CANYON SPECTRAL:ON AVINOX EMTB

October 13, 2026

Canyon took their time bringing an Avinox-equipped eMTB to the market, but now it’s here. The Spectral:ON platform was already an excellent performer in mountain bike terms, offering excellent ride dynamics that made for an enjoyable ride. But the Shimano drive unit was outdated, dropping the desirability of the overall package.

In fitting the latest and greatest Avinox drive unit to a sleeker chassis with refined construction, geometry and suspension, could Canyon push themselves back up to the top of the eMTB market?

* Keep reading to the bottom of the article or check out the video to learn the technical details of the new Canyon Spectral:ON CF9. *

The Dirt | How Did The Canyon Spectral:ON CF9 Perform?

Canyon invited a small selection of mountain bike media to Aosta, Italy, to put the new Spectral:ON CF9 to the test in suitably challenging terrain. From ridgeline epics to bikepark blasting, we encountered a wide variety of terrain in the couple of days we put Canyon’s latest eMTB to the test, and it was an absolute riot.

SETUP | Getting the Spectral:ON CF9 set up didn’t require any particular effort, but selecting the appropriate size did. The size medium in its standard mixed-wheel guise was a reasonable fit for my 6’2” (189cm) stature, albeit with a slightly more compact climbing position than I’d love. However, the 495mm reach on the Large would have been too long for my descending preferences, so I selected the size Medium and accepted the compromises.

I ran the bars at the top of the steerer tube and the saddle in the middle of the rails, and felt little need to tweak the fit from there. With 30% rear sag in the Fox Float X and 100psi in the Fox 36, my 210lbs mass sat in a good dynamic position.

The Avinox system makes for a cleanly integrated bike, thanks to the wireless remotes and relatively compact shape and size. The downtube is fairly slim, though hasn’t fully slimmed to be optimized exclusively for the 700Wh battery…perhaps a sign of things to come. Even so, the Spectral:ON is an exceptionally clean and sleek package overall. The parallel lines of the top tube and seat tube just look mean.

CLIMBING | Climbing the Canyon Spectral:ON CF9 was tested to the limits on technical climbs with zero room for error, way up above the Pila bikepark. In case you haven’t heard, the Avinox M2S drive unit is a phenomenal performer, and the Spectral:ON chassis allowed for its potential to be realized.

Avinox has done something special with their latest top-end drive unit, and no, it’s not just the brutality of the power and torque that has captured our hearts. Power is nothing without control, and Avinox learned from the M1 that headline-catching numbers are not enough to satisfy discerning eMTBers. For the M2 and M2S, they worked on their sensors and algorithms, and the result is control that rivals the very best drive units we have tested. We are yet to suffer from Avinox issues; the ecosystem is excellent, and it’s rattle-free on the descents.

Canyon struck a happy balance with the suspension kinematic to pair with the power of the drive unit. Anti Squat is down from the previous generation, allowing the rear end to find more traction and transmit less feedback through the saddle when pedaling. As a result, it was a little softer under power when pedaling hard, but offered sufficient support to retain control and ground clearance.

The relatively steep seat tube angle Canyon gave the Spectral:ON made for a nice, upright and relaxed climbing position from which to unleash the power of the Avinox M2S drive unit. There was ample weight on the front wheel to tackle most climbs with confidence, yet trials-style climbing moves on the rear wheel didn’t require too much effort. Only on the steepest pitches were there occasions where I wished for a longer rear end to bias more weight towards the front wheel. For the riders who demand steep uphill confidence, the 29” rear wheel setup is likely to please.

It’s difficult to balance these characteristics with the Avinox drive unit, with its potential to climb insanely steep terrain. A company must balance the steep terrain climbing performance with other handling characteristics, and many are likely to be happy with Canyon’s decisions.

DESCENDING | Given its all-rounder intentions, the Canyon Spectral:ON’s descending characteristics struck the kind of balance you would hope for. Sitting on the light and agile end of full-power eMTBs due to its relatively low weight, it didn’t take much muscle to influence the direction or pitch of the bike. The geometry aided this, giving balanced numbers that struck a good compromise of stability and agility. A low BB helps to deliver confidence at speed without the wheelbase becoming excessively long.

The suspension allowed the Spectral:ON to feel suitably planted and capable in the chunky and rough stuff, but still delivered plenty of pop and play to have a good time in the flowy terrain. I found an adequate level of support to balance comfort and still work the terrain for speed. The chassis had a suitable level of compliance to find traction, but it didn’t feel overly vague. It would be interesting to test with an alloy wheelset and see if some excessive flex could creep in.

