I have a Cannondale Topstone gravel bike and I'm finding that the gearing is a bit high, and short of just growing bigger thighs I am looking at ways in which to add a wider range of gearing.
The bike currently has a 40/36 chainset and a 9 speed 11-34 casette. It would be nice to go 1x for simplicity too.
Of course one option would be to whack a whole new groupset on the bike (and one with hydraulic brakes would be great too), hwoever this could get pricy and cost more than the bike is worth.
Any ideas of a good route to go down?
Many thanks in advance
One of these
Sunrace 9-Speed Cassette - 11-40T Nickel, CSM980 Silver | eBay UK
plus one of these
Gear mech cassette range extender tail hook like goat link up to 50t MTB single | eBay UK
Absolute doddle, with luck you won't even have to mess with the indexing on the gears.
Widest range 9 speed cassette you can find (11-42 or 11-46 are available i think), road link (or similar) if needed with that mech and buy a NW ring of the required tooth count to fit your crank.
Anything that changes the number of gears will require new shifters ($$$) and/or mech ($$)
Thanks - I'm clueless when it comes to rear axle types - what would I be looking for to fit my wheels?
I'm guessing that I could go up to 10 speed maximum on the rear but going up to 12 speed would be a no?
You don't need to touch the axle, the cassette I linked to will fit straight into the free hub you have. You might need a new chain too (and they don't cost much so you might as well get one). A 36t front/ 40t rear will get you up pretty much anything.
You could fit a 10 or 11 speed if you wanted, but then you'd need new shifters too. Honestly, I wouldn't bother, cos you're just spending £££s for little gain.
That was my thought, it does seem a little cost ineffective to completely change the whole groupset. Perhaps the wider range cassette is the best way to go
Are you sure it isn't 46/30 at the front? 😉
If so, an 11-40 cassette would give you significantly more range than even an 11-51 cassette with, e.g. a 38 tooth chainring.
Granted most of that extra range is in the higher gears, but if you could find an 11-42 cassette you'd get at least one lower gear also.
When I mangled a chainring on my Topstone (didn't check tightness of chainring bolts 🙄 ), I replaced the chainset with a sub-compact (44/28!) from Spa Cycles. It certainly helps on the hills or when heavily loaded!