The YT Decoy Shred balances travel, handling and power perfectly
by the 504Wh battery and you have less power with the Shimano E7000 motor. With the Commençal, you have the battery capacity and the power, so it was more about the geometry, with the elevated BB height perching the rider on top, rather than in the bike. Also, the 175mm dropper on the size large, and the inability to slam the post all of the way into the frame, only served to exacerbate the lofty riding position on the Meta Power 29.
On the Vitus E-sommet we had the opposite problem, and it wasn’t until we flipped the stem upside down that we could get the handlebar low enough to really weight the front end. Then there’s the cable routing. Because all of the cables are routed through the headset and into the oversized 1.8in head tube, it doesn’t offer the smoothest run of cabling for the rear derailleur or dropper remote, even if it helps tidy up the associated wires. Also, the Vitus felt under-powered compared to some of the other Shimano Ep8-equipped bikes, even after we changed the Maxxis Maxx Grip front tyre for a faster-rolling Maxx Terra compound.
There was no shortage of power on the Radon Render 10.0. With the only Bosch Performance CX motor in the test, the Radon felt like a rocket ship, motoring up the steepest climbs while retaining all the sensitivity needed to maintain traction in loose conditions or getting going again from a dead start. It’s good on the downs too, thanks to the standout performance of the Fox 36 FIT4 fork. The rest of the spec is on-point too, and with a little extra travel, the Radon would make a great all-rounder, rather than just an accomplished trail bike.
A last-minute addition to this test, and so new that it’s not even on the Canyon website yet, is the 2021 Spectral:on CF 8.0. It delivers 150mm of travel, and with a carbon front end and EP8 motor, it is the lightest bike in test with a full-size 630Wh battery. Making it a great option
Conclusion