Had my Topstone 4 since Jan 2022, it’s a superb budget gravel bike for <>£1000 (less on C2W), & a great addition to my carbon roadie & full sus trail bike. The frame and standard kit are great & work well, except a few bits…
Brakes: Promax Render R mechanical disc:
The stock stoppers were absolutely pants & the main thing to swap – “squeal like a peeeeg and don’t slow down” is their mantra 🙁Zoom R200 Semi Hydraulic Line Pull Calipers.
Replaced pads 4 times in a year and still awful – binned.
Brakes v2 Apr ’24; TRP Spyre-C Mechanical Disc Brake Caliper F&R.
Should’ve got these in the first place! The best rated cable pull disk calipers and they are superb.
Easy to install and adjust (did both in a lunch hour), equal L/R balance and pads easily clear the discs. The Topstone has more stopping power than ever from less lever movement too. Happy Bunny 🐰
Gearing: 40T front chainring – way too low for this bike imho.
Honestly didn’t touch gears 1-3 for a year, 40 (F) to 48 rear is MTB crawler territory, and I’m never gonna take this up big technical climbs like Afan or Cwmcarn like the trail bike.
Replaced with a 46T from Amazon. As a 104BCD narrow/wide chainring, was a simple 20 min install with the standard bolts.
Oddly the stock chain was long enough! 1st is still a super low 46F – 48R for chugging upwards, but I can descend at 30mph without spinning out. You might squeeze a 48T in but it’d be very near the chainstay (rear frame). 46 is perfect for me & looks good – ignore the dirty bike 😹
Tyres:
Never liked tan wall tyres on any bike, plus the stock WTB Riddler Comps were wired, heavy & ugly. Replaced with tubeless ready WTB Riddler TCS Light 700x37c folding tyres…
Update, Aug 2023 – now running WTB Nano 42c TCS Light. The Nano’s are noticeably bigger with a rounder cross profile (Riddlers are quite squared) so cornering, grip and braking are much improved.
Sept ’24 – The same Nano’s are still fab, loads of grip and comfort.
Running TPU inner tubes 46g Gravel 38-50mm, sound weirdly quiet, handling improved and they hold air better than butyl 🙂
Wheels:
Stock wheels were solid and bombproof, but jeez them’s heavy!
12mm x F110 & R142 bolt thru axle with disc, standard fare & easy to swap.
PlanetX had a great sale in early ’23 so I grabbed a pair of Fulcrum Rapid Red 900 tubeless ready wheels.
Upgrading the Wheels, Tyres & tubes dropped a kilo off the bike! Swapped wheels during 2 lunch breaks with new discs & the stock cassette.
Saddle: the standard Cannondale CX saddle was fine for short rides, but anything over an hour left me numb. Got a handsome Selle Italia Flite Flow from Wiggle; it’s super comfy, has a pressure channel for ya bits, magnesium rails, looks & feels primo. Love it!
With all the above, honestly this bike is superb.
Wheels are much stiffer but more compliant, so the ride is smoother and the bike feels more responsive. Tyres have DNA dual compound & grip well in all conditions.
Brakes are excellent now, saved quite a few near misses (near hits!). She looks far better with nice wheels, black tyres, bigger chainring and tidy brakes, as I think you’ll agree…
Also installed a HKT frame protection kit. Lush.
Spare tube, inflation kit & tools live in a 1L dry bag, held firmly with a Granite Rockband.
Plus a Fidloc cageless bottle setup for hydration.
(Why Mudguards? Is my commuter & rains a lot here)
Biggest update in ages…. I got a new bike!
I’ll probably start upgrading bits n bobs on this next, and sell the trusty Topstone 4.
Giant Fastroad Advanced 2 2024 😍