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Old 06-27-22, 01:01 PM
  #5  
Steve B.
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,883

Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo

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If you find yourself out of gear on long downhills and spinning out in a 46/11, then only option is to swap to a compact road crank that will get you a 50 big ring or a 39/53 crank. But that maybe yields 4 mph in the 53/11, so your call.

You can play with different cassette and crank options and find out speed here. Mike Sherman's Bicycle Gear Calculator (mike-sherman.github.io)

You can also get a 2nd wheelset and put the road tires, maybe 28mm's on that with a road cassette like an 11-28. Then keep the gravel tires and hills gears on the original wheel set. On the carbon Topstone you would have to have a shop re-dish the rear wheel but that easy and cheap. A 2nd wheel set is what a lot of users of this bike do, it's how I have my aluminum Topstone setup, works great.

And FWIW, my experience is that my alu Topstone at 22 lbs with the road wheels on it, is about 5 lbs heavier and maybe 1/2 mph slower than my 17 lbs carbon road bike. I notice it on group rides.
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