Cannondale Topstone Gravel Ebike

[Vossy]

Alright... I need to start thinking about ongoing maintenance such as cleaning and drivetrain/chain lubrication. It's been wet here, so the bike is getting plenty of mud and crud... I absolutely need to organise those mudguards!

What does your regular cleaning and maintenance routine look like? Do you do anything different with your e-bike in comparison to your acoustic bike? Any products you've come to rely on?

 

[Vossy]

Hey all!
I've been riding quite a bit and I'm enjoying it thoroughly!
One issue is the front brakes keep making an intermittent squeak noise as the wheel (and rotor) rotates through. Not necessarily under braking. I've tried adjusting it and I've had a bike mechanic look at it and complete an adjustment too. In both cases the noise returned reasonably soon afterwards. The mechanic suggested it may be an issue with the design of the brake system being attached to the lefty fork. Has anyone encountered this issue previously and been able to successfully remedy it?

In other news, I've just ordered the Tailfin rack and bags, so I'll let you all know how that works out when they arrive.

Cheers!

Dean.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I've got 4500km on my Lefty and I haven't had any issues with my front brake, so unfortunately I can't give you any advice.
One problem I did have with the front brake was with the sticky tape that hold the brake line in place. I made the mistake of turning the bike upside down to do some maintenance, which included taking off the front wheel. I guess the weight of the brake caliper hanging down caused the tape that holds the brake line guides in place failed. I've replaced the tape with new tape, but it doesn't work very well and after a couple of ride the brake line guide usually detaches itself from the front shock.
I ended up taping each guide in place with electrical tape. It looks DIY, but so far the guides have stayed in place.

 

[Alaskan]

I have found that the GRX brake caliper has such close tolerances between the disk rotor and brake pads that I have to adjust the calipers and fine tune the rotor more frequently than I have to with most other bikes in order to make the wheels spin freely, without any rhythmic ticking or noise. There are good how-to videos by park tool on youtube to learn how to do this procedure. You will need a flashlight, a sheet of white paper, a 5mm hex wrench and a brake rotor adjustment lever.

I had the same thing happen with the brake line guide on my lefty as well. 3M VHB double sided tape is the one to use to achieve a solid, reasonably durable hold. Be sure to do a careful alcohol clean on the fork surface and on the underside of the little guide before applying the tape. Both the fork finish and the plastic are slick surfaces that must be meticulously cleaned before any tape will stick to them.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I have the same tape, but I must confess I didn't clean the surfaces very well before bonding them together. I'll have to try using tape again.

 

[Alaskan]

I have the same tape, but I must confess I didn't clean the surfaces very well before bonding them together. I'll have to try using tape again.

Also leave it for 23 hours without any strain on it so the adhesive will cure and hold longer.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Couple of pics from the last few gravel rides, loving the 650x1.9 Panaracer Gravelking SK tires too!

 

[Deacon Blues]

I went on a gravel ride last week and pickup up a 1.5 inch drywall screw along the way. By the time I realized what was going on the screw had opened up a hole wide enough that all the Stan's sealant in the world wouldn't seal.
My 10 month old Specialized Pathfinder 2Bliss tire was kaput.

My favorite bike shop had a Vittoria Terreno Dry in my size and doing some research I found out that the online magazine, Grand Fondo, that ranked that tire #1 in a recent gravel tire group test.
One thing I noticed about the tire (haven't gone for a ride yet) is the colour- it's a dark grey.
The difference in colour between the Vittoria and the Specialized Patherfinder bothers me enough (yes, I like my tires to match) that I plan on buying another Terreno Dry and replace the remaining Patherfiner, which I'll keep as a spare, because who knows when I'll get the next tire destroying puncture.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I went on a gravel ride last week and pickup up a 1.5 inch drywall screw along the way. By the time I realized what was going on the screw had opened up a hole wide enough that all the Stan's sealant in the world wouldn't seal.
My 10 month old Specialized Pathfinder 2Bliss tire was kaput.

My favorite bike shop had a Vittoria Terreno Dry in my size and doing some research I found out that the online magazine, Grand Fondo, that ranked that tire #1 in a recent gravel tire group test.
One thing I noticed about the tire (haven't gone for a ride yet) is the colour- it's a dark grey.
The difference in colour between the Vittoria and the Specialized Patherfinder bothers me enough (yes, I like my tires to match) that I plan on buying another Terreno Dry and replace the remaining Patherfiner, which I'll keep as a spare, because who knows when I'll get the next tire destroying puncture.

