BonkonFleet

I've been eyeing a Canyon Ultimate lately and am at a bit of a stand still when it comes to which size I would hypothetically order. Apparently they just take your inseam and height and suggest a size for you. I have a 33in inseam (83-84cm) and am 6ft 1/2inch tall (just over 184cm) . Now when I enter my height at 184cm they suggest a medium bike, and when I enter 185cm for my height they suggest a size large. So, it sounds like either way I'm going to have a bike thats slightly too big or slightly too small for me. Does anyone here ride a canyon and if so what size did you end up going with?

grayEZrider

Six months ago I bought a medium Canyon Endurance AL. I'm 6'0" 33 inch inseam and 170 lbs. The thing is a perfect fit.

surak

Why not use the geometry chart? The stack and reach measurements on my Canyon Inflite AL in small was bang on with those of my medium Giant.

AdkMtnMonster

I recently bought an Endurace and the recommended size was XS. I’m 5’6” and it fits me right out of the box better than any bike I have ever owned.

This week my wife’s Inflite was delivered. She got a 3XS and it is a perfect fit. Stand over, reach, bb offset, stem... everything is where it needs to be. Very minor tweaking of the fore/aft saddle position and that was it, other than dialing in seatpost height.

Cyclist0108

They have an on-line fitting algorithm.

The problem is that the output is counter-intuitive.

In my case, my ideally-fit custom bike has geometry very similar to a Trek Domane 54, which conventionally falls into the "medium" range.

The Canyon website-based fitting takes my input and screams at me in a thick German accent that my legs can't possibly be so short and I am clearly a genetically defective human being, and need a "small". I have zero confidence that I would get the correct-sized bike, and it put me off doing so. (This ultimately may have done me a favor, after warrantying the kid's Canyon frame three times.)

surak

By most accounts, Canyon's recommended sizing is accurate. That they choose different ranges for their buckets does not invalidate the measurements in their geometry charts. It's like being hung up on bike apparel sizing being different than casual wear sizing when chest and inseam measurements are provided.

In OP's case, being between sizes means deciding whether to go with taller stack and longer reach or shorter stack and shorter reach if the bike has a one piece cockpit that makes it hard to adjust, otherwise the only other things that would likely make a difference in ride feel that aren't easy to change would be wheelbase and crank length.

Hiro11

Bumping this thread rather than creating a new one.

I'm considering the Canyon Inflite SLX 9 Team. This bike seems to run big, can anyone confirm? Most of Canyon's lineup seems pretty big for the given size, something I've also noticed with BMC.

I plan to use the bike for fast / interval-type training on gravel paths and 2-3 hour gravel races. I have another gravel bike that's more relaxed/stable, this will be for fast days. I'm 5'10" with a 33" cycling inseam (PBH) and Canyon is recommending a Small. The Small has a 550mm effective top tube and a 80mm stem. My road bike has a 545mm effective top tube and a 100MM stem but has a longer head tube than the extremely racy Inflite. I always buy a Medium/54 (or 55 if available) in most drop bar bikes, it feels strange to order a Small. Still, I think Canyon's right.

surak

tsmith41094

I've got 2 Canyons (Aeroad and Ultimate) both size 2XL. I'm 6'6'' (198cm) with a 38/39in inseam.

Both fit great but have slightly different geometries. Aeroad is more aggressive making it feel like I'm definitely towards the max height allowable for the bike.

But the Ultimate is a bi more relaxed. I feel like I've got some more flexibility to play with the adjustments if I wanted to.

For me, if I were really on the line between sizes, I would definitely size up on the Aeroad, but I'd have no problem sizing down on the Ultimate.

Hiro11

Given the effective top tube of 550mm, I ended up going with the S as recommended. Also, my seat height of 740MM is smack in the middle of the seat height ranges quoted by Canyon (very helpful measurement that all manufacturers should provide, IMO).

It's cool that Canyon offers so many different sizes. Still, in 25 years of cycling and countless bikes of every sort, I've never ordered a "small" before.

GrandCanyonMan

I've been eyeing a Canyon Ultimate lately and am at a bit of a stand still when it comes to which size I would hypothetically order. Apparently, they just take your inseam and height and suggest a size for you. I have a 33in inseam (83-84cm) and am 6ft 1/2inch tall (just over 184cm). Now when I enter my height at 184cm they suggest a medium bike, and when I enter 185cm for my height they suggest a size large. So, it sounds like either way I'm going to have a bike that's slightly too big or slightly too small for me. Does anyone here ride a canyon and if so what size did you end up going with?

