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TECH NEWS
Canyon launches new Endurace AL distance road bike plus Urban and Fitness hybrid ranges
Canyon have unveiled their new Endurace AL at Eurobike in Germany this week, and also revealed new ‘urban’ and ‘fitness’ hybrid models with the Roadlite AL repurposed as a city bike with flat bars and hydraulic disc brakes.
Endurace AL offers aluminium frame and 'endurance' geometry
The new Endurace AL shares the same geometry with the carbon Endurace CF, itself a brand new endurance road model only launched recently. Making aluminium versions of carbon bikes is an increasingly common tactic being used by road bike manufacturers - with nearly all the big players bringing out metal versions of their key carbon bikes.
Canyon have only just moved into this endurance/sportive road market, which is becoming increasingly popular with the taller head tube and shorter top tube finding many fans because of the more comfortable position it gives on the bike.
This new Endurace AL will replace the Roadlite AL in the company’s road range. The Roadlite isn't dead though it lives on transformed in to a range of fitness bikes for 2015 with four bikes starting with this entry-level model costing £899 with a full Shimano 105 11-speed groupset.
Canyon Urban and Fitness hybrid ranges launched
Last year at Eurobike Canyon showed their Canyon Urban Concept Bike, an urban/city utility bicycle that has laid the foundations for the company’s brand new Urban range of hybrids.
“Our aim was to create a bike for the modern urban environment with emphasis on combining practicality and elegant design. Based on these requirements, we’ve gone from one concept to develop a complete range of bikes, with each model serving one fundamental purpose: to make urban riding enjoyable.” says Canyon.
The striking looking bike features an integrated stem and light design with a matching rear light integrated into the seat clamp. So no reason to forget to fit your lights before a ride.
The tall head tube gives a more upright riding position that should be both comfortable and ideal for seeing and being seen on city streets. The very sloping top tube provides good stand over clearance, exposes a good bit of seatpost for a bit of extra comfort and - most importantly makes getting on and off easier.
There will be three models in the range. This is the range-topping UI0 that comes with mudguards, a belt drive, gear hub and front hub dynamo and provision for panniers. The jury is still out (well it is around here) on whether belt drives offer more, less, or the same advantages as a chain, but they certainly have their fans amongst bike manufacturers and cyclists. We're not agin 'em, they do offer a lovely smooth ride we're just not convinced that their main real adavantage (they're cleaner) couldn't just as easily be solved with a chainguard.
There’s also a UII model with a conventional drivetrain, chain, no mudguards and a regular stem without the integrated light.
The U12 uses a different frame with external cable and brake hose routing, and a conventional head tube and non-integrated stem design. Each uses the VCLS carbon split seat post for improved comfort.
“Practical, user-friendly components are seamlessly blended into the frame to complement the bike’s harmonious form. With Integrated lights and leather con- tact points, the finishing touches on the Canyon Urban model are of the very highest quality,” so there, adds Canyon (we added that last bit). Although If were going to carp we'd have liked to see practical mudguards on all the models in the range and chainguards on the bikes with chains. Though of course dispensing with these items does help keep the price of the bike down.
Roadlite becomes flat bar 'fitness' bike
Alongside the Urban range Canyon have also launched a Fitness range of hybrids - for those that want to add speed to utility. The Fitness range is based around a revamped Roadlite now pensioned off from the road lineup following the launch of the new Endurace AL to be re-born in a new flat bar guise.
The bike uses an aluminium frame with a carbon Canyon F34 fork. Cable and brake hoses are internally routed. The flat bar is fitted with Shimano’s mountain bike hydraulic discs. There are mudguard mounts on the frame making it a good bet for year round commuting, which is pretty much the market Canyon are going after with this new model.
There will be two models in this range with both using Canyon's VCLS split carbon seat post that should tame the majority of bumps your likely to encounter on the ride to work or weekend jaunts round the lanes.
Click here to read all of our stories from Eurobike 2014 - the world's biggest bike show.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
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And finally: I wonder how many of the "more than 3,000" signatures on that petition are actually locals, who live or work there (and are not just...
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But... the last is only not the case with drivers on normal roads because driving on the cycle path / footway / rolling a vehicle up there is seen...
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I'd buy a motorbike fo rthat kind of money!
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18 comments
Is it just the lack of a chainguard you're objecting to? Because aside from that it looks like an ideal city bike to me. The position certainly isn't that low and I don't see how adding a set of drop bars would help that?
Mudguards - check
integrated dynamo lights - check
belt drive - check
rack - check
disc brakes - check
looks pretty good to me.
So it's just rolling your trousers up on an "urban" or "utility" bike that provokes this reaction?
I don't own an "urban" or "utility" bike, and whilst I commute in to my job in a city centre, I don't see the point in buying one and just use one of my current bikes. I don't want to stick a chain guard on so I just roll my pants up to stop them getting caught/dirty.
Occasionally, I tuck my pants in to my socks, is this more acceptable or does it also draw the same weird anti-hipster ire?
You misunderstand. I have no problem with bikes of any sort. Apart from the faux-Choppers, but they are the devil's own steed as any fule kno.
Likewise I happily accept that some might only be able to afford or store one bike, meaning the machine might need to do long fast lycra-clad days of a weekend, then besuited conveyance weekdays, trouser cuff uppermost.
My point is that a bike should not be labeled from the outset as 'practical', 'enjoyable' or 'comfortable' if it omits features that then require continuous adjustment of dress, or that make certain styles of dress impossible without serious risk of entanglement or damage, or has widely-spaced handlebars anywhere near seat level. Sell it as a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none by all means, but don't sell it as what it patently is not.
