Cannondale Topstone Gravel Ebike

[Deacon Blues]

If I remember correctly when I switched to carbon wheels and also went with the considerably wider (37 to 47mm) tire I saved around 800g.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If I remember correctly when I switched to carbon wheels and also went with the considerably wider (37 to 47mm) tire I saved around 800g.

Deacon, how come? If you kept the 37 mm tyre, I would expect even more weight saving?

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Deacon, how come? If you kept the 37 mm tyre, I would expect even more weight saving?

Sure more weight saving but the point of a 650b size is to run a wider tire for more comfort and control when not on paved surfaces.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Deacon, how come? If you kept the 37 mm tyre, I would expect even more weight saving?

I went from the stock 37mm tire to a 47mm tire and I believe the Pathfinder is a fairly heavy tire.
Anyways, that's the savings I got when I compared the stock wheels/37mm tires to the carbon wheels/47mm tires. I was hoping for more, but that's what I got.

 

[slickcl]

these are the ice tech pads I put on the bike with cooling fins to reduce brake fade on long descents.

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The rotors I put on are also use the Ice tech with aluminum centers for lighter weight and more efficient heat dissipation. from Jensonusa.com

Shimano XT SM-RT86 6 Bolt Ice-Tech Rotor 6 Bolt Style, 160mm​

Shimano XT SM-RT86 6 Bolt Ice-Tech Rotor 6 Bolt Style, 180mm​

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Hey! I've ordered the same rotors to upgrade the factory ones. Can you post a picture of your front caliper? I've noticed that mine came with a 160mm front rotor so I'll need to buy an adapter for the caliper in order to fit the 180mm front rotor.

 

[Alaskan]

Hey! I've ordered the same rotors to upgrade the factory ones. Can you post a picture of your front caliper? I've noticed that mine came with a 160mm front rotor so I'll need to buy an adapter for the caliper in order to fit the 180mm front rotor.

The rotors that came with my Topstone Neo 3 were 180mm front and 160mm rear. Here is a photo of the ice-tech rotor I put on the front. Obviously it came with the mount adapter already in place so the swap was simple. I also pulled the proprietary brake rotor mount for the lefty fork to take a photo that shows the spacer/adaptor for the 180mm rotor.

 

[slickcl]

The rotors that came with my Topstone Neo 3 were 180mm front and 160mm rear. Here is a photo of the ice-tech rotor I put on the front. Obviously it came with the mount adapter already in place so the swap was simple. I also pulled the proprietary brake rotor mount for the lefty fork to take a photo that shows the spacer/adaptor for the 180mm rotor.

View attachment 123031View attachment 123032

That's great, thanks so much for the pictures! Are there any markings or branding on the adaptor? From the pictures, it looks like this one: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/product/service-upgradeparts/shimano/ISMMAR160DDB.html

It's funny how my Canadian spec'd bike has different parts. I didn't even check the bike when I ordered the new rotors, I looked at your post and checked on the Cannondale Canada site where it's listed as having 180/160 rotors. Only noticed this yesterday while out riding! I also have a carbon seat post from the factory which I think is a bit of a oddity as well.

Max

 

[Alaskan]

That's great, thanks so much for the pictures! Are there any markings or branding on the adaptor? From the pictures, it looks like this one: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/product/service-upgradeparts/shimano/ISMMAR160DDB.html

It's funny how my Canadian spec'd bike has different parts. I didn't even check the bike when I ordered the new rotors, I looked at your post and checked on the Cannondale Canada site where it's listed as having 180/160 rotors. Only noticed this yesterday while out riding! I also have a carbon seat post from the factory which I think is a bit of a oddity as well.

Max

No marks that I can see without dismounting the caliper (which I am not inclined to do). It does look just like the one from Shimano. given that the Canadian version is a class 1 while the USA version is class 3, the USA version should have the 180mm rotor up front as it is programmed to higher assisted speed.

 

[slickcl]

No marks that I can see without dismounting the caliper (which I am not inclined to do). It does look just like the one from Shimano. given that the Canadian version is a class 1 while the USA version is class 3, the USA version should have the 180mm rotor up front as it is programmed to higher assisted speed.

thanks for the quick response, I'll order that one and see if it works!

 

[El Wray]

Greetings! Just wanted to drop a note as I recently picked up my Topstone Neo Lefty. Picked it up about a month ago and absolutely love it. It's my second gravel bike. Lefty will now be dedicated to those offroad rides with my other gravel bike being permanently placed on the trainer.

After some mishaps at REI (first build came with a cracked freehub, second build was pretty bad with lots of loose bolts) it was put through about 100 miles of testing to determine first mods. It came out of the box pretty good but just needed a couple finishing touches. The Cannondale alloy bar was narrow and having carbon bars on both of my other bikes I knew I wanted a little more vibration damping. Was also really needing a dropper post. (And I hated that fizik Aliante saddle that came stock.)

• Upgrade list:
  • Kiox display
  • Post: Crank Brothers Highline dropper post w/drop lever
  • Saddle: Fizik Argo R1 Adaptive saddle
  • Handlebars: FSA K-wing AGX carbon
  • XT rotors

Found some Lezyne cages that pretty much matched the paint and with that I think it's now perfect. Have only around 200 miles total over the month but looking forward to many more!

I changed from 44t to 48t on my front chain ring and the bike has done over 3,000 miles with great power, not a single error code, great battery range...basically no issues at all. It took a lively responsive bike and gave it a better top end while going from a 11-42 cassette to an 11-46 allowed me to recover almost all the climbing power I gave up with the bigger chain ring. No way would I ever go back. I spoke with a guy from Bosch North America before I made the change and he said I might need to take it into the dealer (REI), if it threw an error code after installing the 48 tooth ring but it might work just fine without any adjustments to the motor programming, which is exactly what happened.

