Canyon might have just launched a new range of women-specific disc-equipped road bikes, but we’ve just taken delivery of the current Endurace WMN CF 9.0 Di2 to review.
The Endurace is Canyon’s sportive and endurance bike, designed for riding long miles in relative comfort. The geometry provides a more relaxed fit than the Ultimate race bike, and the frame and equipment are intended to offer a smoother ride that soaks up the impacts and vibrations.
So it’s a full carbon fibre frame and fork and with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset costs £2,649. A compact 50/34 chainset and 11-32t cassette provide a wide range of gears, and the 7.24kg (15.9lb) weight of the size XS bike will certainly help in the battle against gravity.
To help filter out some of the harsher vibrations caused from riding over a rough road surface, Canyon has fitted its VCLS seatpost. It’s a smart design, two halves that act like a leaf spring and allow the saddle to deflect under load. The 25mm wide Continental tyres provide another layer of vibration absorption.
Wheels on this model are the excellent DT Swiss PR 1400 Dicut OXiX. A mouthful of a name, they combine an aluminium rim with a special ceramic coating which provides fabulous braking performance in the dry and wet, and long-lasting durability too. And at 1,500g, they’re nice and light. Good choice Canyon.
There’s attention to detail to ensure the equipment works well, such as the shorter reach handlebar with size-dependant drops, and a Selle Italia SLS Lady Flow saddle with a pressure relieving channel running down the centre.
The plan is for reviews editor Tass to review this bike and then compare it to one of the new disc-equipped Endurace models when the become available. It should make for an interesting comparison.
What of the other contenders at this price? Giant has already committed to disc brakes and the Avail Advanced Pro features a full carbon frame with hydraulic disc brakes, and costs £2,499 with Shimano 105 or £2,899 with Ultegra.
It’s a similar story at Specialized, with its comfort focused model the Ruby Comp sharing the Roubaix’s disc brakes and FutureShock. An Ultegra-equipped model costs £2,650.
Finally, how about Trek’s Silque with Shimano Ultegra costing £2,100, which incorporates the company’s unique IsoSpeed decoupler that allows the seatpost to deflect to provide a smoother ride, as used on the Domane.
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