Gear

Five Canyon bikes available for less than £1,100

Want to get your hands on a Canyon bike at a bargain price? Here are five for less than £1,100

Canyon have long had a reputation for delivering value-for-money, whether at WorldTour level and the bikes ridden by the Katusha and Movistar teams, or at the other end of the spectrum and the German direct sales brand’s entry-level machines.

The 2017 Canyon range includes five bikes for less than £1,100, with each available in men’s and women’s specifications. Two of those machines are aimed at road riders and are based around Canyon’s aluminium Endurace AL frame as a result, while three are aimed at fitness cyclists, utilising the aluminium Roadlite AL frame specced with flat handlebars.

We’ve taken a look at each bike to see what you are getting for your money. Let’s dive in – or check them out for yourself on the Canyon’s website.

Canyon Endurace AL 6.0 – £999

Canyon’s Endurace platform is designed, as the name suggests, to offer a blend of endurance comfort and race performance. You’ll find both aluminium and carbon fibre frames in the range, though we’ll focus on the value-packed alloy frame here.

The Canyon Endurace AL 6.0 comes with a full Shimano 105 groupset – for less than £1,000

The frame’s tapered Maximus seattube is designed to provide both stiffness and comfort, while the skinny seatstays are profiled to further boost comfort, while also keeping the weight low. Speaking of which, the frame comes with a claimed weight of 1,350g, which is impressively light for an aluminium frame at this price.

Paired with Canyon’s 350g full-carbon One One Eight SL fork and you have the basis of a package which won’t trouble the scales. In fact, Endurace AL 6.0 comes in at just 8.1kg for the complete bike in a size medium.

That’s helped by the inclusion of a full Shimano 105 groupset and Mavic Aksium wheels. Canyon have specced the Endurace AL 6.0 with a compact 50-34t chainset and 11-32t cassette, providing a low and wide spread of gears for climbing, making this an ideal setup for new cyclists or riders targeting hilly events.

The impressive spec sheet continues with first-class 25mm Continental Grand Prix 4000S II tyres – rarely seen on a bike of this price – along with a saddle from Italian specialists Selle Italia.

Canyon offer the Endurace AL 6.0 in two colours, with ‘deep black/lime’ and ‘meteor grey/cyan’ options, and seven sizes, from XS to XXXL.

The Canyon Endurace AL 6 WMN swaps in women’s-specific components

Meanwhile, the Endurace WMN AL 6.0 is the women’s version of the bike. It’s based around the same frame and shares largely the same specification, though Canyon have swapped in a female-specific saddle, the Selle Italia Lady Flow Special Edition, and tweaked the handlebar widths and stem lengths across the four sizes offered (XS-L).

The Endurace WMN AL 6.0 is also available in two colours. Take your pick from ‘deep black/berry’ and ‘early blue’. The price remains the same at £999.

Canyon Endurace AL 5.0 – £799

The Canyon Endurace AL 5.0 is based around the same aluminium frame and carbon fork as the 6.0 but swaps in Shimano’s fourth-tier Tiagra groupset in place of the 105 components found on the 6.0.

The Canyon Endurace AL 5.0 is another value-packed machine, this time coming with Shimano Tiagra

Tiagra was overhauled in 2016 and, while the groupset remains ten-speed, it now shares the same four-arm chainset design as further up the Shimano range. Once again, you’ll find a compact 50-34t chainset paired with a climb-friendly 11-32t cassette.

As for the rolling stock, the Endurace AL 5.0 gets a set of Shimano WH-RS010 hoops, shod with Continental Grand Prix tyres. That bumps the complete bike weight up a little to 8.7kg (size medium), but it’s still a really lightweight machine for the money.

Canyon offer the Endurace WMN AL 5.0 is two colours: ‘deep black ano-berry’ and ‘early blue’

Once again, there’s a women’s-specific version of the bike, with the Endurace WMN AL 5.0 also coming in at £799. You’ll find the same Shimano Tiagra groupset and rolling stock but, once again, the saddle is a women’s-specific Selle Italia Lady Flow Special Edition, and the handlebar and stem sizes are specced to be more accommodating to female riders.

Canyon Roadlite AL 7.0 – £1,049

That’s the road-focused Endurace covered, then. What about the Roadlite? Well, a couple of years back the Roadlite was Canyon’s entry-level, aluminium road bike frame, but now it’s aimed at the fitness market, so Canyon have replaced the drop handlebar with a flat handlebar to make the bike more appealing to riders in search of a more relaxed position for everyday riding.

