Canyon Aeroad and Aeroad Disc

Let’s start with the raciest bike of the bunch, the Aeroad. Where previously it’s been rated as one of the best aero bikes money can buy, in the past couple of years it’s made a name for itself as one of the leading disc-equipped aero machines, too.

Central to both rim and disc brake bikes is the ‘Pro’ geometry, which is tailor-made for racing, maximising a low front end. Indeed, as the name suggests, aero performance is the name of the game here, with Canyon’s ‘Trident 2.0’ truncated tube profiles designed to increase stiffness, reduce weight and improve performance in a variety of wind conditions.

When a disc version was introduced last year, it turned heads because Canyon claimed that it only conceded 0.8 watts of drag in the wind tunnel. That’s impressive by anyone’s standards, while if you opt for anything above the base level bikes, you’ll also get the distinctive H11 integrated Aerocockpit to keep things tidy and aerodynamic at the front end.

A top-of-the-range Aeroad with rim brakes costs £7,299 complete with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Zipp’s distinctive, whale fin-inspired 454 NSW wheelset, while the flagship disc brake Aeroad comes packaged with a SRAM Red eTap HRD groupset for £6,249.

Those riders looking to get nine tenths of the performance without the outlay can look at the other end of the range, with bikes starting from £3,199 fitted with a Shimano Ultegra R8000 drivetrain, while there are three bikes in a female-specific specification, too.

Canyon Ultimate and Ultimate Disc

If the Aeroad is the aero race machine of Canyon’s range, then the Ultimate is the lightweight race bike. This is the one you’ll spot under Movistar’s Tour de France runner-up, Nairo Quintana, and the top-level SLX frame has victories at the Giro d’italia and Vuelta a España to its name. Not a bad palmares, we must say.

The SLX machines received an update a couple of years ago which added smoother lines to the frame, improving aero efficiency on the flat, while maintaining the ‘Sport Pro’ geometry. It’s a little less aggressive than the Aeroad’s ‘Pro’ layout, with a slightly elongated headtube and stack, but it’s still fully capable of meeting the needs of pro racers and sportivistas alike.

The carbon fibre Ultimate frame is available at three levels. The uber-light Evo has a scant claimed weight of 665g (yep, 665g!) and is available as a complete bike weighing just 5.1kg in a medium size frame (yours for a cool £8,999 – and there’s an even pricier bikes at £11,799). It’s a strong message to the UCI rule makers that the current 6.8kg weight limit has arguably become outdated.

Meanwhile, the SLX chassis used by Quintana and co comes in at 790g. Both the Evo and SLX, available from £3,199 to £5,899, share the same up-to-date tube profiles but the more affordable SL, which weighs a claimed 940g, is based on the previous-generation Ultimate frame. That brings the price down to anywhere from £1,499 with Shimano 105 to £3,599 with SRAM Red eTap.

There are disc brake versions of the Ultimate, too, with both the SLX Disc and SL Disc featuring the same aero-enhancing tubing, stiff bottom bracket and chainstays, and comfort-enhancing dropped seatpost clamp as the top rim brake bikes.

If you’re set on an aluminium frame, then Canyon also make the Ultimate AL SLX frameset that provides the high-rated Sport Pro geometry in alloy form. With two high-spec builds to choose from, alongside a frameset only version for £749, it’s an appealing option for riders who value the low weight and high stiffness that alloy can provide, at a more competitive price than carbon.

Canyon Endurace and Endurace Disc

As the name might suggest, the Endurace bike is the endurance bike of the German manufacturer’s range, but still with a heart that will stand up to equal amounts of aggressive riding. It’s based around the ‘Sport’ geometry, which sits the rider up a little more than the Ultimate’s Sport Pro layout. However, geometry and disc brakes (which we’ll come on to) aside, the Endurace is very similar to the Ultimate, with aero-influenced tube profiles designed to offer both stiffness and comfort.

The SLX and SL-spec carbon bikes are disc-brake only, an indication that Canyon sees these bikes most at home away from the cut-and-thrust of racing, while this naturally means the frames are easily capable of sporting wider tyres, coming supplied with 28c rubber. Also, unless you go for the bottom-level 7.0 SL machine, you’ll get Canyon’s innovative split VCLS 2.0 carbon seatpost, which is said to maximise comfort.

There are also standard Endurace CF bikes that hark back to a previous generation, and while these don’t feature the latest tube profiles of the SLX and SL frames, you do get the Sport geometry as well as a healthy dose of carbon knowhow from Canyon’s engineers, with VCLS compliance technology integrated into the frames. These are rim brake only, while there are also alloy frames featuring the same geometry with both disc and rim brake versions.