I am the exact same size as you. I am curious as to if you purchased one and sized it up or down?

surak

Do you have any other bikes whose geometry you can compare? That's the only way I figured out which size to buy since I'm in between small and medium in the Canyon-verse. And later fitting adjustment can be problematic if you want to preserve the sleek look since Canyon uses the oversized 1 1/4” steerer but don't ever have many stem options in stock. I tried putting a Giant OD2 stem on that I already had and hated the look, so I've been running the stock stem, which is technically too short, for over a year because I'm undecided on how much it bothers me It might be worse for you if your fit requires a significant adjustment.

If you're in Europe I hear they'll swap cockpit components if you ask when ordering, but AFAIK they still don't do that in the US.

DaveSSS 

The new method of sizing uses stack and reach. Size numbers or letters are meaningless. If you know your saddle height, it's easy to select a stack height that will produce a specific saddle to bar drop. Reach can only be compared accurately at the same stack height. If comparing two sizes that differ by 20mm in stack, subtract 6mm from the stack height of the smaller frame, assuming that 20mm of spacer will be added.

If you have measured your cycling inseam properly, stack around 530mm would produce a racing fit with a maximum to bar drop of about 10cm. If you want an endurance fit, add 20-40mm to the stack. Cycling inseam is measured from the floor to firm crotch contact in bare feet. My inseam is 83cm, but I'm only 168cm tall.

genejockey 

I gave Canyon my height (5'11.5"/182cm) and my inseam (34.5"/88cm), and they came back with Medium. I checked the Reach and Stack on their Medium and compared it with bikes I already had on which I had ridden thousands of miles comfortably. Both were about 20mm lower than my bikes. But the Large was right around the same. If I got the medium, to replicate the saddle-to-bar reach and drop, I'd have to swap the 100mm stem that's standard on the Medium for a 130, AND I'd have to run the full stack of spacers. On the large, I'm running the standard 110, and 12.5mm of spacers.

The problem with two measurements to choose a size is that it doesn't address questions like arm length, flexibility, etc. Sure, the Medium could be made to fit me, but the Large was a lot closer, and didn't require extreme measures.

PeteHski

Just bumping this thread again as I was looking at Canyon road bikes (Edurace and Ultimate). I'm a little taller than you at 184 cm, but with the same inseam at 88 cm. Interestingly, Canyon's online fit guide actually recommends both M and L sizes for me and says to choose M for more agility or L for more stability. If I reduce my height by just 1 cm it recommends M and if I increase my height by 1 cm it recommends L. However changing my inseam +/- 2 cm makes no difference to the recommendations. So their calculator appears to be much more sensitive to height than inseam. So it must be using reach and stack as its primary focus rather than where you happen to fall in the saddle height range. It actually predicts my saddle height spot on with my correct inseam, which is encouraging.

As I have relatively long arms (high ape index) I think size L would be the better fit and with the M I would almost certainly have to swap out the standard 100 mm stem and probably run maximum stack. But ultimately I could probably make either size work.

Branko D

179cm tall, Canyon Speedmax in size S here.

​​​​​​A friend of mine who is about your height rides a medium Aeroad, which seems a bit big for my height and taste.
​​​​​

DaveSSS 

I select the frame size based on my 73cm saddle height and my preferred 10cm saddle to bar drop. The tallest stack I'd want want would be in the 525-530mm range and the shortest that I have now is only 509mm. The 509mm stack can give me the same bar height with the stock 15mm headset top cover and a -6 stem. I'm using a 30mm top cover and a -17 stem to leave the steerer 15mm longer to preserve resale value. A small frame that's totally slammed might to tough to resell.

If your saddle height is 50mm taller than mine, add that to the stack height. Add more stack height for less saddle to bar drop.

nickdilello

AdkMtnMonster Great to hear! I'm thinking about buying a Canyon bike size XS (I'm also ~5'6"). Think you could send me a direct message so I could ask you a couple questions? I just joined bikeforums and can't send private messages yet.

itszeke

Did you ever go ahead and purchase a XS Canyon bike, if so how does the sizing suit you? I'm in the same boat as you are (5'6" with a 30 inch inseam) and I am interested in picking up a canyon ultimate when they restock.

AdkMtnMonster

Just saw this msg on 4/2/22. Sorry. Hope it worked out for you and you bought a great bike that fits like it was made for you.

nickdilello

I opted for doing a few upgrades to my bike and holding out another season before upgrading to a new bike. After a lot more research, I do think the XS Canyon Grizl is the right size for me tho