Thanks for the above! I was considering doing an FSA branded 46T ring and XT 11-46 cassette. Good to know it's doable with the existing derailleur. QQ - did you need to change to a larger screw on the rear derailleur?

 

[Alaskan]

Greetings! Just wanted to drop a note as I recently picked up my Topstone Neo Lefty. Picked it up about a month ago and absolutely love it. It's my second gravel bike. Lefty will now be dedicated to those offroad rides with my other gravel bike being permanently placed on the trainer.

After some mishaps at REI (first build came with a cracked freehub, second build was pretty bad with lots of loose bolts) it was put through about 100 miles of testing to determine first mods. It came out of the box pretty good but just needed a couple finishing touches. The Cannondale alloy bar was narrow and having carbon bars on both of my other bikes I knew I wanted a little more vibration damping. Was also really needing a dropper post. (And I hated that fizik Aliante saddle that came stock.)
View attachment 135006
View attachment 135007

• Upgrade list:
  • Kiox display
  • Post: Crank Brothers Highline dropper post w/drop lever
  • Saddle: Fizik Argo R1 Adaptive saddle
  • Handlebars: FSA K-wing AGX carbon
  • XT rotors

Found some Lezyne cages that pretty much matched the paint and with that I think it's now perfect. Have only around 200 miles total over the month but looking forward to many more!



Thanks for the above! I was considering doing an FSA branded 46T ring and XT 11-46 cassette. Good to know it's doable with the existing cassette. QQ - did you need to change to a larger screw on the rear derailleur?

No. There is enough travel in the B screw to accommodate the 46tooth cog.

 

[RandallS]

<snip>

View attachment 135006

That's one beautiful looking bike, and it's in my favorite colour scheme!

 

[Deacon Blues]

I also didn't like the stock handlebar on my Lefty. I went with a flat bar conversion for about a year, but I wasn't totally happy with that setup either, so I went back to a drop bar (Ritchey WCS Venturemax) and couldn't be happier.

 

[El Wray]

I have a Ritchey WCS venturemax on my other bike. I'm positive the dropper remote would not have made it through the bends otherwise would have bought again. Definitely a great bar!

 

[Alaskan]

I have a Ritchey WCS venturemax on my other bike. I'm positive the dropper remote would not have made it through the bends otherwise would have bought again. Definitely a great bar!

I had to choose between a dropper post or a suspension seat post. I opted for the Kinekt "body float" with carbon post. I can still get my leg over the saddle, barely but I figured the Kinekt will make so much more of the ride easier on my old bones, while I can mount and dismount using a number of different methods, none as good as those enabled by a dropper.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Greetings! Just wanted to drop a note as I recently picked up my Topstone Neo Lefty. Picked it up about a month ago and absolutely love it. It's my second gravel bike. Lefty will now be dedicated to those offroad rides with my other gravel bike being permanently placed on the trainer.

After some mishaps at REI (first build came with a cracked freehub, second build was pretty bad with lots of loose bolts) it was put through about 100 miles of testing to determine first mods. It came out of the box pretty good but just needed a couple finishing touches. The Cannondale alloy bar was narrow and having carbon bars on both of my other bikes I knew I wanted a little more vibration damping. Was also really needing a dropper post. (And I hated that fizik Aliante saddle that came stock.)
View attachment 135006
View attachment 135007

• Upgrade list:
  • Kiox display
  • Post: Crank Brothers Highline dropper post w/drop lever
  • Saddle: Fizik Argo R1 Adaptive saddle
  • Handlebars: FSA K-wing AGX carbon
  • XT rotors

Found some Lezyne cages that pretty much matched the paint and with that I think it's now perfect. Have only around 200 miles total over the month but looking forward to many more!



Thanks for the above! I was considering doing an FSA branded 46T ring and XT 11-46 cassette. Good to know it's doable with the existing derailleur. QQ - did you need to change to a larger screw on the rear derailleur?

I've got those bars and Kiox on my Topstone Neo 5, you'll need to source a different mount for the switch cluster since you can't slide the stock mount around the flared portion of the bar. I used a Specialized headlight mount as it has a quick release style lever opening so I can clamp it to the bar after the bar is mounted to the stem. Also I'd use the K-Force Kiox mounts for either up front mount or more adjustability on the headset top cap.
See below!

 

[El Wray]

Update: I upgraded to a Garbaruk 46t chainring and 11-46 cassette. First ride had about a mile up an MTB trail with a decent stretch of 15-22% grade climb. It wasn't bad at all. Getting up to speed on the flats was much easier than the stock 44 and the climbing felt easier than the 44/42 setup.

I have an FSA 48t purchase on backorder but 1:1 ratio might be my sweet spot.

 

[Scottydog]

Anyone swap out the stem/handlebar for internal cable routing? 2 extra watts isn't a deal maker but would be a cool clean look

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Anyone swap out the stem/handlebar for internal cable routing? 2 extra watts isn't a deal maker but would be a cool clean look

I've got carbon FSA bars that can route internally but haven't as there's no point. Cables will be exposed from the bars to the portion on the head tube where they're run inside.

 

[Scottydog]

Anyone swap out the stem/handlebar for internal cable routing? 2 extra watts isn't a deal maker but would be a cool clean look

Cannondale offered this bar and stem as options on the TS Neo 2. Not much exposure it appears. I think the kiox can be mounted there also.