CANYON NEURON AL 9.9SL
£3,296.98 Direct-sales bling, but does it sing on the trail?
Decked out with a glittering array of parts normally reserved for far pricier bikes, the Canyon looks like an absolute bargain. But not all that glitters is gold.
The frame
If the Neuron’s hydroformed aluminium frame looks familiar, that’s because it’s been around for a while, formerly under the name Nerve. Like most of the bikes here, it uses a four-bar Horst Link suspension layout – a design that’s been around for decades but is far from dated. The geometry is decidedly on the short, steep and tall side by modern standards though.
The kit
The Canyon’s spec list is its trump card. As well as lightweight Mavic wheels and a top-end Factory series Fox 34 fork, this is one of the cheapest full-suspension bikes to sport SRAM’s highly-anticipated 12-speed X01 Eagle transmission.
The ride
Jumping aboard the Neuron is a bit like stepping back in time a few years. With a tall head tube and bottom bracket (BB) but a short reach, long stem and narrow bar, the riding position doesn’t inspire confidence. In fact, fast descents that were no problem on the other bikes were a little scary on the Canyon.
Although the 1,200mm wheelbase is near identical to the Specialized’s, the chainstays are the longest here at 445mm and the front centre is the shortest. This, combined with the long stem, high BB and steep 69-degree head angle, puts the rider’s weight too far forward – and this will be exaggerated on the smaller sizes. When descending, it feels as if every rock or root is waiting to throw you over the bars.
Happily, the Fox 34 fork is the best on test. With the superb FIT4 damper and low-friction stanchions, it sticks the front wheel to the trail and cushions your arms. Sadly, the rear suspension isn’t a match. Fox’s Float DPS is a superb damper, but the low-volume air can it’s fitted with here makes for an unsettled ride compared to how the same shock feels with an EVOL (extra volume) sleeve on the Norco and Trek. The smaller negative spring makes it harder to get going off the top, reducing traction and composure, and once it passes its sag point it crashes through its travel, making for an unpredictable ‘trapdoor’ feel.
We upped the compression damping to compensate, and slowed the rebound too to make it feel more settled. This resulted in pretty poor sensitivity over high-frequency chatter and braking bumps, making
the bike feel disconcertingly harsh in the rough and adding to the nervous ride. It had us plopping tentatively off drops we usually squash at speed.
The old-school air shock feel reduces chassis stability when pedalling sat down too, causing the Canyon to buck and bob over bumps. Nevertheless, it does climb well. At 12.6kg, it’s significantly lighter than the other bikes here, and most of that weight saving is in the wheels. It pedals OK with the shock left open, but lock it out and it’ll sprint up to speed like an XC racer.
While the Continental tyres were the sketchiest here on slippery and muddy terrain (and that’s saying a lot!), their high volume helps the Canyon cruise over gentle trails and broken fireroad. This is helped by the Mavic wheels too – the smoothrunning hubs and silently stiff yet well-damped feel keep singletrack speeds topped up nicely. Throw in oodles of low-gear grunt courtesy of the 10-50t cassette, and you can spin up the steepest climbs. At 74 degrees, the effective seat angle could be increased to make it even comfier on steep seated pitches, but even with a 70mm stem fitted, it already feels a little cramped.
The generally superb spec can’t hide the fact that the Neuron is showing its age. Not only is the geometry outdated, it’s outclassed in terms of on-trail performance and ride feel. A few poorly chosen items of equipment, such as the narrow bar, slippery tyres and low-volume shock, add flies to the ointment.