Cannondale Topstone Gravel Ebike

[El Wray]

@El Wray What mount did you get for your Garmin Varia? Looks like it mounts to the seat rails. And, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you post a photo of the top view of your cockpit? I'm trying to see how you've mounted the Kiox/controller with your Garmin Edge as well. Thanks

I used one of these to mount the Kiox controls to the left of the stem. I cut the carbon down to size in order to not have it stick out so much. Link: Vinqliq carbon fiber extension on amazon

Cockpit details:
* FSA K-Wing AGX
* Crank brothers highline dropper remote
* Vinqliq CF mount (kiox controls)
* K-Edge Bosch stem mount (kiox display)
* KOM Cycling stem mount for Garmin (plus a Lezyne Macrodrive 1000 underneath)
* Knog Oi Luxe bell (large)

I have two different mounts for the Varia light. I tried the saddle rails on the Topstone but will be swapping to Garmin fixed quarter turn mount. I have the fixed mount on all of my other bikes. The saddle rail mount works pretty well -- the screws just need loctite otherwise one screw will eventually rattle loose in rough trails/with the dropper post moving about.
Option 1: Saddle rail mount- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z43VX9D/
Option 2: Garmin seatpost fixed - https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/521461

 

[slickcl]

I used one of these to mount the Kiox controls to the left of the stem. I cut the carbon down to size in order to not have it stick out so much. Link: Vinqliq carbon fiber extension on amazon

Cockpit details:
* FSA K-Wing AGX
* Crank brothers highline dropper remote
* Vinqliq CF mount (kiox controls)
* K-Edge Bosch stem mount (kiox display)
* KOM Cycling stem mount for Garmin (plus a Lezyne Macrodrive 1000 underneath)
* Knog Oi Luxe bell (large)

View attachment 151064

I have two different mounts for the Varia light. I tried the saddle rails on the Topstone but will be swapping to Garmin fixed quarter turn mount. I have the fixed mount on all of my other bikes. The saddle rail mount works pretty well -- the screws just need loctite otherwise one screw will eventually rattle loose in rough trails/with the dropper post moving about.
Option 1: Saddle rail mount- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z43VX9D/
Option 2: Garmin seatpost fixed - https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/521461

I really appreciate the level of detail! That is the type of setup that I am going for. I also have a Quad Lock for my phone but I keep thinking that it is overkill at this point. Thanks again

 

[El Wray]

Anyone convert to Di2? Loosely considering it. Challenge is where to house the battery. Would like to keep the dropper post, which then makes having an internal battery a bit of a challenge. (I do know the Topstone Neo 1 is wireless via AXS but I have no interest in going the XG cassette route.)

 

[ktmrandy]

I went di2 and also 2x in front. I put my battery in the seat post. I don't see anywhere else to put the battery internal to the bike.

 

[Deacon Blues]

A fellow rider has Di2 on his Giant e-gravel bike and the battery is located in his handlebar end. Could that be an option?

 

[slickcl]

Has anyone fitted a kickstand to your TS Neo Lefty 3?

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I don't believe the carbon frames have the ability for a kickstand to be bolted on, just the Neo 5 since it's an alloy frame.

 

[slickcl]

I don't believe the carbon frames have the ability for a kickstand to be bolted on, just the Neo 5 since it's an alloy frame.

Thanks! That was my original impression as well. I have two of the Neo 3 Leftys in my family and my dad asked me over the week-end. While I have zero desire to have one, he thought it would be convenient. I appreciate the quick response!

 

[WM Rider]

Anyone convert to Di2? Loosely considering it. Challenge is where to house the battery. Would like to keep the dropper post, which then makes having an internal battery a bit of a challenge. (I do know the Topstone Neo 1 is wireless via AXS but I have no interest in going the XG cassette route.)

Love this bike. Really is nothing to compare. I ride mostly bike paths and on the road. Very comfortable bike.
I made all the changes myself. Plenty of time in my retirement schedule.
In addition to di2 added tubeless tires, Redshift stem and seatpost, Nyon display, 48t chainring, etc. I would up using a steerer tube mount for the battery but put it on the bottom of the steerer tube. Couldn’t use the seatpost.

 

[El Wray]

Bit of an update: I converted to Di2 (1x).

I ended up mounting the di2 battery using a Shimano SM-BT1 external case. Due to the way the SM-BT1 mounts it initially needed to be installed above the Bosch battery along the downtube. If you try this normally at the seat tube bottle cage, the SM-BT1 runs into an issue with the di2 battery rubbing the frame near the rear kingpin pivot point. I bought a Wolf Tooth dogbone bottleshift to shift the bottle cage offset some, that then let me be able to mount the battery at the seat tube. Using the dogbone and having the external mount at seat tube has been fine so far. Long term I will probably swap out my dropper post for an Enve G series dropper that allows for internal di2 battery.

Shifting is fantastically smooth and significantly quieter. The GRX810 shifters also have more comfortable ergonomics and better brake modulation. What I wasnt expecting and was a huge improvement were upgrading brake calipers from RX400 to RX810. Using the same rotors and Shimano pads, resistance to heat fade on the new calipers is vastly superior.

