tsmith41094

To be clear, I'm a big Canyon fan and think they present very solid value. Simply trying to play devil's advocate here.

To the point about feeling like buying an older bike/lagging behind, the current iteration of both the Ultimate and the Aeroad have been out for 5-6 years now. And for me personally, it seems every time I get an email, see a social media post, etc. from Canyon advertising "new models," it's nothing more than a tweaked paint scheme. So when I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on one of those bikes right now, it can be tough to feel like I'm getting a truly new, up-to-date model. 5-6 years is quite a long time in this day and age and that leaves me thinking I'm getting something much more towards the end of it's life cycle than the beginning.

Again, I love my Canyon (from the ride quality, to the looks, to the dependability, etc.) so these aren't major issues for me. Just some thoughts that cross my mind as I weigh both sides.

ZHVelo

Well the Ultimate just got the CFR update though a lot of people already complained it is basically just the EVO, which itself was just a lighter version, but no real design/feature update. So this I can understand and agree with, but I don't like the term "developmental curve". That suggests everyone else is using some new tech/functionality that Canyon isn't - and that simply isn't true. There are some that have very asymmetric/curved frames (think Pinarello Dogma) and others like BMC that are much more straight. So in terms of frame, there is no "developmental curve". And just because you bring out a new frame every two years, doesn't mean it is actually 'better' in any significant, noticeable way.

Finally, even though the frames are 5 years old, they still somehow are so light compared to the competition. Compare bikes with 105 or with Ultegra across brands, and Canyon always have one of the lightest bikes. In fact, I was looking at Endurance models, and the new Giant Defy came out which has a history of being a trend setter for Endurance bikes, and it seems great, but it is over 1kg heavier than the Canyon competitor. So these much newer frames of competitors still lag behind Canyon when it comes to weight.

basscadet

I understand that the Canyon Ultimate models are several years old but I'm not seeing any advantages of buying a new Emonda or Tarmac which are still heavier, by not an insignificant amount. Now I won't pretend I am a good enough cyclist to extract all the benefits out of any of these bikes, but as someone who wants a lightweight affordable bike with the latest Shimano goodies, I'm just not seeing the value proposition of the Trek and Specialized alternatives here. Perhaps they're far more comfortable? Fun to ride? Whatever it is, it's not something I can quantify by numbers because the Canyons have those bikes beat in the numbers game and it's not even close.

I'm posting this because this is my perception and I would love to know that I am wrong - welcome any corrections to my broken logic!

Mulberry20

The two pivots points for bike prices nowadays are wheels and electronic shifting. Almost every bike company puts on crappy to average wheels because consumer attention is not paid to the wheels. The Canyon has electronic shifting but $200 wheels. The Emonda SL6 Pro is $200 less than the Canyon with really nice carbon wheels that retail for over $1,000 but mechanical Ultegra.

If you look at the "value" apples to apples the Canyon proposition is not that great, at least to me. Wheels are more important to me than electronic shifting.

The Trek is also a very new Aero frame while the Canyon is basically an open mold bike. The Trek has two big advantages with no downside from a practical standpoint.

basscadet

But the Emonda Pro SL6 weighs 8.13kg and the Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8.0, with the non-carbon wheels, weighs 7.5kg. Again, not trying to be contrary, but even with the "$200 wheels" the Ultimate is lighter. I'd also think that it's a lot easier to upgrade wheels than it is to upgrade mechanical Ultegra to Di2.

Mulberry20

That weight difference is because aero bikes are all a bit heavier due to the shaping of the tubes, but it is inconsequential to 99.9999% of riders. There is no way on earth you could feel that difference. If you upgrade wheels that bike for $3,999.00 is now over $5,000.00 so now your are into Emonda SL7 territory and a state of the art frame, DI2 and carbon wheels and local service and support.

The overall cost of ownership will be lower with Trek due to resale as well.

Again, I don't see the Canyon as a screaming buy.

surak

I only have a last gen Inflite AL SLX as a reference, so maybe my experience doesn't generalize, but it seems to me that Canyon bests the competition on weight savings by speccing lighter seatposts, stem, bars, saddle, etc. Some savings can be negated when they're undesirable, like their use of Aheadset instead of a real compression plug (first thing I bought so my steerer tube wouldn't asplode). But overall Canyon offers well-priced bikes that, out of the box, don't come with a bunch of cheap and heavy components that buyers would feel the need to replace.
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Mulberry20

No one said they weren't well priced, given the wheels on this particular bike it is. However, when you line up similar components to other bikes the differential is far less and then it comes down to intangible factors like local service and support, styling and design technology. A few hundred dollars wouldn't sway me in this particular comparison.