Terreno Dry is a great tire, I've run it in 35c size on my analog gravel bike in the past. I've found even trying to squeeze a 38c tire onto the Topstone (I know it'll "fit" 40c but not all tire sizes are created equal) the bike beats the crap out of you compared to an analog bike just due to the additional weight. Even keeping the weight on the bike to a minimum it just gets bounced around quite a bit. I've found the 650b and 1.9 move to be ideal with minimal sacrifice to ride quality and additional rolling resistance. Last two rides were about 45 miles and 4300ft of elevation about 70% gravel, with the tires at 21psi front, 26psi rear, toggling between "eco" and "off" I end up with about 50% battery left. Such a capable machine!

Have you messed with tire plugs? They're nice in a pinch and can often save a tire from the trash bin!

 

[Deacon Blues]

I plan on purchasing a Dynaplug kit for the road just to get me home. I considered using a plug this time, but the screw moving around each tire rotation really made a large hole.
If it had been a smaller nail hole I would have tried using a plug.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Ah, hate it when that happens! I haven't tried patching from the backside but I know some MTB folks have good luck with that. I suspect gravel bike tires are just too high psi wise for a patch on the inside to hold.

The Geniuine Innovations plugs "side of bacon" plugs work really well and they have a handy plug kit that's easy to pack with during rides.

 

[Code54]

My Neo 2 carbon just came in today and I love it. I did have a question - is there a range extender battery out there that fits? I dont know if I need one but thinking it would be nice to have.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Not that I know of.

 

[Code54]

Thanks. I looked online and didn’t see anything but thought maybe I was just missing it. Does anyone happen to know if there is a factory fender out yet that fits the mounts or a recommended one perhaps. I wouldn’t mine a smaller one on the rear to limit anything being tossed up my back while rising.
I noticed I have the wiring for a lights, does Cannondale give a wiring any instructions on what the output is of the wires and a recommended method of wiring a light. I was surprised I didn’t see a factory light on their website for the bike.
Thanks!

 

[Alaskan]

these are great fenders for the Neo Carbon 2 available at REI

Speedrocker Fender Set

Speedrocker Fender Set is ready to rock on your next gravel bike ride. Don't let a little rain stop you. Bring on the clouds and nasty weather, Just take a minute to install Speedrockers and change a no-ride day into a go-ride day! Perfect for gravel, cyclocross and racing with wider tires...

sks-us.com

Any ebike compatible lights that use 6-12 volts will work with the intergrated lighting and can be switched on and off by the Kiox. The dealer may have to enable light switching versus always on. Light and Motion Nip & Tuck are a good choice

For long rides, I bought and extra 500 watt power tube and an extra color matched battery cover to mount permanently on the battery. It fits very nicely and a Revelate Tangle frame bag,

 

[Code54]

Thanks Alaskan. I have an outward Bound trail light (https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/trail-evo) I was thinking about putting on it. The light is impressive - super bright, incredible build quality and I love the flash mode for road riding. I would however love it to hardwire and that should be an option so I am going to look into that some more.
Glad you posted that link - I should be out by REI next week so I will check those out. I just cant believe Cannondale does not offer a nice factory option. Seems they are sort of missing a good opportunity there?

 

[Deacon Blues]

I had a set of Speedrockers on my carbon road bike last winter. They did a decent job of keeping the water spray from the tires off the bike and me, but I found they needed to be adjusted on a regular basis.

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks Alaskan. I have an outward Bound tBrail light (https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/trail-evo) I was thinking about putting on it. The light is impressive - super bright, incredible build quality and I love the flash mode for road riding. I would however love it to hardwire and that should be an option so I am going to look into that some more.
Glad you posted that link - I should be out by REI next week so I will check those out. I just cant believe Cannondale does not offer a nice factory option. Seems they are sort of missing a good opportunity there?

Probably a good idea to call ahead to REI and make sure they have a set in stock when you get there. Best to just order them and not buy them if they don't meet your needs. I really like them as they go on and off in about 5 minutes and require no frame screw mounts.

Here they are on my Santa Cruz Stigamtta CC (not an ebike)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

FWIW SKS Speedrockers are available at Amazon.com

 

[Alaskan]

FWIW SKS Speedrockers are available at Amazon.com

That vampire Bezos doesn't need your money. He already has too much.