The Topstone 0 was the highest specified version of Cannodale’s alloy-framed gravel bikes in 2021/2022 with an RRP of £2400 (they also had a pricier carbon-framed Topstone Carbon range at the time with several different levels of components).
The Topstone 0 is based on their SmartForm C2 Alloy Frame with a full carbon fork. The groupset is Shimano GRX 800 with 2×11 and hydraulic disc brakes, but with the crank, chainrings and bottom bracket by FSA (Omega AGX+ crank). Mine is in MD size (which affects stock handlebar and stem sizing). The handlebar is a 420mm Cannondale 3 alloy drop bar with a 16 degree flare and the stem is an 80mm Cannondale 3 alloy (31.8mm, 7 degree).
I purchased this bike second-hand in March 2026.
Modifications/Additions
- Pedals
- The previous owner sold the bike with Shimano Trail Flat pedals. They have 9 pins so trainers grip quite well even when damp. At the moment I’m not interested in going clipless (the hassle/expense of getting well fitted MTB shoes is one deterrent!).
- Tyres
- 40mm wide Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M tyres with tan sidewalls. Currently I ride mostly paved surfaces so a slightly more road-oriented tyre might suit me better, but my intention is to explore more bridleways and the Gravel M’s will suit those.
- Seat post
- The frame has internal cable routing and is “dropper compatible” meaning it has a spare route for a wired dropper remote. A previous owner fitted a Crankbrothers Highlight XC/Gravel 27.2 Dropper post with 80mm of travel.
- Saddle
- The previous owner sold the bike with a Selle Italia X3 Boost but after doing several 20 mile rides I’ve not been convinced it’s quite right for me (even after adjusting the seat angle and height). I have taken a punt on a Ryet Ultimate Carbon Fibre 3d-printed saddle (which is the narrower of two Ryet saddles a bike fitter on Youtube has recommended). This Ryet saddle is a short-nosed saddle constructed with a carbon fibre base and rails with 3d-printed TPU padding on top. The shape/profile of the saddle is similar to the 142mm Shimano PRO Griffon I bought for my mountain bike, although without the flex in the base and with a bit more give in the padding.
- Brake disc
- A previous owner had replaced just the rear brake disc. From the factory the bike has Shimano’s fairly basic RT54 in 160mm (suitable only for resin pads). The rear brake disc has been replaced with a Prime rotor which has slotted discs and an alloy spider – it should give better heat dissipation and is metal pad compatible (although I’m still running resin on the rear too). I’m not sure why the difference front and rear – possibly it needed replacing and got upgraded, maybe it was a conscious upgrade, maybe both were upgraded but during wheel changes for sale only one was swapped back to the original wheels.
- Mudguards (fenders)
- The previous owner had SKS Speedrockers for sale separately, which are strapped rather than using screw mounts, which had been used with the bike so I bought those and re-fitted them. The bicycle does have mounting points for screws but these will be quicker and easier to remove/refit once summer comes around so if there’s a spell of wet weather I can just pop them back on.
- Pannier rack
- The previous owner had a pannier rack for sale separately which had been used with the bike so I bought it. I’m not sure what brand it is but it’s a sturdy powder-coated alloy rack and is MIK-compatible.
- Top tube bag
- I bought a small Rhinowalk top tube bag to house a small toolkit, minipump and repair patches. On my other bikes I’ve used velcro-attached triangle bags but since the Topstone has screw mounts for a top tube bag it made sense to get one.
Initial Maintenance/Adjustment
As is usually the case with buying a second-hand bike privately there was a list of things that needed maintenance or adjustment (and some hasty learning about unfamiliar components!).
- Brakes
- One of the rear pads had barely a skin of pad material left, so needed replacing.
- The uneven wear signified a lack of centering of the brakes too (in fact both weren’t quite centred) so I recentered them.
- Wheels
- The wheels aren’t entirely true. On a rim-brake bike you’d notice straight away due to brake pad rub, but with disc-brakes it doesn’t stand out. However the 40mm tyres are getting close to the chain stay clearance limit at the back and the out-of-true portion of the rear wheel brings the tyre a bit close to rubbing so I have done some spoke tension adjustments to improve it.
- Tyres
- It was running tubeless when I bought it – probably set up that way by an owner before the one I bought it off. The seller warned me the front tyre was losing pressure after a couple of days – the valve core didn’t seem great so I tried replacing that but felt it was leaking a little around the valve stem too. Having previously learned about the pros/cons of tubeless and based on my likely riding routes I decided to go back to tubed anyway.
- The tyres were really tough to remove initially and it turns out they were fitted with a foam insert for better seating/rim protection, but a consequence of those inserts was making the tyres much harder to remove. Eventually I got the tyres off and found the sealant entirely dry. I doubted they’d been topped up for quite some time which explains why the leak hadn’t sealed (and probably not ever cleaned of old sealant since they’d been fitted). I cleaned as much dried sealant off as I could, checked nothing sharp was stuck in them and re-fitted with inner tubes.
- Drivetrain
- Taking the bike out for its first 10 mile ride I thought the drivetrain sounded very noisy. I wondered if it was just down to the chain being a bit old and the cassette being brand new (the previous owner said an issue with the hub on a second set of wheels he’d used had knackered the original cassette he’d transferred to them so he’d fitted a new one on the original wheels for sale). On close examination I found the previous owner must have removed the chain at some point and not routed it properly when refitting as the chain was running over a metal tab on the rear derailleur cage (wearing a groove in the tab). I rerouted it and it was much quieter.
- I figured that mis-routing of the chain would have likely worn the chain. There was also a high chance that the chain was the original and so tired anyway if the previous owners had done decent mileage. There was still a little more noise from the drivetrain than I’d expect so given the cassette was new and a tired chain would accelerate wear on it anyway I replaced the chain. I fitted the same model (a KMC X11SL) and tried Muc-Off dry ceramic lube. The drivetrain was even quieter after this.
- When using the front derailleur trim positions it was clear they were out of alignment. I re-tensioned then cable and then used the adjuster and high screw to sort the alignment (the alignment mark on the mech makes it a lot easier!).
- Handlebar/hoods
- I was getting a little bit of left little finger tingling during the second and third long rides. The left hood was digging into the palm of my left hand causing a bit of numbness – I found under the cover that the bar tape had been overlapped too much on a corner of the hood so the thicker padded part of the tape was overlapping causing a lump. I was able to work the tape down a bit to stop this happening and that helped with the finger issue.
- The handlebars were turned up by a significant angle and the hoods turned in quite a bit. I gather that having the hoods turned in lots is a current trend for an aerodynamic position. After a few rides I wasn’t convinced the setup was suited to me – not least as the drops required quite a wrist angle to use and the levers were hard to reach from the hooks – so I figured a closer-to-neutral position would be a better starting point. I’ve rotated the hoods back out so they’re only slightly turned in and changed the handlebar angle to be only slightly up which does feel better.
- The bike has been fitted with a dropper post with a cable remote. The remote is positioned on the left hook so it’s possible to ride in the hooks (as there’s enough space for the thumb to curve around between the hood and the remote) and still just enough room left on the drop to fit the left hand for the drops. But the edge/pad of my thumb could easily catch on the lever (especially going over bumps while riding the hooks) – rotating it around the bar seems to have sorted that (and I was able to do it without retaping).