Does anyone own a Canyon?

I am in no way wishing to be impolite Sam- but you are massive, and R-Sys have a reputation for "dramatic" failure modes.

R-Sys = not with a 100 ft barge pole

In the early days they had a well-deserved rep for trying to kill people, but s'all good these days. At least that's what Edscoble says.

I'm pretty sold on the electrix and alu anyway. £1,500 is quite a jump for a slightly stiffer/lighter frame, a weenie wheelset, and a mechanical groupset which is about to be replaced and could be seen as a downgrade from Ultegra Di2.

Leccy ultrega with nice training/everyday wheels.
Then buy some of these....
http://www.probikekit.com/no/wheels/deep-profile-bicycle-wheels/zipp-808-firecrest-rear-wheel-1.html

I'm pretty sold on the electrix and alu anyway. £1,500 is quite a jump for a slightly stiffer/lighter frame, a weenie wheelset, and a mechanical groupset which is about to be replaced and could be seen as a downgrade from Ultegra Di2.

Is the carbon frame actually stiffer though?

Only if those potentailly Germany-biased *Tour *tests are to be believed. There certainly appears to be more contact at the DT/HT junction and ST/BB.

Good price on those 808's btw. I've been thinking about getting some 50mm Carbon clinchers from Soul in Singapore though. The WW forum rave about them. I'll see if I have enough Singapore Dorrah in the summer.

Didn't Tour do a tyre group test at the Conti factory, in which amazingly the Conti tyres came out on top ?

No bias at all at Tour....

Only if those potentailly Germany-biased *Tour *tests are to be believed. There certainly appears to be more contact at the DT/HT junction and ST/BB.
As web info goes. Those tour tests are second only to the great scoble himself.

Good price on those 808's btw. I've been thinking about getting some 50mm Carbon clinchers from Soul in Singapore though. The WW forum rave about them. I'll see if I have enough Singapore Dorrah in the summer.

The 808s are a better shape. I did look into getting the Soul hubs, as they are well made, and bombproof for the weight. But they did'nt really save me any money over Tune, after import etc.

The point is the alu frame with a more interesting groupset, and some bling aero wheels would be better package IMHO. Plus you'd have nice training wheels.

Just back from some hill sprints (ahem!) on my 2 year old Ultimate CF, still an amazing bike. Really nice to be back on it, after about a month off.
Unfortunately its a confirmed case of PEBPAB (Problem Exists Between Pedals and Bars)

Also, I think its a massive shame that they no longer offer any of the other colours, I thought they were the nicest examples I'd seen (possibly biased!)

Looking at an Ultimate AL to replace my crash damaged Planet X. When I checked the site earlier the price was €799, but when I looked again two hours later it was €680. I almost bought one on the spot. Then when I checked just now it had gone back upto €799. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there a way to coax the lower price back? Surely they don't just play with the prices on a Sunday afternoon?

Hmm... browser had changed it to GBP?

799.00 EUR = 678.028 GBP

Although if I go here in Chrome - http://www.canyon.com/_uk/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2529 - it shows as £689 to me...

Well done - I didn't notice the change in currency! Should have put two and two together. What can I say? It has been a long weekend.

If its particulary light. It might take time to trust it on desents.

this.

Sam: get the crabon version (non SLX) it's a sweet bike and (on your advice) I got it over the SLX because of price/weight/comfort calcs. You can ride mine if you'd like to test size (64). B

Canyon bike ride?

This is a canyon bike ride.

this:

would be better.

happy to roll up a canyon cru (like premier cru init) sometime.

Delivery of my Ultimate CF 8.0 has been put back to Wednesday. Hmm.

Sam: get the crabon version (non SLX) it's a sweet bike and (on your advice) I got it over the SLX because of price/weight/comfort calcs. You can ride mine if you'd like to test size (64). B

I'm sold on the electrix, but I'd interested to have a go on your crabon anyway.... what pedals do you use?

^ spd sl.

tbh the AL9.0 LTD looks amazing. guaranteed head-turner.

Have you ridden the ultimate in both the AL and the CF? Other than the weight discrepancy, any other comments?

I've ridden other high-end alu and mixed material (my old BMC SLX01) bikes and IMO the carbon is much more forgiving on the ass/hands while maintaining the same stiff feel on climbs. I would say downhill feels a bit more edgy but my old BMC was well known for being a solid descender so i don't think that's fair to the Canyon really.

in short (albeit only after about 300k of riding) the Canyon is a great all-rounder and for <1k (on the outlet, same models) I can't imagine finding a better (new) frameset.

Just had my Ultimate CF 8.0 delivered. I tried to be calm and slowly and carefully build it. I had a sandwich and cuppa first. That is restraint. Pretty easy to put together, although there was some plastic nonsense disc behind the cassette which took some time to remove.

Took it out for a 1 hour spin and I really like it. Most importantly, it fits. That was a big consideration with mail order bike. Ride-wise it feels rapid and it is comfy all at the same time. It goes with you when you attack the pedals. Yes the front end is light and will take a little to trust. I didn't do any sharp descents, but on the downhills such as they were today it was very joyful and easy to control.

The indexing is out a little and I'll tweak the bar position. Pretty happy with the 90mm stem, a change from the 80mm on the standard spec. I had expected to be charged 20 Euros for that, but wasn't in the event. Not sure how to instal the stem cap I bought as an extra - no instructions for that. There is a manual - more a novel - for assembly and a DVD for maintenance.

All in all - I am smiling.

PS Yes I did add pedals and lower the saddle.