Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 road bike

The Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 has a brilliant spec list, an impressive weight for its class and plenty of comfort, so why has this review been a struggle to write? Well, there is a vital ingredient missing and without it the dish is lacking a bit of flavour.

Let's break it down a bit and I'll try and explain what I mean.

For £1,299 you're getting the same frame as found on the top flite Endurace Dave Arthur tested a few months ago, the CF 9.0 SL, and what a frame it is too.

The thing I found most notable was the ride quality. Designed as an endurance bike, the CF 8.0 needs to deliver both performance and comfort without compromise, a big ask for any frame maker.

Find the Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 online

Just like any other material, carbon frames need to be designed by someone who knows what they are doing to turn a good-feeling frame into a brilliant one and the bods at Canyon certainly know their onions in that respect.

VCLS (Vertical Compliance Lateral Stiffness) technology is what they call it and it's all about putting the material where it needs to be and in the direction you want it to flex. The CF 8.0 has a tapered head tube and everything else on the bottom half of the frameset has been beefed up to withstand the forces coming from the rider and road.

What this produces is a buttery smooth ride that feels more like steel or titanium as it absorbs every road imperfection without feeling soft. The benefit of this in reducing rider fatigue over a distance of 100 miles is marked. The Merckx EMX-1 I tested recently felt the same and highlights why the frame is always the heart of the bike rather than just a component.

The slender fork legs reduce road buzz travelling up to the rider's hands though you do feel some flex under heavy cornering load resulting in a small amount of understeer when really being pushed.

Paired to the material setup Canyon have also tweaked the geometry when compared to their race frames. Most notably, They've slackened off the angles a bit and increased the wheelbase to just sedate the ride a little. They haven't gone all-out relaxed, mind, as they've only added 11mm to the wheelbase (989mm on the medium) with 5mm of that being on the chainstays to provide more room for bigger tyres.

Speaking of tyres the Endurace comes with 25mm Conti Grand Prix 4000s though these are stretched out to 27mm thanks to the wide rim profile of the DT Swiss R24 Spline wheels to give a balance of comfort and grip without the added weight of going for a bigger volume tyre. It does give you a slightly different tyre shape but it's not something that affects the handling.

Canyon also supply an own brand VCLS carbon seatpost that is designed using a leaf spring concept allowing the saddle to almost float about and move on big impacts. It works although you do get a few 'false alarms' under heavy pedalling which can be a bit disconcerting. In all honestly I think it's overkill and would be just as happy with a standard carbon post providing you can run with enough out of the frame to achieve some flex.

In the real world all this makes the Endurace very easy to ride when you're tired or the conditions aren't too great, either with regards to the surface or weather while still providing a somewhat sporty ride should you want to put the hammer down.

Through the bends, especially flat and flowing ones, the CF 8.0 holds a very smooth line with little input from the rider. It's when things speed up, tighten up or both that the Endurace lacks that real crispness in the corners, and leaves you wanting a bit more responsiveness and feedback. Even the short 100mm stem and narrow 42cm bars can't do anything to raise the level of interest.

The comfort along with the 7.77kg (17.12lb) weight make the Endurace highly suitable for a mile muncher. It's a bike that is happy in any terrain as it rolls so well. The ratios on the 11-speed cassette mean you're highly unlikely to find yourself in between gears so maintaining speed with changes in terrain can be done from the saddle, again making a big difference to tiredness over the course of a long ride especially on unfamiliar roads.

The Endurace will sprint if you ask it but it's certainly not its forte. You don't exactly get back what you're putting in, and it all feels a little subdued to me. It does stay planted though even with maximum power going through the frame with none of that rear wheel skitting around feeling as you go for the town sign.

It's impressive to see a full Shimano 105 group at this price point and it matches the solid feel of the Canyon's frame with its positive shifting and controllable braking. The 50/34T, 11-28T gearing pretty much gives you every gear ratio you are going to need for climbing or descending, in this country anyway.

The light action of the gear change is another of those little things that add up to reducing fatigue as does the impressive bite from the calipers. Your fingers aren't aching at the bottom of a technical, wet descent from having to haul on the brakes for every single bend. The fact that the new calipers also take up to 28mm wide tyres means they're a perfect match for the frameset's clearance.

The rest of the build kit is just as impressive with a full Ritchey cockpit (although this will soon be changing to Canyon's own brand stuff soon as per their website) and a Fizik Vesta saddle. If you were to buy all this stuff separately there is no way you'd make the £1,299 price mark.

There don't seem to have been any corners cut with this build and it'll last for the long haul before needing any serious upgrades. The DT Swiss wheel choice is a really good decision, going for longevity and easy maintenance rather than something that maybe looks flashier to save a few grams. They've managed to do it without sacrificing too much weight either as the claimed wheel weight of 1,764g means they are no heavyweights.

They certainly stayed true throughout testing after plenty of back lane pothole smashing. The rims are tubeless ready too, so once the tyres come down to a sensible price there is another weight saving, comfort improving option.

Conclusion

So then, the missing ingredient. Can you spot it?

The excitement, where is the fun factor!

Looking at each component or ride quality in separation the Canyon Endurace CF 8.0 should be topping the road.cc Bikes of the Year for sure. Amazing price and spec list while sharing the same frameset as the top end model, comfortable, stable, decent handling and a competitive weight.

But it won't be, why? I wasn't ever really that bothered about getting it out of the shed to ride it or even look at it to be honest. To me that's what passion in your hobby or lifestyle is all about whether it be cars, guitars or whatever, they've got to ignite something inside of you.

I understand that the Endurace is designed for long distance and for that an element of predictability is a bonus but I've ridden plenty of other bikes in this category that provide all of that but still get the juices flowing.

Don't get me wrong, the CF 8.0 is a great bike, possibly even brilliant when you take everything into account but it's just not as exceptional as its stats would have you believe.

Verdict

Phenomenal in almost every way but just needs a bit of personality to make it fun