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Canyon Bikes


Iain67
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Wait 'till post Tour de France sale and see if you can pick up a bargain.

 

I ride the 2009 road frame before they got into PF bottom brackets, internal routing, DI2 etc. and is a good bike for the money. For me very light, stiff and ultimately comfortable ride and have had no issues - they still may have a few quirks such as the non standard stem clamp so make sure you get the right size as buying retrospectively is quite expensive - when I last looked (2009) only Ritchie were doing them.

 

Good service - order came right first time, geometry as described.

 

In general would recommend but things may have changed. Rose bikes 'though not paraded in the pro ranks might also be worth a look if you are going the direct route - seem to get decent reviews.

 

Davie

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Hi Iain,

 

Here's my experience & views on the Canyon bikes, however I can only comment on the specific bike that I had - in my case the Ultimate CF SLX - the lightest & top of the range model at the time (which still is, be it with some new modifications) with Ultegra Di2 10speed  :-)

 

CANYON

Canyon are a very popular brand because it's ridden by 2 pro-tour level teams - Katusha & Movie Star (Now a women's team too - Sram/Canyon I think its called) & more importantly it's great value in terms of you're getting a lot of new technology & "innovation" for the money, and the bike's spec. equipment is generally very high too. I was sold on that premise .............. & I suspect a lot are too.

 

Canyon is a German bike brand who sell direct from their website, cutting out the middle man hence the lower purchase cost for end users. The frames are made in the Far-East (99% of bikes are anyway) & build-up in their factory in Koblenz, Germany & shipped direct from there.

 

SIZING

The obvious draw back when buying online with out trying it out in a bike shop is finding the right size of bike for your self, this can be tricky even though they have a "size calculator" on the site. It generally tends to recommend a size smaller than you may need (from personal experience & reading upon the web) so you have to be careful with that. It's ok if you know your dimensions & requirements, and luckily I kind of know what I need in terms of top tube length , stack & reach etc. So, I got the "right" one.

I think the reason they do that is generally it's easier to make a smaller bike to fit with longer stems, saddle positions etc, where as its far more difficult to do that for a larger frame.

Definitely study the bike's geometry chart & compare to what you're riding now to get a good understanding of the dimensions. If you can get to sit on one, all the better, but again can be tricky. I even had a few folks (locally) emailing me & came round to sit on the bike to try for size before they went to order their Canyon bikes online, the bike forums are good for that type of arrangements :-)

 

DELIVERY

Now, in terms of delivery - it really depends on what you're looking for, whether its a stock or "order" item. When you choose the bikes on the web-site, it'll show you the size, colour & the availability - whether it's in stock or not, if not it'll give you a "date" as to when it'll be ready.

Again from research, if it stock then it's generally pretty quick in delivery (I think DavieB can vouch for that) The problem is when it's not in stock, the dates are approximates & in most cases it'll be late :-(

It did not help recently when they had to update their "computer ordering system" & it went a bit pear shape & folks orders where getting delayed or lost in the process, not really good PR for them.

Personally, I had to wait 5 & a half months for mine, but that was because I ordered it knowing that it won't be ready any time soon as it was a new model & production haven't even started. But the quoted date was obviously delayed for a good 2 months, the customer service at the time were ok with emails notifying me of the re-scheduled dates. As a good will gesture, they did send me a free complimentary cycling top & bib-shorts as compensation :-)

At the time, payment wasn't made until they actually shipped the bike, so I suppose you can cancel anytime you feel you cannot wait any longer. (But that might have change now, check!)

 

THE BIKE

As for the bike, it is a fantastic machine - it's very stiff, very light (as others have said :-)) & the ride is great!

I only sold it because I wanted to go back to mechanical shifting on my summer bike & the frames are mechanical or electronic specific, so you have to be sure of that when you're considering the purchase.

 

OTHERS

The stem can be an issue when you want to change it because the taper fork steerer is 1 & 1/2" bottom & 1 & 1/4" on top which means 99% of stem on the market won't fit (1 & 1/8" is the norm) Ritchey use to supply the cockpit but they have their own brand of stem & handle bars now.