The range of bikes here is truly staggering, with a top of the range CF SLX Disc 9.0 LTD bike with SRAM red eTap costing £6,249, all the way down to the cheapest Endurace, an AL 6.0 available in both standard and women’s-specific models, and coming with a Shimano Tiagra drivetrain for £799.

Canyon Endurace and Endurace Disc 2018 bikes

Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 LTD – £6,249
Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 Di2 – £5,899
Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 SL – £5,649
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 9.0 LTD – £4,999
Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 8.0 Di2 – £4,499
Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 8.0 – £3,899
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 8.0 Aero – £3,799
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0 Aero – £3,399
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0 Di2 – £2,999
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 8.0 Di2 – £2,999
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0 SL – £2,699
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 8.0 SL – £2,699
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 8.0 – £2,349
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 8.0 – £2,349
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 7.0 – £1,799
Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 7.0 – £1,799
Canyon Endurace AL Disc 8.0 – £1,649
Canyon Endurace WMN AL Disc 8.0 – £1,649
Canyon Endurace AL Disc 7.0 – £1,349
Canyon Endurace WMN AL Disc 7.0 – £1,349

Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc frameset electric – £2,349
Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc frameset mechanical – £2,349
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc frameset electric – £1,349
Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc frameset mechanical – £1,349

Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 Di2 – £2,449
Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 – £1,749
Canyon Endurace CF 7.0 – £1,349
Canyon Endurace WMN CF 7.0 – £1,349
Canyon Endurace AL 8.0 – £1,299
Canyon Endurace AL 7.0 – £999
Canyon Endurace WMN AL 7.0 – £999
Canyon Endurace AL 6.0 – £799
Canyon Endurace WMN AL 6.0 – £799

Canyon Endurace AL frameset mechanical – £649
Canyon Endurace AL Disc frameset mechanical – £599

Canyon Speedmax

We’re into time trial (and, whisper it, triathlon) territory here. The Speedmax is Canyon’s go-to bike for nearly all races against the clock, and has featured under Tony Martin at Katusha this year, while it’s also got serious cred over in the Ironman series thanks to Jan Frodeno’s two victories at the World Championships in Kona in 2015 and 2016.

Reputation secured, there’s serious innovation here in the Speedmax SLX. The frame itself is designed to shape fast-moving air around it, evidenced not least with the deep profiling off the headtube and downtube, as well as the filled shrouding around the rear wheel. You also get integrated brakes inside the fork blades and at the bottom bracket too.

The SLX frame comes specced with a specially-developed (in partnership with Ergon) carbon basebar and ergonomic extensions, while you get Profile T4 extensions with the SL-spec frame. On that note, while the Speedmax SL shares the wind-cheating tube profiles of the SLX, the integrated brakes are swapped for direct-mount calipers. Still, while you may be giving up some aero efficiency, they are a whole lot more accessible for maintenance.

Builds start from £2,099 for the CF SL 7.0 machine complete with a Shimano 105 drivetrain for those just starting out in time trialling on a specific TT machine. The range then goes right up to the top-line SLX 9.0 LTD bike kitted out with a Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain and Zipp’s latest Sawtooth 858 hoops for £8,599. Four ‘WMN’ bikes are also available, ranging from between £4,499 to £2,099.

Canyon Speedmax 2018 bikes

Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 9.0 LTD – £8,599
Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 9.0 SL – £8,399
Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 9.0 – £7,499
Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 8.0 SL – £5,899
Canyon Speedmax CF SLX 8.0 – £4,999
Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 LTD – £4,999
Canyon Speedmax WMN CF 8.0 LTD – £4,499
Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 Di2 – £4,099
Canyon Speedmax WMN CF 8.0 Di2 – £3,799
Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 SL – £3,199
Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 – £2,699
Canyon Speedmax WMN CF 8.0 – £2,699
Canyon Speedmax CF 7.0 – £2,099
Canyon Speedmax WMN CF 7.0 – £2,099

Canyon Inflite 2018 bikes

Canyon Inflite CF SLX 9.0 Pro Race – £3,599
Canyon Inflite CF SLX 9.0 – £2,899
Canyon Inflite CF SLX 8.0 Pro Race – £2,499
Canyon Inflite AL 9.0 – £1,799
Canyon Inflite AL SLX 8.0 Pro Race – £1,649
Canyon Inflite AL 9.0 S – £1,649
Canyon Inflite AL 8.0 – £1,449

Canyon Inflite CF SLX frameset – £1,799