CANYON TORQUE CF8

Canyon’s new Torque CF8 is a brilliant excuse to spend more time in your local bike park

£4,399 / 29/27.5in / canyon.com

When we last tested the Canyon Torque back in 2019 it steamrolled the rowdiest trails and crushed the competition. In fact, at the time we said that it was head and shoulders above its rivals, particularly on rougher tracks, where its superior suspension allowed you to pull away from your mates.

With a 10/10 rating the old bike didn’t leave much room for improvement, but time marches on, and in the same way that bike parks have progressed in the last couple of years, so have the bikes being ridden on them. As lines like Vision, Vanta and Oakley Icon redefine what’s acceptable for public consumption, so sizing, geometry, wheel diameter and kinematics have moved the goalposts when it comes to what makes a stonking bike park bike.

The proliferation of bike parks in the UK means that there’s now a growing segment of riders who never ride outside the park gates. So while the old bike was quite a niche product in the

UK, its defined role is now more relevant than ever. And yet at the same time, it’s become more versatile. Refinements to the geometry, wheel size and frame configuration mean it’s now a bike that we’d feel much happier riding in any zone lacking the luxury of an uplift.

By changing the angle of the kinked down tube and bringing it further away from the top tube, Canyon has created room for a bottle cage. Considering the shock sits roughly in the same place and the seat tube is actually much steeper – reducing space along one edge of the front triangle – it probably required quite a bit of engineering. But I reckon it was well worth the time and effort, as no one really wants to ride with a pack in a bike park. Along similar lines, there’s also a gear strap mount under the top tube just behind the head tube.

As previously mentioned, Canyon has steepened the seat angle on the new Torque. The old bike had an effective seat angle around 740, while the new one boasts a much more climb-friendly 78.50 at a saddle height of 740mm.