Canyon Bikes - A Brief History
While the United States didn't have access to Canyon until 2017, Canyon's history began decades prior. In the mid 80's the Arnold brothers began "Radsport Arnold" GmbH - a bicycle supply company. 11 years later, in 1996 the first bike was produced under the name Canyon. A mountain bike called model FX1000. Even in the mid-90's, Roman Arnold was leaning into selling direct-to-consumer on the internet (in the days of dial-up). Quite a radical move, especially for bikes.
Over the years Canyon has proven their design and engineering to be capable of competing with the best in the world. Canyon riders in almost every discipline have ridden to World Championships, stage wins, and course records. Riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Cadel Evans, Jasper Philipsen, Chloe Dygert, Nairo Quintana, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Puck Pieterse, Troy Brosnan, Fabio Wibmer, Jan Frodeno, and Patrick Lange just to name a few...
In the short years since Canyon began selling direct-to-consumer in the U.S. they've rapidly grown from a somewhat unknown German brand only available overseas to a staple at every group ride and trail head.
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Canyon Bikes - Naming Guide
Canyon uses acronyms and nomenclatures to represent frame material and component spec. Here's a cheat sheet to make it easier:
Frame Material:
CFR = Stands for "Canyon Factory Racing", which is Canyon's newest, most cutting-edge carbon layup to date. This is what the pro's are riding.
CF SLX = Still utilizing an incredibly high performance carbon layup, the SLX frame may be a tiny fraction heavier and less stiff than the CFR, but for the majority of riders out there this frame will deliver all the performance they need at a significant savings from the CFR. Generally, stock builds for the CF SLX will focus on higher end electronic drivetrains and carbon wheels.
CF SL = This is Canyon's "entry level" carbon layup. More cyclists may notice a difference in weight and springy responsiveness between the SL and SLX frame, however the SL level carbon is still nothing to baulk at. We've spent plenty of time aboard a CF SL level frame and been thoroughly impressed. Generally, stock build for the CF SL will have a variety of mid-tier level mechanical and electronic drivetrains as well as aluminum or carbon wheel options. You get a lot of bang for your buck at this level.
AL = This is Canyon's aluminum frame. For the rider just getting into the sport or looking for a frame that can be a bit more "worry-free" aluminum can be a great choice. It's the heaviest frame option and sacrifices the "poppy" responsive feel that carbon delivers, but aluminum has come a long way in terms of performance. The AL frame will get you an incredibly capable and dependable bike at a great price. Most stock builds will focus on mechanical drivetrains and aluminum wheels, however depending on the model and year, you may find electronic drivetrains spec'd on these bikes.
Number Delineation:
As a general guideline, the bigger the number, the higher the build spec. with that in mind, here are some groupsets you might expect with a given number delineation:
9 = Reserved for your top tier builds. Think primarily SRAM Red or Shimano Dura-Ace with higher end carbon wheels. Mountain bikes will typically have either SRAM X01 or XX AXS or Shimano XT or XTR with top tier suspension.
8 = This trim level will get you an incredible balance of value and performance. Typically these builds will consist of 2nd tier builds like Shimano Ultegra or SRAM Force. Mostly, but not always, these will have carbon wheels or at least high end aluminum wheels. Mountain bike builds will range between SRAM GX or Shimano XT Mechanical drivetrains.
7 = Expect builds consisting of Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival components. More recent generations of these may feature electronic versions of these drivetrains. Typically they'll feature aluminum wheels, but more aero-focused bike models like the Aeroad or Speedmax may offer an option with carbon wheels. We view the "7" spec as the beginning of getting performance inspired components. On the mountain bike side you'll typically see Shimano Deore or SRAM NX, which you may also see on the 6 - in this case, brake spec, suspension, and wheels will be the differentiating factor.
6 = For most of Canyon's lineup, this is the entry level platform. You'll see components like SRAM Apex or Shimano Tiagra. On the mountain bike side you'll typically see Shimano Deore or SRAM NX, which you may also see on the 7 - in this case, brake spec, suspension, and wheels will be the differentiating factor.
