KingPin™

KingPin is the revolutionary rear suspension system we engineered specifically for our Topstone Carbon gravel bikes. Designed around the unique demands of gravel riding, this ultralight rear suspension boosts traction, grip, and comfort on all kinds of terrain, without the weight and complexity of traditional suspension systems. With KingPin you get less fatigue and have more control over rough surfaces than you would on a rigid bike, keeping your momentum high and helping you go further and faster too. It’s just a better way to get your gravel on.

We’ve been working with flexing carbon structures for longer than anyone in the industry, starting with the first Scalpel mountain bike back in 2001, and continuing through today with our FlexPivot technology. Carbon fiber, engineered correctly, can provide controllable flex that leverages (literally) this material to its full potential. The solution is both ingenious and gloriously simple. The KingPin.

How it Works

The KingPin is a special thru-axle that passes through the center of the seat tube, and locks into the seat stays on either side. By attaching the seat stays with an axle that can rotate, it freed us to design the rear of the frame like a series of connected leaf springs. Hit a bump and the whole thing flexes in unison, absorbing the bump and keeping you travelling smoothly onward. The combined flex provides around 30mm of travel at the saddle and around 10mm at the rear axle. We say “around” because the amount of travel isn’t fixed. Hit it really hard and it flexes more. A light impact, it flexes less. In every situation, it gives you just enough to keep the wheel tracking the ground and keep you comfortably in control.

It also allows us to take it one step further than most and customize the suspension design by size - something we call Proportional Response. For each frame size, we alter the pivot location, carbon layup, and tube shapes to ensure that riders across the size spectrum get the same, dialed, suspension performance and ride-feel. (for more info, check out the Tech section on Proportional Response)

This means the system works when you’re seated, and it works when you’re standing, offering up extra traction and grip that makes all the difference. Powering up loose gravel climbs, drifting through choppy corners, it just sticks. It damps down the drama and really ratchets up the speed on rougher surfaces, and yet is totally imperceptible when you’re cruising on the smooth stuff. No bob, no lag, just the crisp, ready response you’d expect from a performance gravel rig.

The Simple Life, For Life.

On top of the performance benefits, KingPin is also super easy to live with. It’s incredibly light. It requires no set-up. And there’s virtually no maintenance. The KingPin axle rotates on long lasting IGUS plain bearings that won’t need to be touched for years, and the flex of the system is totally customized by size. With our Proportional Response size-specific construction, each frame is tailored to provide the right amount of give for the rider in that size range, so there’s nothing to fiddle with or adjust. You just get on and go. And go and go and go. Covered by our Lifetime Warranty, KingPin-equipped frames are engineered to go the distance.

KingPin suspension simply makes gravel better. Whether your jam is multi-day bike-packing trips, bucket-list gravel rides, full-on gravel races, or a little bit of all those things, the KingPin-equipped Topstone Carbon gravel bikes lets you rip with more comfort, more speed, more control, and less fatigue. Kick your gravel up a notch.