Does anyone own a Canyon?

Is the Ultegra that far superior? I thought it was pretty much on a par with the SRAM? My road research might not have been up to scratch!

And yeah, they seem to give the best specs for the price across the board. I was initially looking at Giant Propels at a local shop, and they're just blatantly inferior for the same price!

The Ultimate CF SL Aero 9.0 is the one is discussion. Rolls right off the tongue :)

I looked at the base Aeroad, but it looked a bit extreme for my needs. Stack and Reach worked out quite a bit longer and lower than my current set up too, which wouldn't be ideal obviously. Plus it's extra money, and I kind of had £2500 as a nominal price limit!

Shimano = better
Sram = lighter

Its all personal pref tbh. Hood shape and interface will play a big part. They are at par otherwise. I have both, I like both.

Ok cool. I'll have a look somewhere to have a feel of the hoods for both in person, and maybe have a spin on them if it's not taking the mickey a bit!

I have to admit, I don't particularly like the idea of Double-tap. Much prefer a simple one lever for each function job, and as I said in my OP I have at least used Shimano gears before, and I know they'll stand the test of time.

Mavic are barely fast compare to the other offering, ironically enough, for the money the Askium is better value.

You can get an Aeroad CF SLX frameset on sponsorship for £1750, that would leave you £750 for gruppo & wheels. baring in mind it comes with seatpost, integrated bar & stem and direct mount brakes so all you need is a saddle.

Ah yeah, thought you're asking for which.

Go for the carbon anyway, nice to go for a bike that's extremely noticeable compared to your old one.

Shifter is preference, if you're still unsure, go to a local Evans and try out a bike with similar groupsets.

Doesn't natter which is better, as long you liked the shape and feel of the hood where you'll spend the majority of time on.

That's true.

I'll openly admit that the aesthetics play a large part in it for me though, and I'm sure that will have a psychological difference, especially after spending such a significant amount of money. The bike as a whole will be drastically faster than my current one too, so the wheel to wheel comparisons are probably just marginal gains.

At the very least, the braking on the Exalith 2 brake track is meant to be fantastic once it's bedded in, so they've got that going for them over Askiums ( which are one of the few road components I've owned in the past!)

As I said to Ed, I think the Aeroad is just a step too far into race territory for me, and the geo isn't complementary to my current set up. Thanks for the thought though :)

Worth noting that last year CF SL and SLX were exactly the same with geo etc. SLX being lighter and SL was trickle down since they've released the new SLX this year they could trickle it down to SL in 2016.

Plus what @MicroDosed™ said about Aeroroad can be said about CF SLX .. Frameset under sponsorship and then groupset and wheels.

Go for the carbon anyway, nice to go for a bike that's extremely noticeable compared to your old one.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head for me there Ed, thanks!

And there was me naively thinking the current bikes available online were all the 2016 models! Is there any rhyme or reason as to when the next batch might be released, or is it arbitrary?

This #buyer lifestyle is more hassle than it's worth! :)

arbitrary

your answer. If you are eying up CF SLX note the geo is diff. That handlebar stem tho ...

They do call the CF SL 2016 without making any changes btw.

Just looked at the SLX geo, and I don't think it would work for me, thankfully. I was torn enough already, without that muddying the waters!

Only 150g lighter anyway, and lots more money. The bar/stem combo is great though.

Think a complete is going to be my preferred option too, rather than trying to make savings with individual parts.

spacer nazi

rep

Just buy whichever one is red.

mmmmm

I don't know how 'far' superior it is but I would still say it's superior. I've had both and I think Ultegra is much better. I never really got on with double tap I have to say. I guess these sort of things come down to feel and shape as mentioned above.

Red is not allowed. Ever.

That stem length. Wtf.
Wank.

All my bikes are black or white. Still - rules are rules, red is faster.

I've never been overtaken by someone on a red bike. Fact.

wimmin's innit .. canyon thinks all women need is short stem and "pretty" colour and the exact same geo as men's

This is my fav:

Would be perfect for T. Rex.