5 = This is the entry level build spec for Canyon bikes. You may find this spec on prior generation road and gravel bikes with entry level components and wheels. On the mountain bike side you'll typically see Shimano Deore or SRAM SX, which you may also see on the 7 or the 5 - in this case, brake spec, suspension, and wheels will be the differentiating factor.
Canyon Bikes - The Lineup
Breaking things down by category, in no particular order:
Canyon - Road & Triathlon Bikes
Aeroad, Endurace, Ultimate, Speedmax
Canyon Aeroad:
Category: Road // Subcategory: Aero Road
As the name suggests, the Canyon Aeroad is their most aerodynamic road bike. Proven time and time again in the Pro Peloton, the Aeroad is undeniably one of the fastest road bikes on the planet.
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Often compared with: Trek Madone, Specialized Tarmac & older Venge, Cervelo S5, Giant Propel, Cannondale SystemSix, BMC Teammachine
Canyon Endurace:
Category: Road // Subcategory: Endurance Road
Possibly one of their most popular models is the Canyon Endurace. Again, Canyon makes identifying their bikes easy by giving away the bikes main focus in the name - it's an endurance focused road bike. A more upright and forgiving geometry, longer wheelbase, and wider tire clearance make the Endurace more comfortable for longer rides or for cyclists who simply want a less aggressive bike fit. Endurance road bikes have been around for over a decade now and become a favorite for a huge population of cyclists for their balance of performance and comfort.
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Often compared with: Trek Domane, Specialized Roubaix, Giant Defy, Cervelo Caledonia, Cannondale Synapse, BMC RoadMachine, ENVE Fray
Canyon Ultimate:
Category: Road // Subcategory: Lightweight Road
Canyon's all-arounder road machine. It's incredibly lightweight for climbing and responsive and stable on flats or rollers. When compared to the Aeroad, its lighter weight due to the more traditional frame tube shapes. When compared with the Endurace it's more responsive with a shorter wheelbase and capable of getting into a more aggressive ride position with a lower, longer top tube.
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Often compared with: Trek Emonda (discontinued), Trek Madone (2025 and newer), Specialized Tarmac, ENVE Melee, Giant TCR, Cannondale SuperSix, Cervelo R5
Canyon Speedmax:
Category: Triathlon / Time Trial
Canyon's Triathlon and Time Trial bike is the one and only, Speedmax. The Canyon Speedmax is one of the most winningest bikes at Kona World Championships and in triathlon in general. The Speedmax also holds the bike course record in Kona, being the first to complete the strenuous 112-mile course in under 4 hours.
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Often compared with: Specialized Shiv, Trek Speed Concept, BMC SpeedMachine, Cervelo P5/P3/P-Series, Cannondale Slice, Giant Trinity, Felt IA, Quintana Roo PRSix
Canyon Gravel / Cyclocross Bikes
Inflite, Grail, Grizl
Canyon Inflite:
Category: Cyclocross / Light Gravel
The Canyon Inflite is the brands original drop bar offroad bike. Dedicated to the Cyclocross discipline, this bike features a signature kinked top tube for easy shouldering up stairs or over hurdles and tight, nimble handling for those frequent, nasty turns. Because cyclocross has a 33mm tire width maximum, the tire clearance for the Inflite doesn't bother to be very big, which helps keep the bike slimmer and lighter.
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Often compared with: Specialized Crux, Trek Boone & Crockett, Santa Cruz Stigmata, Kona Jake the Snake, Focus Mares CX, Ridley X-Ride
Canyon Grail:
Category: Gravel
The Canyon Grail was the brands first true gravel bike. Originally, it also featured a signature look with it's double-decker "hoverbar" handlebar system. This polarizing handlebar featured 2 cross sections for even more hand positions and added flex in the front of the bike when riding on the top bar. This bike has evolved over the years, but always kept its race-focus. The current generation (2024 and newer) ditched the "hoverbar" and visually modernized the bike. An exceptional choice for the rider looking for a fast feeling gravel bike.