Their carbon seat post is really light & comfortable, but try avoiding their VCLS post 2.0

 

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/accessories/#category=parts&subcat=2706&id=60034

 

It's known to caused issues with more robust riders, cracking the frames seat-tube as it's meant to "flex" to give more comfort.

 

SUMMARY

Anyway, just to sum up - in my opinion, Canyon make great bikes but you'll have to be careful in doing your research/homework & be prepared to wait a little while for it too.

 

Happy shopping & if there is any more question you want to know, please feel free to give me a buzz or PM, Iain!

 

Here's a post I put up in BikeRadar forum, but have a mug of coffee in hand, it might take a while to go through it :-)

 

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12903747

 

Cheers

 

Chung

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Thanks all and to Chung for the comprehensive feedback. Still have doubts about buying a bike online without trying it first but Canyon offers a lot for the money. Going to look in the Giant store in Liverpool but with so many bikes and brands to chose from, recommendations greatly welcomed !  

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Thanks all and to Chung for the comprehensive feedback. Still have doubts about buying a bike online without trying it first but Canyon offers a lot for the money. Going to look in the Giant store in Liverpool but with so many bikes and brands to chose from, recommendations greatly welcomed !  

 

Iain, don't let the sizing issue put you off, it's not as daunting as it sounds.

If you really want to consider one & if you trust me, then I can give you a hand in trying to find the "right one" :-)

 

Without doubt, your local bike shop is the place to go (Dooleys & Q Bikes etc........) if you want to try a bike out for sure!

 

Best of luck in getting your new summer ride!

 

Do keep me posted in your search for the new toy :-)

 

Cheers

 

Chung

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Ian

Simply what do you want it for and then what's your budget then pick which suits as they are all much of a muchness

 

But C60 or Parlee Z1 would get my vote

 

Billy, in my case, I always set a budget & then end up spending twice as much :-)

 

I'm sure you're the same too .................. :-)

 

Cheers

 

Chung

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Iain,

 

As Chung says "basic" bike frame fit should be simple and in my opinion based on the "effective" or "virtual" top tube.

 

Manufacturers can class it as S,M, 51, 52 or 54 whatever, but as long as I go for 535mm effective top tube I know it will fit.

 

If you want to build on a budget - buy the frame only as there should still be some killer deals on Ultegra class groupsets right now from the big online retailers.

 

Cheers,

D

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thanks all will pop into Giant this week and Doolleys when back as Cervelo S5 he had a few weeks ago looked ths dogs.

 

Billy mainly bunch runs and sportives. Winter bike has given up the ghost and needs a new groupset, shifters, Bottom bracket, brakes, etc. So rather than spend +£900 on replacement winter bike will probably use my trek in winter and keep the money for a new summer bike. The wife did get a new banister and carpert before Christmas, so only fair I get a new bike! Ohyadancer!

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What's the budget Iain?

I've loved my Giant TCR before my current TCR Advanced SL.

There's the Propel as well if you want a bit more aero.

Some don't like Giant as they're mass produced etc but they're one of the biggest carbon manufacturers and make stuff for other big brands.

Dales let me borrow a bike for a few days for a proper test ride.

Go and speak to Jonathan Allan.

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thanks all will pop into Giant this week and Doolleys when back as Cervelo S5 he had a few weeks ago looked ths dogs.

 

Billy mainly bunch runs and sportives. Winter bike has given up the ghost and needs a new groupset, shifters, Bottom bracket, brakes, etc. So rather than spend +£900 on replacement winter bike will probably use my trek in winter and keep the money for a new summer bike. The wife did get a new banister and carpert before Christmas, so only fair I get a new bike! Ohyadancer!

Iain,

 

Not trying to talk you outta new bike mate, but Ribble Cycles do a full Shimano 105 groupset, which includes the whole shebang, shifters, front and rear mechs, brakes, bottom bracket, chainset, cassette, chain, cables for £289, winter bike would be as new...

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The Canyon Aeroad that Katusha are using this season looks great with the red and black paintjob.

 

 

As for good deals online - Paulscycles have Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi Mod frames in their sale for £750...that is their pro level frameset and if you were to add ultegra and some nice wheels to that you would still have change from what the frameset alone normally costs (£2100 i think)

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