BEYOND THE GRAND CANYON
Canyon’s new hardtail, the Stoic, is an alloy-framed all-rounder built for 140mm forks and serious abuse
Canyon has a huge range of mountain bikes on its website, 14 at the last count, and that’s before you start totting up the kids’ bikes and women’s-specifics.
All the more surprising then that it’s never had a proper trail hardtail before — the mile-munching Grand Canyon coming closest.
The new Stoic is designed to fill that hole, bringing slack geometry and downhill-focused components to riders who still want the thrill of a hardtail. Decked out with a 140mm fork, tacky tyres and a huge number of sizes, it’s aimed squarely at the UK market, which still has a unique affinity with the hardcore hardtail.
The Stoic is made from 6061 alloy, with 29er wheels in the biggest sizes and 27.5in in the smallest. It comes in a truly amazing spread of sizes
(the biggest size range across any of Canyon’s models, in fact), with XXS to XL on offer, fitting anyone from 1.49m in height to 2m.
The idea is you can use the Stoic as a trail bike, a jump bike, a big kids bike, or a winter hack.
There’s no denying the Stoic is a fabulous looking bike. The top tube runs straight from the head tube to the rear dropouts, which also adds oodles of standover height. It’s a well designed bike too, with easily accessible internal gear cable routing, and an externally routed rear brake hose.
The Stoic also has another trick up its sleeve, conjuring short chainstays without cramming the rear wheel right up tight to the seat tube and thus losing tyre clearance. How, you ask? By welding the seat tube onto the front of the BB shell, rather than the centre, thus allowing for short 429mm chainstays that still let you run chunky 2.6in tyres, even on the 29er. In size large we measured the bike with a 64.5° head angle, a 1,220mm wheelbase, and a modest 315mm BB height.
There are three Stoics in the range, and all share the same frame. The entry level Stoic 2 comes with a Shimano Deore 11-speed drivetrain, SR Suntour fork and costs £849. Step up to the
Stoic 3 and you get a dropper post and a Rockshox Recon RL fork for £1,299.
Then at the top of the range is the Stoic 4, with SRAM NX Eagle and a Pike Select RC fork for £1,799.
All the bikes in the range get the same excellent Schwalbe Magic Mary tyre on the front and Hans Dampf on the back.
For a number of years now we’ve loved the Whyte 905 — a multiple Hardtail of the Year award-winning machine. The Stoic 4 hopes to steal that mantle but it’s got a tough act to follow.
Both bikes are similarly priced, share the same Rockshox Pike Select RC fork, and a similar blend of SRAM NX drivetrain components. And they’re both in stock too.
What’s different? The 905 rolls on 27.5in wheels while the Stoic is a 29er. Perhaps more importantly though, the Whyte is a store-bought bike, meaning you can actually see it before you buy one. That could just give it the edge.