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Often compared with: Specialized Crux & Diverge, Trek Checkpoint & Checkmate, Cervelo Aspero, 3T Exploro RaceMax, Giant Revolt, BMC Kaius, Ventum GS-1, Pinarello Grevil, Santa Cruz Stigmata, Allied ABLE
Canyon Grizl:
Category: Gravel / Adventure / Bikepacking
The Canyon Grizl was born from the evolution of modern gravel bikes. As the discipline grows the sub-categories of ride styles have become apparent. While some gravel riders want a race-ready bike capable of lighting up gravel roads with as much speed as possible, others are pushing the capabilities of what a rigid drop bar bike can do on rocky technical roads. Between these 2 extremes lies a broad range of riders hoping for their gravel bike to do both. For these riders, the Canyon Grizl may be the perfect bike. Line up at any fast gravel race across the country and you'll see plenty of Grizl's. However a slacker head tube, generous tire clearance, and copious braze-ons for bags and gear make the Grizl a reliable companion for multi-day bike-packing adventures or those looking for a more forgiving gravel bike than the Canyon Grail.
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Often compared with: Specialized Diverge, Trek Checkpoint, 3T Exploro Ultra, Orbea Terra, Otso Waheela, BMC URS, Ibis Hakka
Canyon Mountain Bikes
Exceed, Lux, Neuron, Spectral, Spectral 125, Strive, Torque, Sender, Dude
*Stock suspension numbers are based on 2026 MY and may vary generation to generation
Cross Country:
Canyon Exceed:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Hardtail
Suspension F: 100mm R: N/A
The Canyon Exceed is a hardtail cross country racer through and through. 100mm of fork travel, steep geometry, and a lightweight, responsive frame make the Exceed a rocketship on less technical cross country trails. It's not unheard of for riders to use the Canyon Exceed as a flat-bar gravel bike for more technical gravel. The lines between less technical singletrack and more technical gravel are quite blurred.
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Often compared with: Santa Cruz Highball, Trek Procaliber, Specialized Epic HT & Chisel, Ibis DV9, Cervelo ZHT-5
Canyon Lux:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Cross-Country/Down-Country
Suspension F: 120mm R: 115mm
Cross country racing is getting more and more technical and predominantly the start lines are filled with full-suspension bikes with slightly more suspension and gradually slacker and slacker head tube angles. The Canyon Lux has evolved over the years to meet these demands with more recent generations featuring 115/120mm of travel and a 67d head tube angle to put you confidently in control when the course gets gnarly.
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Often compared with: Specialized Epic, Trek Top Fuel, Yeti SB115, YT Izzo, Santa Cruz Blur TR, Cervelo ZFS-5
Trail:
Canyon Neuron:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Trail / All-Trail
Suspension F: 140mm R: 130mm
Possibly the most versatile mountain bike in Canyon's fleet. The Canyon Neuron has 130mm of rear suspension paired with 140mm up front. The geometry isn't on either side of the extremes, so you're confident on technical trail, but still efficient on climbs. It's the bike for the rider who likes to ride a variety of trails, but not committed to a certain style. With this in mind, it isn't a specialty bike in any discipline. It'll lack on extremely technical downhill riding - you'll want more suspension and a slacker head tube angle. It also won't be as fast as a true Cross Country rig - you'll want a little less suspension and slightly more aggressive forward geometry. But, most riders aren't dedicated to either end of these extremes and they want one trail bike that's pretty dang good at most trails. That's the Neuron.
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Often compared with: Specialized Stumpjumper, Trek Fuel EX, Santa Cruz Tallboy, Yeti SB120, Transition Smuggler
Canyon Spectral:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Trail / All-Trail
Suspension F: 150mm R: 140mm
The Canyon Spectral falls into the popular "Trail" category. In this broad sub-category of mountain bikes, the Spectral sits more on the bigger travel side of the spectrum. With 140mm of rear suspension and 150mm up front. Meaning, in the balance of climbing or descending capabilities, the Spectral leans more towards descending being it's strength. If you're the type of rider who wants a bike that falls into the "all trail" sub-category, it's helpful to know if you'd prefer the bike to favor a little more climbing strength (the Canyon Neuron) or descending strength (Canyon Spectral).
