Canyon Endurace AL 7.0 £999
German brand Canyon just keeps growing: its latest Grail bike reflects its creative side while we’d say the Canyon Endurace AL 7.0 is more functional. However, it is still a well-riding, well-thought-out bike with a competitive price tag.
Frame
The aluminium Endurace, as the name suggests, is aimed at more relaxed and comfortable riding compared to the lightweight Ultimate range or aero-orientated Aeroad. Its Sports Geometry basically means you can expect a shorter reach and higher stack. The Canyon is around 10mm shorter and 5mm higher than the equivalent Specialized Allez Elite.
Canyon claims the alumimium frame weighs 1,390g, which is competitive. With the 105 groupset our size small weighed 8.34kg — lighter than the Boardman and the Specialized.
Gear cables are internally routed whereas the rear brake cable is external and under the top tube.
Specification
The Boardman Team Carbon comes with Tektro brakes, Shimano Tiagra and Mav- ic CXP wheels compared to the Canyon’s full Shimano 105 and Mavic Aksium wheels — a great choice at this level.
We much prefer the Continental Grand Prix SL 25mm tyres the Canyon gets over the Mavic tyres you generally see on Mavic wheels these days, although, oddly, Canyon supplied this bike with lightweight tubes. It’s a nice idea on its higher end options but this meant we punctured twice! This does save some weight and add in some performance but we don’t think it’s strictly necessary on an entry-level machine.
It was good to see a narrow 40cm handlebar and this helped the Endurace AL feel nippy handling wise, especially at slower speeds. This I feel is a good shout, as you’ll likely be spending much of the ride (as we did) around 14/15/16mph.
Ride
The ride is on the harsh side, with the front end in particular seeming to crash into broken bits of road, sending hands rattling around with the handlebars. However, it accelerates quickly out of bends and feels light on its feet.
The wheelbase is 10mm longer than the Spesh’s, and this did help the Canyon track really well through the bends at speed with a hugely reassuring feeling.
However, we felt the Canyon struggled to maintain speed: it was an effort to keep it above 20mph if there are short, sharp hills. It launches from slow speeds nicely and feels lively at lower speeds, but it feels as though the bike almost wants to slow you back down.
Value
The Endurace AL 7.0 is a good bike with good components and a well thought out geometry that helps the bike feel sturdy in the corners. However, it does feel laboured at speed and even more so once the hills come. This is despite coming in at 200 to 300g lighter than its rivals. So value for money is good but you might find a better all-round bike elsewhere.
Distributor www.canyon.com | Frame Canyon Endurace AL | Fork Canyon One One Eight SL | Sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL | Size tested S| Weight 8.34kg | Groupset Shimano 105 | Deviations None | Wheels Mavic Aksium | Tyres Continental Grand Prix SL 700x25c | Brakes Shimano 105 | Gear ratios 50/34, 11-28 | Handlebar Canyon H17 Ergo SL | Stem Canyon V15 | Seatpost Iridium S35 | Saddle Selle Italia X3 Canyon edition