The Roadlite is Canyon’s fitness machine – but it’s still designed to be ridden quickly

As you’d expect from a bike like this, the Roadlite AL has mounts to accept full mudguards and a rack, so you can get it setup for year-round commuting duties.

It’s still a bike designed to be ridden quickly, though, and that’s reflected by the 1,490g frame weight and the spec of the Roadlite AL 7.0, which is dressed in an 11-speed Shimano 105 groupset operated by ergonomic trigger shifters and Shimano BR-M396 hydraulic disc brakes. Like the Endurace, the Roadlite gets a wide spread of climb-flattening gears thanks to the 50-34t chainset and 11-32t cassette.

Continuing the theme set by the Endurace, the Roadlite AL 7.0 is specced with impressive rolling stock. This time it’s a set of tubeless-ready DT Swiss R 24 Spline db wheels and 30mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres – some of the best tyres out there for riders who want to mix on-road speed, with the durability and versatility to tackle rougher surfaces like tow paths and gravel tracks with confidence.

The Roadlite AL 7.0’s saddle comes from Iridium, while the handlebar, stem and seatpost are reliable own-brand components from Canyon. You’ll find the Roadlite in six sizes, from XS to XXL, and the 7.0 comes in two colours (‘stealth’ and ‘yellow grey’).

The £1,049 Roadlite WMN 7.0 comes with Shimano 105 gearing

As is the case with the Endurace, Canyon offer the Roadlite in women’s specific variations, with the Roadlite WMN AL 7.0 swapping in a Iridium WMN saddle.

More significantly, however, the geometry is different and designed for female riders, while the Roadlite WMN AL 7.0 is also offered in an additional size, XXS, and with M as the largest size. There are two colour options to choose from: ‘stealth’ and ‘light lime grey’.

Canyon Roadlite AL 6.0 – £899

Canyon use the same frame throughout the Roadlite range, so you’ll find the same aluminium chassis and carbon fork (with tapered steerer) on the 6.0 as the upscale 7.0.

The Roadlite 6.0 wears a Shimano Tiagra groupset for a penny under £600

It’s £250 cheaper than the 7.0, though, and that’s partly because Canyon have swapped in a Shimano Tiagra groupset. However, as we’ve already mentioned, Tiagra is an excellent groupset in its own right, benefitting from Shimano’s trickle-down technology and gaining many of the features found further up the Japanese manufacturer’s range. You also still get the same Shimano BR-M396 hydraulic disc brakes as the 7.0, ensuring consistent and powerful braking in all weathers.

Instead of DT Swiss wheels, you get Mavic Aksium All Road Disc hoops, which, as the name suggests, are built to tackle varied terrain – expect reliability and durability to be key attributes of this wheelset. Once again, they’re wrapped in top-quality Schwalbe G-One Speed 30mm tyres.

Finishing kit comes from Canyon, along with a saddle from Iridium. The two colour options give you the choice of the snazzy ‘true blue’ pictured and a ‘yellow grey’ alternative.

The women’s-specific Canyon Roadlite WMN 6.0 gets an updated geometry and components

The Canyon WMN Roadlite AL 6.0, meanwhile, gains an Iridium WMN saddle and a women’s-specific geometry. Choose from ‘light lime grey’ and ‘real red’ colours.

Canyon Roadlite AL 5.0 – £699

Finishing our five-bike focus is the Canyon Roadlite AL 5.0. This one comes in at £699 and makes a Shimano Sora groupset the focus of the bike. The gearing is slightly different, with the compact chainset and 11-34t cassette offering a seriously low set of gears, but you still get Shimano’s BR-M396 hydraulic disc brakes.

The Roadlite has eyelets for mudguards and rack, making it fully up to the task of commuting duties

Otherwise, the 5.0 shares many of the components found on the 6.0, including the excellent Mavic Aksium All Road Disc wheelset and Schwalbe G-One Speed tyre setup. Canyon offer the Roadlite AL 5.0 in ‘true blue’ and ‘yellow grey’.

For £699, you get a Shimano Sora groupset, Mavic Aksium All Road Disc wheels and Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres on the Canyon Roadlite WMN 5.0

As for the Roadlite WMN AL 5.0, it’s the same deal as the rest of the range, with a tweaked geometry and women’s-specific saddle, plus the choice of ‘light lime grey’ and ‘real red’ colours.

Take a closer look at all five of these bikes on canyon.com