Gravel Bike Suspension

Modern gravel bikes are remarkable machines. Light, fast, and smooth, they enable riders to carry surprising speed over an incredibly wide range of terrain, from the freshly paved to the barely there. What started with lightly modified road, cyclocross, or touring bikes has evolved into a genre of wildly capable drop-bar bikes, able to tackle just about anything the road or trail can throw your way. And as the bikes’ capabilities increased, so have riders’ demands and expectations of their equipment. They want more speed, more traction, and more comfort, to tackle ever longer, rougher and more varied rides. The logical evolution is, just as it was with mountain bikes, to incorporate some form of suspension.

In many ways, the evolution of gravel bikes has mimicked the evolution of mountain bikes. Originally cobbled together from bits of other styles of bikes, MTBs evolved into their own category with its own solutions for how to make the ride better, the most important of which is suspension. Originally dismissed as a niche technology for downhill or “extreme” riding, people thought suspension was too heavy, too complicated, and simply unnecessary for regular mountain biking. Fast-forward a few years and the benefits of suspension have proven themselves beyond a doubt. Virtually every mountain bike now sports at least some form of suspension, and they are faster, smoother, more controllable, and a hell of a lot more fun to ride for it. Gravel bikes are following the same trajectory.

The rough and the smooth

Naturally, the subject of suspension on gravel bikes tends to conjure up images of all-terrain mountain bikes. Big shocks. Front and rear travel. Trail-devouring set ups. 

Suspension in the world of gravel, however, is more subtle and nuanced than that of its MTB cousins. Gravel suspension isn’t designed to totally erase the terrain you’re riding. Instead, it works to smooth it out and refine it, taking the edge off and keeping you rolling. 

Cannondale has a long and storied relationship with suspension of all kinds. Our decades of innovative exploits testify to our willingness to think outside the box to improve the experiences of riders everywhere.  

In fact, our first foray into “gravel” bikes with suspension appeared all the way back in 1995 with our Silk Road series of road bikes. Originally conceived as a way to improve comfort and handling over rough roads, these bikes featured a miniature version of our HeadShok front suspension fork with a whopping 15mm of travel, and were quickly adopted by our Saeco road team for use over the cobbles of the brutal Paris-Roubaix road race. Wind the clock forward to the dawn of the Gravel era, and we were ahead of our time again with the Slate. The 2016 Cannondale Slate was a pioneering design, featuring smaller, 650b wheels and a Lefty Oliver fork designed specifically for gravel riding. It was turning heads and winning awards before “Gravel Bikes” were even considered a thing yet!

Lefty feels so right

The Slate paved the way (mostly on unpaved terrain of course!) for continued innovation from  the engineers and designers at Cannondale, as gravel riding began to become more of its own genre and category. 

The single-sided Lefty Oliver fork that first appeared on the Slate would go on to be refined over the years, redesigned and re-engineered to become the perfect antidote to gravel chatter. 

Instead of simply downsizing an MTB suspension fork, Oliver is designed from the ground up for the demands of gravel riding. The damper and air spring work to prevent excessive movement under hard braking or pedaling, while responding instantly to bumps and vibration. With 40mm of travel in its latest generation, the lightweight Lefty Oliver smooths out the roughest of roads, letting riders ride faster and more confidently, with less fatigue and more control.  

Today, you can find it paired with select Cannondale Topstone models - our go-anywhere and bring-anything adventure-ready gravel bikes.

KingPin maker

Speaking of Topstone and innovation, it’s also home to another ride-improving suspension upgrade that’s unique to Cannondale: KingPin.  

A light, simple and efficient, rear suspension system, KingPin features a rotating axle in the seattube that works with cleverly engineered carbon layups to allow the Topstone Carbon’s rear triangle and seatpost to flex up to 30mm, absorbing bumps and chatter without compromising frame stiffness of efficiency. Unlike a suspension seatpost, it is active whether you are seated or standing, improving traction, enhancing comfort, and letting you ride faster and harder for longer.

Requiring no set-up and virtually no maintenance, KingPin’s simple yet smart suspension just makes gravel riding better. It lets you rip on the rough stuff with more speed, more comfort, more control, and less fatigue, yet you barely notice it’s there. Things just fell smoother, faster and easier.

Pros and (not many) cons

The most obvious and apparent advantage of suspension makes its case as soon as you hit some rougher terrain: comfort. 

Gravel riding is a constant accumulation of small impacts, buzz and chatter from the surfaces you’re riding over. Repeated hits that slowly wear you down over the course of time in the saddle. Having suspension on board reduces these knocks and hits over time and really makes an overall difference.  

And with that reduced fatigue comes with the benefit of endurance. When your arms and body aren’t acting as your sole suspension system, you have more left in the tank. Longer days become more manageable and multi-day rides more possible.  

What’s less obvious is the speed. On rougher surfaces, well-designed suspension not only makes you more comfortable, it makes you faster. By absorbing bumps and helping the wheels track the ground, the mass of the bike and rider doesn’t get bounced around as much. Less forward momentum is converted to up and down momentum, meaning less wasted energy, more effortless control, and more speed.

Of course, if you live and ride places with smoother terrain and an abundance of champagne gravel, and pure speed is your goal, an aerodynamically optimized rigid bike like the Cannondale SuperX would be the perfect tool for the job.

Like anything, there are a few trade-offs to think about when weighing up a bike with any kind of suspension. Additional cost for example, and more complexity and moving parts on a bike you might prefer to keep simple and low maintenance. 

But the main thing to consider is probably additional weight. Although modern suspension systems on gravel bikes are a lot lighter than those in MTB (the Kingpin system on the Topstone Carbon adds less than 150 grams to the frame), they do add grams to your overall bike set-up. So, if you’re all about racing or climbing, that’s something to keep in mind. But remember, what goes up, must come down. If there’s a rough, technical descent on the other side, suspension can often help you make up more time than you lose on the climb, with less fatigue and less fear of flats or crashes. So there’s that.

Ride on

Something that’s certain is that gravel riding is no longer just one thing. And neither are gravel bikes themselves. 

Some riders still want a light, rigid machine that’s all about speed. Some want something more capable and more suited to the unknown that awaits them on the next adventure, and some want a bit of both. With modern gravel bikes like SuperX, Topstone Carbon, and Topstone, the choice is yours.

And, if some innovatively designed suspension helps you ride longer and faster, explore more, and finish your ride with a smile on your face, what’s not to love?

Considering a gravel bike setup with suspension to enjoy the ride even more? Check out our range of gravel bikes featuring the systems mentioned in this article and learn more.  

And, while you’re at it, hear the POV from pro rider, Ted King, on how he chooses which gravel bike to select for different kinds of riding.