New Cannondale Topstone

[charliedid]

I've ridden the first generation with a rigid fork and it was very nice IMO

[simplemind]

No personal experience with a Lefty, but my son has (2019 Scalpel) and he said he would never have one again. Yes, they are a bit lighter, but they are apparently trouble prone. He talked with other owners and the same thing...trouble. Just do your research.

[AJosiahK]

personally really like the look of this one. yes, a little weird but they are at least trying, and the lack of bling graphics is a plus IMO.

1+ for the 1x Etap looks clean and not a fan of their front shifting setup.

I would lean more towards this lefty, looks great to me. Those Lauf forks look very weird, As someone though, who has never ridden a Lauf or lefty I have to plead ignorance in their functionality/durability.

[EB]

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by hummus_aquinas

Really wish they'd quit it with that freaking fork already.

I guess I don't really understand what the animosity is towards the fork.

What's so wrong with the fork you want them to quit with?

[kppolich]

Interesting but I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish? A hard tail-ish drop bar bike with proprietary fork, front hub, and mtb gears? If super niche is what they were after, Bravo!

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by AJosiahK

Those Lauf forks look very weird, As someone though, who has never ridden a Lauf or lefty I have to plead ignorance in their functionality/durability.

I have the Lauf on my Chebacco and it transformed the bike, in terms of feel and looks. No I’m not in love with the appearance, but the feel is awesome. The other benefit to the Lauf is zero maintenance. Almost the best money I have spent on upgrades.
My other road bike is a Cannondale Synapse Black, which is the best money spent on bikes.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Interesting but I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish? A hard tail-ish drop bar bike with proprietary fork, front hub, and mtb gears? If super niche is what they were after, Bravo!

My sentiments exactly! It's just one massive compromise. Does it want to be a road bike or a mountain bike? Or an early-1990s mountain bike? Everything old is new again...

Greg

[jwin]

I like it. It looks good in my opinion and I bet it rides great. The problem is it is WAY too niche for me to ever buy - even if it sub-$3k. I don't have the room lol.

This is the bike that would be perfect at a race like the Grinduro.

From my perspective, I'd rather have a gravel/road combo bike (two wheelsets) and a hardtail.

Plus the proprietary everything is only cool when you're rich to the gills.

[mflaherty37]

I thinks in a bike like that I want mounting provisions for bike camping. I haven’t ridden one but I think front suspension comes before rear, and so it makes sense too add a fork.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Interesting but I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish? A hard tail-ish drop bar bike with proprietary fork, front hub, and mtb gears? If super niche is what they were after, Bravo!

Don't forget that the rear is dished over 6mm to accommodate their asymmetric chainstay design. Proprietary has been a Cannondale design choice since forever.

[glepore]

Originally Posted by Toddykins

I run a Lefty Oliver on my gravel bike. Do I think its strictly ‘necessary’ from a performance perspective, no. The most concrete performance benefit seems to be better tracking through rough corners. On the flipside, you do get some bob when thrashing the bike around. Do I think it is more ‘fun’, yes.

I have a slate. The only issue is standing climbing. On washboard downhills, the fork is a godsend.

Posted about this bike a month ago, after Men's Journal released a photo prematurely.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Don't forget that the rear is dished over 6mm to accommodate their asymmetric chainstay design. Proprietary has been a Cannondale design choice since forever.

Just saw the bar/stem on the review....$1500 for a carbon lefty fork? that's a whole bike.

[Toddykins]

I say MOAR LEFTY!

[Tony Edwards]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Don't forget that the rear is dished over 6mm to accommodate their asymmetric chainstay design. Proprietary has been a Cannondale design choice since forever.

That is precisely why I wouldn't consider one of these. Cannondale has a rich history of making seemingly appealing but questionably engineered, proprietary stuff that they then fail to adequately support. Give me a bike whose parts I can replace with other name-brand stuff if they fail, thanks.