bike groupset to create a wide-range 12-speed setup with a 10-52 spread.
Up-front, the updated Lefty Oliver still has a 100-hour recommended service interval period, which Cannondale says is best left to one of its designated service centres.
The Carbon 1 should come with an Easton EC70 carbon bar, although my test bike was fitted with an alloy Cannondale 2 Shortdrop 7050 gravel bar (this is found on cheaper models in the Topstone range). It’s wrapped in thick tape and held in place by a new C1 alloy Conceal stem.
The Topstone’s seat tube is fitted with a carbon HollowGram Save 27.2mm-diameter post, topped with Fizik’s gravel-specific Terra Argo saddle.
The wheelset is built with Reserve’s 40/44 gravel-specific rims. Up-front, the rim is 40mm deep with a 27.4mm internal width and the rear is 44mm deep with a 27mm internal width.
At the front, the wheel is built with Cannondale’s Lefty Fifty hub, which has a specific spline fitment given it anchors on the rider's left side only.
The rotor interface is six-bolt, a rare thing for drop-bar disc bikes, which usually adopt the CenterLock design. At the rear is the highly regarded DT Swiss 350 hub.
The wheels are wrapped with WTB’s Raddler tubeless tyres, with the brand’s TCS Light casing. The 44mm width is the largest Raddler you can buy and the tread pattern combines a fast-rolling centre with larger shoulder knobs for more all-round grip in changeable conditions.
Cannondale Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS ride impressions
I’ve got a good deal of experience with the previous Topstone, and the new bike certainly doesn’t disappoint – unless you were expecting a radical departure, that is.
Beyond the increased tyre clearance, the same impressive mix of control and comfort remains.
The suppleness of the back end marries brilliantly with the Lefty fork. Once the fork’s air pressure is set to your weight (using the handy table on the fork leg), it’s a brilliant addition to the Topstone.
The fork's action is very well judged given it has ‘only’ 40mm of travel. The rebound feels natural and smooth, without any kickback sensation. The movement ramps up progressively over chattery surfaces, such as exposed roots.
As the fork is called further into action, it firms up and never tops out. On out-of-the-saddle climbs, I could induce a little bobbing when leaving it open, but thankfully, the Lefty includes a large lock-out switch on top of the crown.
The down tube storage port (with its well-fitted bag) is a great addition. After many winters spent drying out the contents of soaked saddle packs and bar bags between rides, I’m a convert to this. Having an emergency kit that's dry and always in place is most welcome and it's well-executed here.
The WTB Raddler tyres are superb. They offer a great balance between mud-matching grip and a quick rolling speed, thanks to the combination of the low, tightly packed centre tread pattern and the wider-spaced, pronounced shoulder blocks.
It means the Topstone rolls well on road sections – it's certainly not road-bike rapid, but it doesn’t feel like slogging a load of effort to maintain a reasonable pace.
The SRAM mullet drivetrain is brilliant, with a 42-tooth chainring up front and a massive range at the back. I never found myself hunting for gears. 42/10 is ample for the fastest, wide-open gravel-road descents, and the lightest gear means more time pedalling up the sharpest slopes rather than bike hiking.
The shifters and brakes may only be at the modest Rival level, but I found them ideal in use. The brakes have ample feel and power, and the shifting both up and down the cassette with the T-Type GX AXS rear derailleur is accurate, quick and consistent under load.
On paper, the 10.21kg complete weight sounds heavy, but in use, the smoothness of the suspension, confident handling, and the quality of the wheels and tyres made me forget about any weight concerns.
The Topstone’s suspension is one element of what makes it such a confident partner on tricky terrain, but the sorted geometry and handling offer a light feel to the steering. It's quick to respond, with an assured stability over rough surfaces that would have lesser bikes floundering.
Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS bottom line
The Cannondale Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS is an evolution of an already great platform; the tweaks to the geometry, increased tyre clearance and the practicalities of down tube storage add to its many charms.
Is it perfect? Not quite. I’d like to see this most rowdy iteration come with a dropper post as standard. It’d be the icing on the cake of what is one of the most capable extreme gravel bikes available.
The Carbon 1 Lefty has a few rivals. Giant’s Revolt X Advanced Pro 1 (£5,499 / $6,200) has a RockShox fork, Post Moderne dropper post, carbon wheels and Rival AXS 1x drivetrain. Specialized’s Diverge STR, with its proprietary suspension system, SRAM Rival AXS/GX mullet drivetrain and carbon wheels, is £7,500 / $7,500.
BMC’s elastomer-infused URS LT is its closest competitor in terms of incorporating front and rear suspension, and comes with a SRAM Force AXS/Eagle GX drivetrain and carbon wheels for £7,600 / $7,999.
Would I choose the Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty over these rivals? Undoubtedly yes. The real question for me, at least, is whether I would upgrade my previous-generation Topstone.
The short answer is no – while its improvements are welcome and make for an improved bike, I’m not convinced they're big enough to justify the expense of updating. That’s as much down to how good the previous Topstone was, though.
Product
| Brand | cannondale |
| Price | 6999.00 EUR,6350.00 GBP,6500.00 USD |
| Weight | 10.2100, KILOGRAM (58cm) - 58cm, including stash bag and 2x bottle cages |
Features
| Fork | Lefty Oliver Carbon |
| br_stem | Cannondale C1 Conceal, Alloy |
| br_chain | SRAM GX Eagle Transmission, 12-speed |
| br_frame | Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension |
| Tyres | WTB Raddler TCS Light, 700x44c, tubeless ready |
| br_cranks | SRAM Rival DUB Wide, 42T |
| br_saddle | Fizik Terra Argo X5 |
| br_wheels | Reserve 40 I 44 GR Carbon, Lefty 50, 6-Bolt front hub, DT Swiss 370 rear hub |
| br_headset | Acros IS52/40 ICR |
| br_shifter | SRAM Rival AXS, 12-speed |
| br_cassette | SRAM GX XS-1275, 10-52, T-Type, 12-speed |
| br_seatpost | Hollowgram SAVE Carbon, 27.2x350mm |
| br_handlebar | Easton EC70 AX Carbon, 44cm |
| br_availableSizes | 47,51,54,56,58,61 |