 

[Roberto913]

I used one of these to mount the Kiox controls to the left of the stem. I cut the carbon down to size in order to not have it stick out so much. Link: Vinqliq carbon fiber extension on amazon

Cockpit details:
* FSA K-Wing AGX
* Crank brothers highline dropper remote
* Vinqliq CF mount (kiox controls)
* K-Edge Bosch stem mount (kiox display)
* KOM Cycling stem mount for Garmin (plus a Lezyne Macrodrive 1000 underneath)
* Knog Oi Luxe bell (large)

View attachment 151064

I have two different mounts for the Varia light. I tried the saddle rails on the Topstone but will be swapping to Garmin fixed quarter turn mount. I have the fixed mount on all of my other bikes. The saddle rail mount works pretty well -- the screws just need loctite otherwise one screw will eventually rattle loose in rough trails/with the dropper post moving about.
Option 1: Saddle rail mount- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z43VX9D/
Option 2: Garmin seatpost fixed - https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/521461

Love your setup! Enjoying week two riding my lefty 3 and love the bike. I noticed you installed the 48t chainring and was there anything special needed to complete that upgrade? My LBS tech told me the 48 was too big, would damage the frame. Brand and model # if you have that info handy.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Coming up to owning my Lefty 3 for 4 years and I'm still loving this bike.
So far I've ridden just under 11,000 km with only one repair-the motor mount bolt needed to be tightened.
In my first year of ownership I had the shop I bought the bike from replace the front ring with a larger one. I can't remember what size I switched up to, but it made a big difference on the flats.
I'll count the teeth on my bike's front ring today and post the number here.
The only reason I took the bike into the shop was I was told that the bike had to be reprogrammed for the larger chain ring.

 

[El Wray]

Love your setup! Enjoying week two riding my lefty 3 and love the bike. I noticed you installed the 48t chainring and was there anything special needed to complete that upgrade? My LBS tech told me the 48 was too big, would damage the frame. Brand and model # if you have that info handy.

The bike came with a 44t ring and an 11-42 SLX cassette. I didn't really like that gearing as I frequently spun out in the flats and climbing wasn't too great on the MTB trails I frequent. The first replacement was an 11-46 XT cassette which was a welcome improvement. After the cassette swap, I began testing on front ring. I tried 48t, 46t, 44t (again) and have settled on 46t. It gives the best amount of range for long, flat rides around here and paired up well with the 11-46 cassette. Nothing special required for the ring change - it's a simple direct swap. It's been a while but I want to say I replaced the chain when going to larger ring due to needing an extra link or two. One thing I would note is that the battery seemed to drain much faster with 48t. I did not have reprogramming done in any of the swaps.

Bosch's use of 104BCD is a bit of an oddball shape. There are a few manufacturers that do have something with 104 but tend to be on the MTB side with 30-34t ranges. With those limitations I have only found two useful options so far - FSA (incredibly hard to find) and Garbaruk. I have not found an identical match to the weird shape grooves the bike shipped with, so aesthetically they won't match up to the original. Functionally all of the 104BCD all work the same. I've loosely debated swapping out to new crankarms and a different Bosch spider but the stock ones work perfectly fine, haven't seen the need to go that route yet.

 

[Deacon Blues]

My upgrade was also to a 46 tooth chainring.

 

[Roberto913]

The bike came with a 44t ring and an 11-42 SLX cassette. I didn't really like that gearing as I frequently spun out in the flats and climbing wasn't too great on the MTB trails I frequent. The first replacement was an 11-46 XT cassette which was a welcome improvement. After the cassette swap, I began testing on front ring. I tried 48t, 46t, 44t (again) and have settled on 46t. It gives the best amount of range for long, flat rides around here and paired up well with the 11-46 cassette. Nothing special required for the ring change - it's a simple direct swap. It's been a while but I want to say I replaced the chain when going to larger ring due to needing an extra link or two. One thing I would note is that the battery seemed to drain much faster with 48t. I did not have reprogramming done in any of the swaps.

Bosch's use of 104BCD is a bit of an oddball shape. There are a few manufacturers that do have something with 104 but tend to be on the MTB side with 30-34t ranges. With those limitations I have only found two useful options so far - FSA (incredibly hard to find) and Garbaruk. I have not found an identical match to the weird shape grooves the bike shipped with, so aesthetically they won't match up to the original. Functionally all of the 104BCD all work the same. I've loosely debated swapping out to new crankarms and a different Bosch spider but the stock ones work perfectly fine, haven't seen the need to go that route yet.

I plan to plagiarize your changes and thanks for sharing!

 

[dschur]

Hi all - first post here. I know I may be late to the party, but I was looking for a pointer in right direction!

I've been researching the Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 3 and it seems like the perfect bike for me, and a great compliment to my lightweight road carbon bike for long off-road rides. I would like to buy one in Medium (or possibly L) size and Highlighter color, but am having difficulty finding any. If anyone has a pointer/lead on one either new or lightly used, please let me know, I'm more than happy to arrange packaging and shipping for a LBS that may have one gathering dust.

 

[El Wray]

Mikes bikes and REI have tended to have the highlighter in stock most of this year. For REI I believe you have to ship to local store. They'll then need a week or so to assemble locally.

Availability Topstone Neo Lefty 3 seems to be very regional. Finding places that will do ebike shipping.. is a bit of a challenge. Search via google shopping might help.

 

[dschur]

Mikes bikes and REI have tended to have the highlighter in stock most of this year. For REI I believe you have to ship to local store. They'll then need a week or so to assemble locally.

Availability Topstone Neo Lefty 3 seems to be very regional. Finding places that will do ebike shipping.. is a bit of a challenge. Search via google shopping might help.

Great advice - I have Mikes, REI, Google Shopping and Buycycle and the Bay bookmarked searches with real-time updates - no results yet. I'll solve the problem for anyone who doesn't want to do shipping ($$$). I bet the bike I want is collecting dust somewhere.

 

[dschur]

I'm still looking for a Medium in the Highlighter colorway. I've stumbled across a few Medium grays by calling C-Dale dealers around the US, but I'm holding out for that Medium Highlighter Lefty 3 as Chicago weather stinks for riding off-road for the next few months anyway.