Having seen many Canyons in Central Park and the new Emonda at length in person, the Canyons are very generic, sort of the way Felts and Giants (one color only) are while the new Emonda is a slinky, sexy bike with really outstanding frame finish.

ZHVelo

Well, come to Europe and it looks rather different. I guess it doesn't matter since we are discussing the US here, but for what it's worth, using google FX rates, the same Canyon the OP is talking about is $100 cheaper here.

But the Emonda is $900 more expensive than in the US, making the difference another $1000 on top...in Europe, Canyon bikes are far greater value even than they are in the US. Which is why I find it hard to consider any alternatives. For the Canyon I am looking at, the equivalent Trek (Domane) is 2kg heavier, has 105 instead of Ultegra, has worse wheels and yet is still EUR 200 more.

bmcer

Not looking to foment controversy, but I don't regard my bikes as investments. You can buy light bulbs with more life expectancy than I have, so resale value is meaningless to me. Furthermore, I'm more than prepared to provide any service the bike might need. So if we confine the discussion to weight vs wheels vs electronic shifting, I agree that of those 3 characteristics, wheels have the most influence on a how a bike feels. And yes, the wheels on the Canyon aren't anything special. That said, I had a set of White Industries hubs and a pair of HED Belgium C rims on hand at the time of my purchase. So I was able to put together a pretty nice set of wheels for the cost of some spokes and nipples. Those wheels on my Endurance CF SL 8.0 make a bike that's a great joy to ride. The total out of pocket, including my wheel build, was considerably less than it would have been for the other bikes on my short list, all of which would have needed some (more expensive) tweaking to suit my tastes. Maybe not a "screaming" buy, but one that met my wants admirably at a cost that was a few hundred less than the alternatives that I considered. Whether anyone else would be as satisfied with the compromises I chose to accept is unknown and frankly not too important to me.

sarhog

While not an Ultimate (which was the original subject), the top of the line Canyon Grail comes with electronic shifting and really nice carbon wheels.

lyle.coop

Did you buy it? If so how are you liking it? I'm looking at the same bike sans the electronic shifting. $3199. Canyon Ultimate CF SL Disc 8.0.

basscadet

I did buy the Canyon, but due to availability issues I ended up splurging on the CF SLX 9.0 (Dura Ace) when it went on sale from $7k-ish to $5999. That said, I think I can still answer your question.

Putting aside the electronic shifting: this is a great bike. It is very strong and very light and it does a great job of translating all the power down to the road. I love the ability to adjust the height of the bars (which is very easy to do). I was pretty new to the race bike geometry so I had a learning curve to go through but it wasn't long before I was comfortable on the bike.

The quality of the build of the bike is fantastic, even though it is a "mail order" bike company, the Canyon was every bit as good if not better than my Treks or my experience from testing various Specialized, Cervelos, etc.

My only complaints of the bike are the seat it came with (Fizik Antares) and the skinny (25mm) tires, but that's only because I like rolling on wider tires and I have a weird butt.

BTW - one last thing to comment re: resale value. I'm in the process of actually selling this bike as I rarely find myself riding on pavement these days. I've had an offer from Pros Closet for just a few hundred less than what I bought it for and my LBS made me an offer for not much less as a trade-in. In 2021, the Canyon brand is now pretty well-known even in the armpit of USA where I live.

lyle.coop

Thanks for the detailed post.

At first, I was thinking about getting the Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0. But then I saw the Canyon Ultimate CF SL Disc 8.0 and it sounds like the power transfer on the Ultimate is noticeably better than on the Endurace. Most mornings, I'll only ride 20 miles in a park where there are a lot of other riders. It's fun to race and pass people and it sucks getting passed. On weekends I might do a 40 miler. I can't see myself spending more than 2 hours on the bike. So a faster bike might be more suited to my needs.

Does your model have the integrated stem and handlebars? How much stack height is available before you cut the steerer tube to height?

I've read that Canyon will swap out the stem/handlebars if you ask. I've got to figure out what stem length is good for me. I'm coming off an all purpose road bike. More relaxed geometry and I actually flipped my stem upside down to get a more upright position. With the integrated stem and handlebars, that's not going to be an option.

Cool that you're recovering most of your money on the resale. I hope to have this for at least a decade though. ;>