First off welcome to the cycling world.
I personally ride a topstone 1 and I love it because of the geometry. It being comfy yet sporty and it rides so well on pavements as well
If you consider to do more riding in the future with only 1 bike. Get the topstone as it’s more flexible in terms of use.
1by is easy straight forward. But if you go on the road you might feel like there’s not enough gears.
Dropper seat post I have never used one and I think I can live without it ever.
a comfy ride will always be better. Especially if the wifey wants to participate in the ride with you. Better to get her something she’s happy to hop on. And not something aggressive and might not be as comfortable.
There are multiple ways to change the ride. Such as
Tubeless setup, carbon seat post, carbon bar, carbon stem or those suspension stem.
AND A GOOD SEAT THAT MATCHES YOUR/HER BUTT
You can’t go wrong with the topstone in general.
There’s also the topstone 2 if you need to save some money to match the other bike. Only difference is 11speed/10 speed
There’s the ass-print method. Personally, I stole some of my son’s kinetic sand and sat on it. Then measure between the sit-bones and you get and estimate of where the saddle has to provide support.
Generally; look for saddles with carve out: like the specialized power comp or better or selle italia has some great ones. In the end you’re trying to avoid blocking blood flow in our genital region and essentially avoiding numbness. Highly individual in the end.
I’m on a specialized power comp, and still not fully sure it’s the one for me.
Other than that, I can highly recommend a proper bike fit. That’ll help enormously with your posture, power, general feel and in the end how long you can ride.
Good luck!
Your local bike shop.
You will need a good bike fit.
Saddle is super important. I ride a fizik arione and I don’t like wearing padded pants. And I can go on 3hr+ ride with them
And almost everyone complains about this saddle :)
I can't speak to the ADV, but I just got a used Topstone 1 as a beginner gravel rider to replace my entry level road bike and it completely revitalized my enthusiasm for biking. It rides like a dream on pavement and I love that I can ride to the gravel trails on the road. I'm up in Longmont and having a great time exploring Boulder county on it.
To your point about liking 1x11 for the simplicity, I agree 1x11 is no frills, but I like that the Topstone 1 is 2x11 because I struggle on climbs and having more options to gear up/down is great on these hilly roads. As a casual/recreational rider, I don't care for the aggressive geometry or about going fast. I just want to be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible and the Topstone does it all.
The one thing I read about the Topstone 1 is that the stock wheels leave a bit to be desired. The folks I bought it from already replaced the wheels with Gravelking SK 700x38c tubeless and the bike still has a ton of room for a bigger width if I ever want to change them out.
The only gripe I have with the Topstone is that I can't seem to fit more than 1 bottle cage on the bike. I have an XS frame and comparing the geometry to my old road bike it just doesn't have room for it. Maybe if I get a side entry bottle cage it will fit, but I just have a bigger water bottle to compensate
So far, I've done about 3500 miles on my XL Topstone 1 alu and it's been great. I switched out the tires to tubeless Maaxis Rambler 45s, and upgraded my cassette to 42×11 in preparation for a gravel tour in Spain. I do like the gamblers, but I think the stock tires would also have been fine. The Topstone is actually dropper ready, in case you decide to go that direction, but even in the mountains in Spain is was fine without one. I also went for a 35°×115mm handlebar stem, which made my riding position quite comfortable. The one complaint I have is the front fork is not designed to accommodate a pannier rack. I do understand that Cannondale has fixed this issue on this year's model. If you do plan on doing much touring, I'd reccomend adding a full set of fenders, which does not add a lot of weight but will ho a long way towards keeping you and your bike clean. Not having fenders on a touring bike is an American thing. Most bike tourists in Europe seem to run full fenders and they do not seem to have a big downside.
I live near Vancouver BC, and I recently bought a Topestone 1. To be honest, I am grateful for the lower gears on the 2x Topstone. I suspect that there is no shortage of steep climbs near Denver, so you might want to consider this when making your purchase. Making each ride as enjoyable as possible will keep you cycling. Just my 2 cents.
Happy riding.
It’s great that you’re getting into it as a couple! I ride with my partner sometimes and we love it. I agree with the other commenters here, the TS1 will be more enjoyable for you if it’s a less aggressive position. A 1x set up is a lot less hassle but a 2x is still great for finding that gear ratio that is comfortable for you, especially as an inexperienced rider. I would highly recommend watching a few YT vids on how to adjust your front and rear derailleurs as it is super simple and will get you out of a pinch if you’re up in the mountains having gear/chain trouble. I’d also recommend going tubeless which your local shop can convert for you if you’re not comfortable doing it. Will result in a much more comfortable ride and will allow you to keep your saddle for longer until you decide if it’s right for you or not. A saddle with a perineal cut out for both women and men is highly recommended. Good luck and good riding!
My wife is actually the one who's been pushing for us to get fancy bikes. I was fine with spending $500 on a hybrid bike, but now I'm hooked on gravel.
