Cannondale  Topstone 4 Bike

I first saw this bike when I was looking at my first bike but decided to get the Cannondale Quick CX 4 to see if I enjoyed cycling in the first place. 2 weeks later I returned that bike and placed an order on this instead. The first thing I noticed is the comparative agility and quickness coming from a plusher hybrid fitness bike in the Quick CX 4 to this “entry-level” gravel bike. The handful of pounds saved makes it much easier to carry and transport in my truck and it is a very enjoyable ride. The “Cannondale 4” drop bar handlebars are very enjoyable and comfortable for long rides. The 10-speed, 1x gearing is sufficient enough to enjoy cruising or bomb down empty roads while being very simple to operate, no comment on how it performs on gravel. My only two complaints would be the saddle and brakes. The saddle being very tough on the bum but that was quickly remedied with cycling liners or shorts. The brakes came out the shop squeaking but I’ll check back in at my local REI or Bike Shop and see how that can be fixed, stopping power isn’t an issue though which is more important. I’m very inexperienced with cycling but I have no complaints at all about this bike after 105 miles. Currently I run a top tube bag from REI, a single bottle cage, and a front/rear Bontrager ION100R combo light set for visibility on all my daily rides. Super excited to add hundreds of more miles along with potential upgrades that are available for this platform. P.S.: For pedals since they aren’t included, I bought a set of Bontrager hybrid flat/SPD pedals from a local bike shop to hold me over while I consider stepping into the “clip less” cycling shoe game.

The Cannondale Topstone 4 looks terrific, is pretty light for the price, and very comfortable to ride for a few hours straight. I purchased it to see if it would motivate me to get back into cycling for exercise and exploring- and it has! I really like that it only has a single (rear) derailleur that shifts crisply, as this both simplifies the ride and the maintenance. I was a bit worried about the gear range, but for my level of fitness it is perfect: I haven't met a steep enough hill climb to require the smallest gear, and the largest gear is perfect for a reasonable cadence on flat ground at 20mph or downhill at 30mph. So why one star? I drove two hours to pick it up at REI, and in the pre-release checkout the tech spent an hour trying to align the rear disc brake so that it would not rub the disc. He ultimately gave up and said the brake mount was not properly ground at the factory, and promised to have a more experience tech fix it. So I drove two hours home empty handed. They called the next day to say it was all set, so I drove back two hours to pick it up. Honestly, this is 5+ stars for service, but... I just finished a 50 mile test ride (almost entirely on a paved rail trail, not gravel), and everything was great* EXCEPT there was an increasingly horrible grinding sound when I used the rear brake. I checked it out at home, and the caliper is once again clearly misaligned to the point it bends the disc when closed. So now back to REI for a third maintenance attempt to fix it. If it can't be reliably fixed, I'm likely to return it. Although I'd consider another Topstone model that is aligned and perhaps with better brakes. * Other than the rear brake, the only thing worth mentioning is there is a fairly loud 'clunk' when it drops down a gear. At first I found this disconcerting, but I am starting to like it because it shifts cleanly and the clunk is positive feedback of the gear change.