Topstone: Long Haul, Race it All

Gravel racing is changing at breakneck speed. It’s getting a whole lot faster. It’s getting more and more intense. But it’s also becoming so much more varied.

With more adventurous and more long-distance endurance events coming to the fore, there’s a flavour of gravel racing that’s gnarlier and more unpredictable for anyone pinning on a number and heading to the starting line.

Which is where Topstone steps in, grin on its face and ready to get dirty. Because this bike is built for this kind of thing. It revels in it in fact.

Race-Ready For Anything

With its three-bikes-in-one personality, Topstone’s mantra is Rally, Race, Roam. And it brings this spirit to everything it does. Whatever comes its way, it shrugs it off and asks for more.

Where a bike like the Cannondale SuperX is built for all-out aero speed and podium sprints at races like the UCI Gravel World Series, Topstone is in it to win it over the long haul, or on courses with more of a technical challenge. Whether it’s a multi-day epic, a backcountry mud-fest, or the kind of ride where the trail disappears and survival mode kicks in, Topstone is ready.

Because it’s been designed and refined to thrive where the rough stuff gets even rougher. And thrive it does.

Swiss Army Bike

But don’t just take our word for it. Ask Ted King or Lachlan Morton, who both tackled this year’s 350-mile (that’s 570km) Unbound XL onboard the new Topstone. Lachlan rode it all the way to the podium, choosing the rigid fork setup to run bigger tires that handle sticky, heavy mud with ease. The frame offers clearance for measured tires up to 52mm, with 4mm space on all sides. While the rigid fork expands that to 56mm, giving you the confidence to keep rolling when the terrain turns more unpredictable.

“There’s no one fix... courses vary so much. You may need suspension one place, big tires another...” - says Lachy.

And having options like this up your jersey sleeve are part of the long-haul-do-it-all beauty of Topstone.

Smooth Operator

With the gravel-specific Lefty Oliver fork in your arsenal, suddenly you have the option of rough-stuff-smoothing suspension up front that brings you more control to technical routes. Which, in-turn translates to more speed, with added confidence coming your way as a handy by-product.

Marta Sancho chose to ride the inaugural Traka 560 with the Lefty-equipped Topstone Carbon 1 Lefty AXS. And, after spending 46 hrs out there in the Catalan backcountry, you can be sure she was glad she did.

Meanwhile, with KingPin suspension in the rear – giving you up to 30mm of extra vertical flex – in a lightweight, maintenance-free set up, suddenly you have a gravel rig with front AND rear suspension when you need it.

Topstone is that adventurous buddy who makes you believe you can take on wild, unpredictable rides - and then helps you prove that you actually can. It shows that gravel racing isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s about pushing your limits, embracing the unknown, and defining your own version of what it means to race.

With Topstone Carbon, the adventures - and all-conditions race efforts - are just getting started. Think you’re ready for your own always-up-for-it rough stuff racer? Start your journey here.