You really don’t need full-suspension to ride gravel roads, but the all-new Cannondale Topstone Carbon shows that maybe a suspension fork and simple rear travel can take your gravel rides further, faster, and even be more fun. This completely reshaped 2025 Topstone Carbon features more travel up front with a retuned 40mm Lefty Oliver fork. It revamps the 30mm of Kingpin rear wheel travel to be more plush for a more balanced ride. And it gets a huge boost in tire clearance to let you venture even further off the beaten track. Plus, all-new in-frame storage lets you stash all the spares and snacks you will need for those big adventures, and smart cable routing cleans up space around bikepacking bags…
2025 Cannondale Topstone Carbon is an all-new gravel bike
At first glance, the 2025 Cannondale Topstone Carbon looks a lot like the latest 2022 iteration of the bike, when it got upgraded to 700c wheels. But that perceived similarity is really only because the Lefty fork and Kingpin pivot at the top of the seatstays are so striking that it’s easy to gloss over the many other new details.
In reality, while the general platform and overall bike layout remain the same, pretty much everywhere you look you’ll spot key differences with the new bike.
So what’s new?
All-new Topstone Carbon frame layup and Kingpin rear suspension
Cannondale completely revamped the Topstone Carbon frame itself, both reshaping its tubes and redesigning the carbon layup for improved comfort. Specifically, the new frame’s toptube now tapers even more than before, and the seattube gets a more pronounced curve to deliver more vertical flex, without sacrificing out-of-the-saddle lateral stiffness and efficiency for sprinting.
It still delivers a claimed 30mm of rear wheel travel between the Kingpin 2.0 pivot and seattube/seatpost flex, with simple low-friction bushings and almost no need for maintenance. But now the rear end of the bike has much more of a plush feel to balance the ride with the Lefty up front.
A big part of that was redesigning the individual carbon layup of each frame size to deliver the same plushness to riders of all sizes, especially important since the rear travel relies on material flex in is not adjustable. Cannondale calls this Proportional Response Construction, and it includes changing frame tube sections and material layup across the broad 6-size range (47-61cm).
40mm Lefty Oliver gravel suspension fork
Matching the now-plush rear end, the new Topstone Carbon now gets an extra 10mm of front wheel travel for those who pick up the gen 3 Lefty Oliver suspension fork. Still sliding on its classic needle bearings, the new Lefty Oliver is as supple as ever. And it still has a 100-hour service interval – 2x as long as most conventional suspension forks. Plus, now it also gets an updated damper tune inside to improve stability with the longer 40mm of travel and big 700c wheels since we last gave it a closer look.
Cannondale describes it as “smoother, faster, and ready to tackle the toughest gravel terrain”. After having ridden it on some crazy rocky tracks, I can stand behind that. I think the only thing holding me back on a Topstone with this new Lefty is fear of shredding whatever gravel tire I mount onto it.
In fact, the new Lefty Oliver v3 also has room for slightly bigger tires, now up to 700 x 47mm. Interestingly, the limitation is not tire width, but rather height at full fork compression. So be advised not to get excited and mount a big XC MTB tire on there just because it looks like it can fit. But there is space for slightly bigger tires than Cannondale specs.
Bigger Tires All Around
While the new Lefty can fit about 2mm wider (taller) tires than before, the Topstone Carbon frame and its rigid fork get a much bigger boost in clearance. The new frame can now fit 700 x 52mm (2.0″) tires and the rigid carbon fork can fit a whopping 56mm tire (a 29×2.2″ tire) That’s a lot more than the 45mm of the previous generation.
Modern Integration
The most interesting bit for me here is the new Stash Port storage inside the downtube. A first for any Cannondale bike, the new Topstone Carbon has a locking door under the downtube bottle cage bosses that opens up to offer space for spares. Inside, each frame comes with a custom-sized zippered StashBag with room for tools, tubes, and a mini-pump or CO2 inflator.
Cables are now routed internally for a cleaner cockpit, although the Lefty keeps its front brake line outside. Cannondale opted for separate bars & stems with cables hidden but accessible for cockpit position adjustability. And the frame features a standard Acros headset solution with cables that pass through the upper bearing to make it work with both rigid and the Lefty suspension fork.
Key Tech Details
- ‘Out Front’ steering with 70.7° head angle and 55mm of fork offset for a mix of nimble handling and stability at speed
- BSA threaded bottom bracket
- standard 27.2mm round seatpost
- internal dropper post routing for those who want it
- classic external seatpost binder clamp
- standard-dished rear wheel (no more Ai asymmetric wheels)
- big 700c tire clearance: 52mm frame, 56mm for the rigid fork, 47mm for the Lefty Oliver
- 12x142mm Syntace rear & 12x100mm Syntace front (rigid) thru-ales or classic Lefty 50 hub
- frame fender mounts
- UDH for universal derailleur compatibility
2025 Cannondale Topstone Carbon – Pricing, options & availability
Cannondale calls the Topstone Carbon “three gravel bikes in one”. Rally, Race, or Roam. That’s pretty much a do-it-all gravel & trail shredder, a gravel race bike, or a bikepacking-ready adventure bike.
Topstone Carbon with Lefty
The most iconic I think is the one that I rode. The $6400 / 6900€ off-road-leaning full-suspension Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS, with a SRAM Rival +GX mullet Transmission and carbon Reserve 40/44 GR wheels. It’s the only full-suspension spec of the bunch. This is the bike for gravel riders looking to get a bit more rowdy. And then end up on super rocky roads or even what most people would more describe as mountain bike trails.
The other bikes all get the same rear end comfort of the revised Kingpin design. But they opt for a new rigid carbon fork that promises improved comfort mostly from the ability to run a massive front tire and lower tire pressures. You also save around 900g with a rigid fork vs. the still-light Lefty. Although the Lefty build makes up for it with lighter wheels.
Topstone Carbon with rigid carbon fork
Four rigid fork Topstone Carbon builds are available. They start at $3400 / 3300€ for the Topstone Carbon 3 GRX with mechanical Shimano GRX 600/800 12sp groupset (1x or 2x) & alloy WTB wheels. The $4000 / 4000€ Topstone Carbon 2 GRX builds upgrade to a full GRX 800 12-speed group. Again it is 1x or 2x, plus a nicer alloy bar & carbon seatpost.
The $4300 / 4300€ Topstone Carbon 2 AXS bumps up to a wireless electronic 1×12 mullet SRAM Apex + GX T-type Transmission combo.
And the final $7300 / 7500€ Cannondale Topstone Carbon LTD Di2 goes all in on a Shimano GRX Di2 electronic shift 2×12 groupset. Plus, the light Reserve 40/44 GR carbon gravel wheels and fast-rolling 45mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tires.
Pick out your favorite setup at your local Cannondale dealer, often in 1-3 color schemes depending on spec. They include: Orange Slice, Smoke Black, Chalk, Deep Teal, Obsidian, Tigershark, Spruce Green, Jet Black, or Mantis with Caffeine and Quicksand.
Cannondale.com