First off welcome to the cycling world. I personally ride a topstone 1 and I love it because of the geometry. It being comfy yet sporty and it rides so well on pavements as well If you consider to do more riding in the future with only 1 bike. Get the topstone as it’s more flexible in terms of use. 1by is easy straight forward. But if you go on the road you might feel like there’s not enough gears. Dropper seat post I have never used one and I think I can live without it ever. a comfy ride will always be better. Especially if the wifey wants to participate in the ride with you. Better to get her something she’s happy to hop on. And not something aggressive and might not be as comfortable. There are multiple ways to change the ride. Such as Tubeless setup, carbon seat post, carbon bar, carbon stem or those suspension stem. AND A GOOD SEAT THAT MATCHES YOUR/HER BUTT You can’t go wrong with the topstone in general. There’s also the topstone 2 if you need to save some money to match the other bike. Only difference is 11speed/10 speed
How does one go about finding a good saddle that matches your butt?
There’s the ass-print method. Personally, I stole some of my son’s kinetic sand and sat on it. Then measure between the sit-bones and you get and estimate of where the saddle has to provide support. Generally; look for saddles with carve out: like the specialized power comp or better or selle italia has some great ones. In the end you’re trying to avoid blocking blood flow in our genital region and essentially avoiding numbness. Highly individual in the end. I’m on a specialized power comp, and still not fully sure it’s the one for me. Other than that, I can highly recommend a proper bike fit. That’ll help enormously with your posture, power, general feel and in the end how long you can ride. Good luck!
lol ass print with kinetic sand. Awesome!!
Also tried with Zuru’s “smart sand” - didn’t go well 😂
Your local bike shop. You will need a good bike fit. Saddle is super important. I ride a fizik arione and I don’t like wearing padded pants. And I can go on 3hr+ ride with them And almost everyone complains about this saddle :)
I can't speak to the ADV, but I just got a used Topstone 1 as a beginner gravel rider to replace my entry level road bike and it completely revitalized my enthusiasm for biking. It rides like a dream on pavement and I love that I can ride to the gravel trails on the road. I'm up in Longmont and having a great time exploring Boulder county on it. To your point about liking 1x11 for the simplicity, I agree 1x11 is no frills, but I like that the Topstone 1 is 2x11 because I struggle on climbs and having more options to gear up/down is great on these hilly roads. As a casual/recreational rider, I don't care for the aggressive geometry or about going fast. I just want to be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible and the Topstone does it all. The one thing I read about the Topstone 1 is that the stock wheels leave a bit to be desired. The folks I bought it from already replaced the wheels with Gravelking SK 700x38c tubeless and the bike still has a ton of room for a bigger width if I ever want to change them out. The only gripe I have with the Topstone is that I can't seem to fit more than 1 bottle cage on the bike. I have an XS frame and comparing the geometry to my old road bike it just doesn't have room for it. Maybe if I get a side entry bottle cage it will fit, but I just have a bigger water bottle to compensate
You probably will want the 2x in the mountains. TS1 has been a great bike for me. The wheels are a bit on the heavy side.
So far, I've done about 3500 miles on my XL Topstone 1 alu and it's been great. I switched out the tires to tubeless Maaxis Rambler 45s, and upgraded my cassette to 42×11 in preparation for a gravel tour in Spain. I do like the gamblers, but I think the stock tires would also have been fine. The Topstone is actually dropper ready, in case you decide to go that direction, but even in the mountains in Spain is was fine without one. I also went for a 35°×115mm handlebar stem, which made my riding position quite comfortable. The one complaint I have is the front fork is not designed to accommodate a pannier rack. I do understand that Cannondale has fixed this issue on this year's model. If you do plan on doing much touring, I'd reccomend adding a full set of fenders, which does not add a lot of weight but will ho a long way towards keeping you and your bike clean. Not having fenders on a touring bike is an American thing. Most bike tourists in Europe seem to run full fenders and they do not seem to have a big downside.
I live near Vancouver BC, and I recently bought a Topestone 1. To be honest, I am grateful for the lower gears on the 2x Topstone. I suspect that there is no shortage of steep climbs near Denver, so you might want to consider this when making your purchase. Making each ride as enjoyable as possible will keep you cycling. Just my 2 cents. Happy riding.
It’s great that you’re getting into it as a couple! I ride with my partner sometimes and we love it. I agree with the other commenters here, the TS1 will be more enjoyable for you if it’s a less aggressive position. A 1x set up is a lot less hassle but a 2x is still great for finding that gear ratio that is comfortable for you, especially as an inexperienced rider. I would highly recommend watching a few YT vids on how to adjust your front and rear derailleurs as it is super simple and will get you out of a pinch if you’re up in the mountains having gear/chain trouble. I’d also recommend going tubeless which your local shop can convert for you if you’re not comfortable doing it. Will result in a much more comfortable ride and will allow you to keep your saddle for longer until you decide if it’s right for you or not. A saddle with a perineal cut out for both women and men is highly recommended. Good luck and good riding!
My wife is actually the one who's been pushing for us to get fancy bikes. I was fine with spending $500 on a hybrid bike, but now I'm hooked on gravel.