CANYON SPECTRAL:ON CF 9 REVIEW

ZEE ROCKET SHIP

Words by Drew Rohde
Photos by Dusten Ryen

The new Canyon Spectral:ON CF line of bikes are designed to be Canyon Bike’s all-around eMTB that is capable of doing it all with speed, style and a Mullet wheel configuration. Sporting a Shimano EP8 drive unit with a Shimano 630Wh battery, 150mm of travel front and rear, our crew spent a more time on this bike than many other test bikes this spring and summer. We’ve grown intimately familiar with this bike, its many strengths and a couple of weaknesses, one which may be more important to some than others.

THE LAB
Canyon offers the Spectral:ON in three different builds as well as one Women’s version with prices from $5,999 up to this CF 9 model, which retails for $9,000. It’s a high price tag from the German consumer direct brand who are known for having really affordable bikes with solid spec. As with other high-dollar purchases, consumers may be happy to take advantage of a financing plan from Affirm to help break this sizable investment down into more manageable payments.

For those who’ve never purchased from a consumer-direct bike brand, we’d have to rate the Canyon Bikes experience at or near the top of the list as their packaging, community feel and ease of assembly make for a fun and low stress experience. Obviously there is a very strong argument for supporting local businesses and bike shops, and we love doing so whenever possible, however we can’t deny that lots of people are choosing to buy bikes they can’t purchase at shops, take advantage of savings, or possibly want to avoid the often-found pretentiousness found in some shops. (As former bike shop employees many years ago, we’ve witnessed first-hand how snobby some folks can be. If you want to earn customers, do not be a dick, give people a reason to want to support you!) I digress…back to the bike.

Our Canyon Spectral:ON boasts an impressive range with a 630Wh battery powered Shimano EP8 system. The Spectral:ON is a Class 1 eMTB, meaning it has no throttle, only offers assistance while pedaling and cuts off assistance at 20mph. Max torque is 85 Nm and in Shimano’s easy to use E-Tube application, riders can easily and quickly customize either of the two factory presets from their smart phone, even on the trail. If you forgot to charge your phone before the ride and want to be sure you get your Strava on, a USB C port is easily accessible on the top tube just in front of the power button. It’s something we never used, but perhaps riders with long night rides or tech equipment that needs to be charged regularly may enjoy.

For the most part, Canyon nailed the spec on the Spectral:ON CF9 and it certainly has a lot to do with why we love this bike so much. Highlights include: Canyon’s eMTB saddle, Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano XTR 4-piston brakes, Ice Tech Freeza 203mm rotors and pads, E-rated Reynolds carbon wheels and Maxxis Minion tires. We’re also huge fans of the Fox Factory suspension Canyon used on the Spectral:ON CF9 but felt that perhaps a 160mm fork, and maybe even a 160mm Fox 38 would have been a nice option. Let’s see a Spectral:ON X next year Canyon!

Now to address a couple of shortcomings in the spec. We’re not certain Exo and Exo + were the right call for such a capable all around rig, but perhaps those who live in smoother areas may prefer the weight savings over a DD rear and Exo + front combo. Our team would gladly take the weight penalty to not have to try and fill holes put in the tires by sharp rocks. Next up is the 150mm dropper post height. We think most riders on a large agree, 170 is the place to be. Lastly, the bar/stem/grip combo is a major talking point. Despite our initial concerns, the bar sweep and bend is comfortable and we quickly adapted to it, however everyone has a different bar roll and position and by using a one-piece design, Canyon is eliminating the end user’s ability to fit the bike to their body without needing to make another investment on an already expensive bike. Lastly, the grips. We wanted to try and put this as simply as possible, so we apologize but, our team is pretty certain that Canyon has the worst grips in the industry. Yes they’re usually throw away parts for most, but, we’d like to see an update on their nicer mountain bikes.

Geometry on the Spectral ON, like the spec, is pretty bang on for a lively trail bike, for the most part. Some of those new school guys who live for the slackest, longest and most upright seat tubes may find issue, but those looking to focus on the ride more than the charts and trends will have a hard time criticizing the Spectral ON. We never felt held back by what some would call “short or steep” numbers. The BB height though, that is another story.

Geometry, suspension kinematics and spec are the three most important ingredients for a killer bike and Canyon’s chefs certainly know a thing or two about being in the kitchen. Our size large was snappy, playful, zesty and comfortable. Our only wish for the Canyon Spectral ON was that it has a taller bottom bracket height. Granted, we regularly ride in terrain some others may not, but those who ride stair-steppy trails, in rain ruts, over tall roots or embedded rocks will likely find themselves striking pedals and crank arms. We actually installed some 5mm shorter FSA cranks and were pleased with the added confidence in pedaling over obstacles. By going up to 10mm of travel up front, we also slackened the 66.5-degree head tube angle a bit and raised the BB even further, of course the downside is we also slackened the 74.5-degree seat tube angle, but not enough to where we could not make climbs.