Why should anyone care? For the same reason we should care about advice that says Gatorade is a must-have drink, Lycra is compulsory to achieve comfort and that Garmins are essential for navigation because mobile batteries can't last all day. People can and will be mislead by bad advice or badly-marketed bikes. I don't like the idea of someone wanting to use a bike in an urban context being told they have to have something like the above. They won't realise they've likely been mis-sold until it's too late to return it.
Eh KiwiMike? It looks a hell of a lot more sensible than most bikes of the sort you describe. Integrated lights powered off a dynamo, full mudguards, flat bars, pannier rack, internal gear hub- I'd agree that the only way it would be better is with a full chain guard!
I agree the dynamo & guards immediately puts it about 90% ahead of most 'urban' bikes. But the fundamentally low, MTB-like position is going to get very sore, very fast. Hell, a set of drop bars would probably have been more comfortable as you could have your hands closer together on the tops. Urban cycling is about being comfortable, upright, seeing traffic, people etc. And critically, not having to do *anything* to what you are wearing. Get on & ride. Anyone in a dress, a coat or with long trousers will have to do 'something' every_single_time they get on or off this bike.
Companies persist in trying to make urban cycling 'sexy' by making lightweight, feature-packed bikes that are basically repurposed road machines suited only to the young/flexible in tight jeans or shorts. When all the while the sexiest bikes in cities are omafiets, because they let you wear what you want, how you want, and carry what you want. Hunched over handlebars while craning your neck upward just ain't comfortable, let alone sexy.
'URBAN UTILITY' BIKE DESIGNED BY YOUNG ROLLUP-TROUSER-WEARING MALES FOR OTHER YOUNG ROLLUP-TROUSER-WEARING MALES KLAXON
What exactly is wrong with rolling your trousers up?
I've never understood why this act generates so much bitter pettiness.
No-one's bitter or being petty.
If you are selling a bike that requires this act, it is not 'utility'. It is 'specific'.
What I meant was that this bike has been designed by people who have no issue with performing this action every_time they get on/off the bike. Clearly no middle-aged person likely to wear a dress or suit was involved in the design of this bicycle. Or if they were, it was to target a very specific segment of society.
When bikes like this are in the window at Evans et al being sold as the thing you *need* for cycling in the city, people buy them. And have a rubbish, impractical time of it.
The irony is that Evans et al have no problem touting machines like this at £1000 when they could sell many more practical machines at the same or lower price point.
All this while commuting by bicycle has a pretty low average speed due to lights so any weight/aero benefits are wasted. When Borisbiking in a suit I generally keep up with people on superlight road bikes across the city/West End, because while they are stopped at the lights I can trundle up behind them without breaking a sweat.
(and yes: I'm aware that Evans won't be selling Canyon any time soon. But you get the whole hipster-design-railing thing).
Strange that they're not doing Campag any more when Quintana won the Giro on a CF SLX with Super Record...
no disc brakes yet for the Ultimate CF SLX or new Aeroad? Seems odd as most other big names have several disc model road bikes now.
Canyon Ulitmate and Aero are race bikes hence can't use disc braces and no for posers in sportives or the local bike cafe.
silly me - must have interpreted recent bike developments completely wrong with the availability of Trek Domane disc, Spesh Tarmac disc, Bianchi Oltre XR2 and Infinito CV disc, Giant Defy disc, Colnago C59 and C60 disc, to name a few WorldTour bikes that are currently raced in the non-disc version.
Maybe Canyon does not want to take the attention away from the release of the new Aeroad and some other models this year, and have a big splash with disc road models next year?
I'll keep concentrating on just having coffee in my local cafe in the meantime
I think you need to have a better look at their website. There are less options than 2014, but Campag and SRAM are still there...
The Ultimate CF SLX has no Campag option for 2015 and just one model with SRAM. The Ultimate CF SL has Campag on Motistar team bike and a furthed model with just Athena.
So Canyon have firmly jumped aboard the Shimano ship like all other mass market brands.
My Ultimate CF SLX with Record is now a collectors item. Serouisly this is backwards step by Canyon as their appeal apart from the price was wide of choice and specs across the range. The same brilliant frame speced at different prices points. So none of this lower spec frame at the bottom of the range like the other big players. Now a Campag user wanting a top spec Canyon with have use the frame only option and buy the rest or buy a Canyon with Shimano and sell off the group set which is just a pain.
It seems strange all the major manufacturers can't afford campag yet the Decathlon stores are offering a bike with full athena group set for under £ 1000
or perhaps it's just too much aggravation for them to incorporate Campagnolo into their disc brake offerings? It can be done, but if Shimano and SRAM offer integrated groupsets with discs, why go out of their way?
Perhaps things will change when Campagnolo introduce their own disc brakes. Assuming that they haven't lost too much ground by then.
Hi Dave
The Ultimate CF SLX has no Campag option for 2015 and just one model with SRAM. The Ultimate CF SL has Campag on Motistar team bike and a furthed model with just Athena.
So Canyon have firmly jumped aboard the Shimano ship like all other mass market brands.
I noticed that for the 2015 range Canyon no longer offer any bike with Campagnolo and SRAM is only on the odd bike. While you are at Euro Bike can you ask Canyon why they are no offering just Shimano in common with most other manufactures. To this was why Canyon were so good as you could get their with all three major group set options.