Thoughts on the Canyon Strive range

[fraser102]

So for a while, I have been looking at getting a dual suspension mountain bike. One day, a mate of mine suggested looking into Caynon bikes. When looking through their range, I found the Strive, which has the shapeshifting technology, which really intrigued me, as it was exactly what I was looking for in a bike. The one thing that really concerned me was the fact that they were an online company only, so they don't have any authorized dealers, so I can't go to a shop and sit on the bike and see how it feels, and most importantly, I can't take it to a shop to get fixed, and I am not very experienced with fixing bikes, as I have never really had to in the past, and I don't really think it is a great bike to learn how to fix things on.

So what are your guys thoughts on the bike. Does anyone own one, or owned one in the past. And do you have any alternate suggestions to this bike?

[Mububban]

So for a while, I have been looking at getting a dual suspension mountain bike. One day, a mate of mine suggested looking into Caynon bikes. When looking through their range, I found the Strive, which has the shapeshifting technology, which really intrigued me, as it was exactly what I was looking for in a bike.

Hi Fraser, I've got no first hand experience but I do spend waaay too much time watching bike reviews on Youtube Reviews of Canyon bikes always rate them very highly.

The one thing that really concerned me was the fact that they were an online company only, so they don't have any authorized dealers, so I can't go to a shop and sit on the bike and see how it feels, and most importantly, I can't take it to a shop to get fixed, and I am not very experienced with fixing bikes, as I have never really had to in the past, and I don't really think it is a great bike to learn how to fix things on.

Realistically, in isolation, any modern bike is likely to feel good. I bought one without test riding (not something I'd normally do) as I trusted my local store who know me, and it was all my budget could afford! And it's brilliant. Mainly because I was going from a 15 year old hard tail with coil forks, to a modern air suspension dualie, with 1x gearing, bigger wheels, dropper post and modern slacker geometry. Totally different and totally awesome.

That said, when I was test riding different road bikes, I did notice appreciable differences between brands and models (I called it the "smile factor"), but you don't miss what you never had so that choice is up to you. No modern bike should feel bad, it's just that some tested back to back might feel better than others.

So what are your guys thoughts on the bike. Does anyone own one, or owned one in the past. And do you have any alternate suggestions to this bike?

What's your budget? The Strive ranges from $3600 including shipping to $8000 incl shipping. My Merida has 140mm travel and cost $2200.

Shock 160mm, fork 170mm - do you need that much travel? That much is good for jumps, drops and smashing downhill fast. Otherwise it might be a bit much for general trail riding and might make climbing slightly harder and handling a bit more sluggish?

Equivalent long travel bikes (150mm - 170mm) would be the Giant Reign, Scott Genius, Cube Stereo 160, Merida One Sixty....plenty of options out there in the Enduro/All Mountain category.

Let us know what you end up with

[Gavel]

Realistically from a huge international brand like canyon youd be hard pressed to find a crap bike in their lineup.

Also about the maitenence thing, any bike shop worth visiting will service any bike you bring them, they all work the same (for the most part) and if they refuse service because you bought a canyon i wouldnt trust them with much more than inflating a tire anyway. The only place you might run into trouble is with the shapeshifter system as its strive specific but even then, its not rocket science.

[RobertL]

I don't know anything about the Strive, but I know a few people who own Canyon road bikes. They have had no problems with Canyon being online-only.

Any LBS will service a Canyon bike - there is absolutely no problem there. They use all standard components too, so they are easy to deal with.

They also tell me that the online sizing guide is very accurate and can be trusted.