The EXO+ rear and EXO front tires that were fitted as standard were unable to match the capabilities of the rest of the bike. However, it was done with a deliberate intention to make it an overall lighter-weight bike for the riders who aren’t pushing it quite as aggressively, letting the more aggressive riders spec the tires that they demand. I punctured the rear tire on a sharp rock edge on the climb, and the DD replacement held up amicably for the second testing day. Otherwise, the parts list Canyon selected for this CF9 spec offered little reason to complain.

The Wolf’s First Impression

Though we’ve only had two days on board the Canyon Spectral:ON CF9 so far, the first impressions have been very good. It looks great, the overall fit and finish is excellent, and most importantly it’s been a lot of fun to ride. The value proposition feels quite reasonable, too, as is typical from the Canyon brand.

PRESS RELEASE

CANYON INTRODUCES ALL-NEW, LIGHT-YET-POWERFUL SPECTRAL:ON CF 9 E-MTB

Launching with a clear objective: to create one of the lightest, most powerful, and most natural-feeling e-MTBs yet. With 150 Nm of torque and 1500 watts of peak power, the all-new Spectral:ON CF is a rare bike that ticks all the boxes.

There has long been a glaring “goldilocks” gap when it comes to e-MTBs. Many riders want the climb-crushing torque of heavy, full-power e-MTBs, but they also want the playful ride quality that lighter “SL” e-MTBs bring to the table. Until recently, riders could choose either great power or fantastic handling. But not both.

The new Spectral:ON CF marks a major leap forward in delivering the perfect combination of power and playfulness. Weighing as little as 20.8 kg (45.8 lb) for the (coming soon) Spectral:ON LTD, the bike approaches the weight of some SL e-bikes yet delivers 150 Nm of torque and 1,500 W of peak power; that’s nearly twice the power of full power e-MTBs from just a few years ago.

The result is a bike that feels much more natural on the trail than most full-power e-MTBs yet delivers the massive power that puts a much wider range of trails and adventures within reach.

Lightweight, playful, and powerful

While the new Spectral:ON CF’s top-tier Avinox M2S motor is the most obvious update, this fourth generation Spectral:ON is an entirely new, high-performance beast. The heart and soul of the bike is its full-carbon chassis. At 2.9 kg (6.3 lb) it’s remarkably light. More impressive yet—it’s tough as nails, rated to Category 4e (Enduro-level) strength and impact testing standards.

The Spectral:ON CF delivers outstanding handling to all riders—regardless of their ride style or height. To that end, this sold with “mullet” (mixed 29/27.5) wheels but are also compatible (via a flip-chip) with full 29er wheelsets. The bike also features frame-size specific chainstays. Small and Medium frames get shorter chainstays than Large and X-Large models.

Climbing and descending performance both take a major leap forward, thanks to exceptionally well-sorted suspension kinematics and a far more progressive geometry, which takes its cues from the award-winning Spectral CF push bike and the e-EWS winning Strive:ON.

Key updates and improvements

Let’s take a look at the specifics:

• Progressive geometry: The Spectral:ON CF 9’s new geometry takes cues from both our award-winning Strive:ON and Spectral CF. The slack 64-degree head angle keeps the bike stable on fast descents while its steep 78.5-degree seat angle puts you in the perfect position to efficiently crank out the power on climbs. The combination of those angles (combined with a longer rear center) also places you in a nicely balanced position that boosts rear wheel traction on steep, loose climbs.
• Tuned carbon equals more control: Adopting what we learned from creating our e-Enduro World Series-winning Strive:ON, we’ve carefully tuned the Spectral:ON CF 9 frame to offer the perfect balance of front-end stiffness and rear-end compliance. The bike’s stiffer front triangle boosts steering precision while the more compliant seat and chainstays work in conjunction with the suspension to soak up trail chatter and improve traction.
• Improved climbing and descending: We revised the Spectral:ON CF 9’s leverage curve and increased both anti-squat and anti-rise. The result? Better performance, up and down the mountain. The bike pedals more efficiently and has better mid-stroke support, which contributes to it playful feel. Moreover, the bike stays remarkably stable and planted, even under hard and sudden braking.
• Class-leading power: Avinox’s M2S motor delivers up to 1,500 W and 150 Nm of torque so smoothly and quietly that it feels like a natural extension of you… assuming you already happened to possess superhero-level strength.
• Next-generation battery: The Spectral:ON CF 9 is equipped with Avinox’s premium 700-Watt hour, FP700 battery. That slim battery is a big part of the performance story. Avinox’s most advanced battery enabled us to minimize weight, maximize playful handling, and create an incredibly sleek bike. It also gives riders the ability to tap into that awesome 1,500 W of peak power in each of the motor’s five ride-assist modes.
• Zero hassles: Spectral:ON CF 9 is remarkably advanced yet doesn’t require a PhD in rocket science to work on it. Example? Replacing brake lines is as simple as pushing the line through the headtube port and watching it exit the chainstay port. Fully guided. No need to remove the battery or motor. Quick. Painless. Awesome.