Cannondale Topstone Carbon Force AXS first ride review

The minute you get on board Cannondale’s new Topstone you start to experience the smoothness of the leaf-sprung shockless rear end.

I have to admit, I was expecting a mild-amount of bobbing from the rear-end when pedalling seated, especially when climbing, but the Topstone’s back-end was remarkably free of bounce under normal conditions.

• Cannondale Topstone gravel bike gets shockless leaf-spring rear suspension
• Best gravel bikes

I even ran the 37c WTB Riddler tyres — which have already impressed me recently on GT’s excellent new Grade — at a slightly higher pressure than I’d ideally choose, to try and isolate tyre ‘squidging’ from rear-end movement.

When my test loop quickly switched from tarmac to dirt, and the ruts, holes and ridges grew in size, then the Topstone’s back-end started to become active with a brilliant ability to squash and smooth truly poor surfaces with ease.

While Cannondale quotes 30mm of travel at the rear it doesn’t feel ‘limited’. There’s no physical-limit to stop the back end’s compliance, so you can hit obstructions at real speed and the back-end swallows up the forces acting upon it.

I was also impressed with the way in which the Topstone handles. I’ve ridden the same Synapse model since it won Bike of the Year back in 2014, and the Topstone feels very, very similar, with the added bonus of its off-road ability.

The steering response hits the sweet spot of balance between agility and stability, and a long, twisting dirt descent on the Topstone was one of the big highlights of my first ride out on the new bike, feeling confident to push the speed up as the bike feels wonderfully planted with the excellent tyres biting on loose surfaces.

It even impressed over a stretch of rooty, rocky singletrack with more than a few drops and steps along the way. I was riding the top-level model, with SRAM’s new Force AXS group and the new carbon wheelset, and the bike felt road-bike light and lively.

The gearing combination of 46/33, 10-33 gives you a big range, which proved its worth on fast road descents and a killer gravel climb that lasted a few miles and maxed out at a 20 percent gradient at its steepest.

Up front, the flat-design of the bar makes for a comfortable hold when riding the tops and combined with enough flex to keep things smooth. The deep, thick textured tape also added to the super-plush overall feel that the Topstone has.

Although I’m impressed with the Topstone’s ride, I’d like to get much more time on the bike before committing to a full review.

My first impressions are very, very positive, and the way in which the Topstone impressed both on- and off-road, feeling Synapse-like on the road (which in my opinion is one of the best endurance bikes available) and up with the best of the current gravel machines around.

The Topstone could be a great choice for someone looking for a one-bike for everything machine, like a more gravel-biased option to our current road Bike of the Year the Rondo HVRT CF0. It’s quite a similar gravel/all-rounder approach to the recently debuted GT Grade too.

On a personal note, I’d love to see a Topstone that combines the smooth suspension of its back-end with a lightweight suspension fork, like the new MTB Ocho Lefty, and maybe then we’ll have a true successor to the unique Slate.