Cannondale  Topstone 4 Bike

Bike is a nice smooth ride on pavement but lacks quality components along with poor build from REI. Let me qualify myself as a triathlete of over 25 years with over 50 races and thousands of bike miles. Initially bike was over shifting and the rear derailleur came off on a pavement ride climbing within 1st month . Also brakes had excessive noise. Brought it back to have REI rebuild it. Rode it for 1 year on light gravel and pavement. No single tracks. Both rims excessively were out of true, brakes/rotors prematurely went bad from maybe one ride in rain? Bottom bracket is worn out. How can cannondale design this junk?

I bought this bike a few weeks ago, and have been loving it so far. I am 5'2" and have a hard time finding bikes small enough for me but the XS fits perfectly. It's fast and comfy for road and bike path riding, and has really held it's own for gravel rides so far. The stock tires are a bit skinny for southern Az roads so I will likely upgrade them soon, but so far the stock ones are good enough. The mechanical disk brakes are not the most responsive, but fine for gravel riding and totally great for the price point. Overall a great bike so far for adding in some gravel riding to mostly mountain biking!

I love this bike. I have over 800 miles on mine now and it is holding up. I've run it full speed down rough mountain roads loaded with gear without problems. I've upgraded the seat and went to wider tires, 44mm Raddlers. I'll eventually upgrade the bottom bracket and crankset, but for the $ this is an excellent bike, especially for an entry level gravel/touring 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.

Needed a solid ride for commutes around the city: without the worry of flats and major discomfort going over poorly maintained roads. This was a good solution. Brakes and shifting are not as smooth and quiet as I’d expect from a new model, I’ll be upgrading some parts to get a more seamless shifting experience.

This ticked the boxes I was looking for when shopping for a bike. I wanted something light, but a carbon frame was out of the budget and I've found the aluminum frame on this to be very easy to load on my roof rack. It's done just fine on the stock tires in gravel and on pavement. On pavement because of the fork geometry it can sometimes feel like the front end wants to turn sharper than you'd think. Coming from hydraulic brakes on my mountain bike, there was a bit of a learning curve with the brakes on this, but I have found the mechanical discs to give me the stopping power I need. I am partial to 1x's so I enjoy the simplicity of the drivetrain on the Topstone 4, and I've not yet ran into issues with not having the right gear to be in.

Out the door and took it 15 miles no problem. Climbed a total of 1200 feet, no problem. Solid gravel bike, can’t beat the price. Team at REI Conshahocken was even better. Thank you!

Great bike for the price imo. Noisy brakes and not the strongest in braking power so would probably upgrade at some point but just fine for now. Recreational rider fairly new to gravel riding making a switch from strictly road. I'm waiting to shorten the stem slightly since i have a shorter torso and would like a slightly shorter reach however this is very comfortable from road cycling position that I'm used to. Beautiful looking bike and love the matte black finish.

I saw this bike online and went to see it in the store. The sales person said I have your size in a medium that was returned and is almost new and it’s at a discount. Turns out the discount was applicable to this model whether new or not. I put aside my misgivings and paid the new bike price for a used bike. I’m sure it’s a great bike but it wasn’t nearly new judging by how it performed. Loud front brakes are a common problem on this model. Also the shifting wasn’t “new bike” smooth. I took it back and the manager was offended I was returning the used bike I paid the new bike price for. I hate returning anything but in this case I felt it was entirely justified and I’m more than a little perturbed at the treatment I received. I bought a comparable bike from another manufacturer and I’m very pleased I did so. I’ll continue to shop REI but I’ll never by a returned item there again.

I’ve been wanting to get into cycling for a little over a year now. I’ve been eyeing this bike and pulled the trigger. It’s beautiful and ride great for me!