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Often compared with: Santa Cruz Hightower, Specialized Stumpjumper EVO, Trek Fuel EX, YT Jeffsy, Yeti SB140, Transition Sentinel
Canyon Spectral 125:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Trail / All-Trail
Suspension F: 150mm R: 125mm
A fascinating blend of models, the Spectral 125 has less travel than the Neuron paired with geometry numbers that match the bigger travel Spectral. This gives the rider a lighter weight bike that's easy to maneuver and in a position of confidence for steep descents. Canyon has also increased the "anti-squat" in the top third of the travel for better pedaling efficiency on less technical terrain. In layman's terms, this means the back of the bike doesn't compress as easily on less bumpy trails - meaning more of your effort is efficiently used for moving the bike forward instead of wasted vertically.
The Spectral 125 isn't going to climb as efficiently as a bike with a more XC-leaning geometry, but the categories this bike blends together is admirable. It climbs better than many other bikes with these geometry numbers and descends better than the majority of bikes with these suspension numbers.
Canyon has created a sub-sub-category.
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Often compared with: Specialized Status 140, Banshee Phantom V3, Norco Optic,
Enduro:
Canyon Strive:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Enduro
Suspension F: 170mm R: 160mm or 140mm (Shapeshifter Tech)
The Canyon Strive is for Enduro racers. Enduro bikes require a unique combination of fitness to monster up steep climbs between long sections of highly technical downhill trails. Bikes in this category need to be able to accomplish both well. The Strive has 140mm of rear travel paired with 160mm up front. But the real magic comes into the various ways you can adjust your geometry to tune it the way you like or to what this weekends Enduro course may demand.
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Often compared with: Specialized Enduro, Santa Cruz Megatower, Trek Slash, Yeti SB160, Pivot Firebird, Norco Sight, Rocky Mountain Altitude, YT Capra
Canyon Torque:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Enduro / Downhill
Suspension F: 170mm R: 170mm
The Canyon Torque is an exhilarating bike that'll leave you giddy and ready for more. It blends downhill bike personality with a little more pedal capability for the days with a little more trail variety or no chair lift. It's a bike for the burly downhill crowd that still want to be able to pedal up the occasional climb. Whereas the Sender is a shuttle service, lift service bike.
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Often compared with: Specialized Enduro, Trek Slash, Yeti SB165, Santa Cruz Nomad
Downhill:
Canyon Sender:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Downhill
Suspension F: 200mm R: 200mm
Canyon knows fast. Sometimes you're fighting gravity on a steep climb, other times you're trying to stay out of gravity's way and let it do its thing. The latter is much harder to do than it sound, especially when smashing down white-knuckle, rocky terrain. To do this well you need a stable bike with unwavering confidence. The Canyon Sender is built to tackle the fastest and gnarliest downhill trails you can find.
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Often compared with: Specialized Demo, Trek Session, Giant Reign, YT Tues, Santa Cruz V10, Rocky Mountain Slayer, Transition TR11
Fat Bikes:
Canyon Dude:
Category: Mountain // Subcategory: Fatbike / Snowbike
Suspension N/A
Have you ever been in the middle of a snow-covered forrest with no one else around and the blanket of fluffy white coats everything around you giving almost a sound-proof room effect? You stop riding for a moment, put a foot on the ground, and soak in that feeling of peace and quiet that's hard to come by these days.... Or maybe you want a fat bike to cruise across a frozen lake or commute by bike 12 months out of the year. The Canyon Dude Fat Bike is here for it.
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Often compared with: Specialized Fatboy, Trek Farley, Salsa Beargrease, Cannondale Fat CAAD, Rocky Mountain Blizzard
