After a chat on here and a look around the Canyon Nerve Al+ is impressing me.Anyone have one or have any feedback/experiences?

Thanks

Pete

I’ve got last years version, the 9.0X

Great bike at a great price. Gave it a good hammering around Wales in the summer and it was superb. It’s a bit much for the mud fest that’s the South Downs at the moment and the lack of clearance on the 2.35 Hans Dampf tyres can be a pain but all in all I love it. Climbs very well, is light/stiff and is a lot of fun for going down hills very fast.

But, as good as that all is I’m already on my second frame, the suspension pivots worked loose to the point of falling apart whilst on the trail, the reverb didn’t work when I got it, the brakes needed bleeding and Canyon’s customer service can leave a lot to be desired. They never answered their phone and were very hit and miss about replying to emails.

I fixed all those bits myself and Canyon did give me £50 back as a way of an apology. Another friend of mine bent his frame when the mech hangar didn’t do it’s job properly so they’ve replaced his rear triangle free of charge. He’s also had the anodised finish wear off the frame so don’t believe any of this german build quality nonsense.

Thanks for this. As someone who builds and works on bikes those defects wouldn’t really put me off for the money

mate have a look at evanscycles! atm i just bought i rocky altitude 50 rrp 2300 for £1500 they also have norco sight 3 SE for the same cash they have a few bikes in and around the £1500 marks

they kit your getting for the cash in there sale is as good if not better than the canyon also you can pay finance if you wish!

Painey – did your mate do anything about the poor paint finish?

I’ve got a Nerve AM, had it since about March ’12. The white on the top tube has rubbed off quite badly from my shorts rubbing when wet/dirty, and my light battery has taken a few chips out of it and stupidly the frame is black under a very thin layer of white so it looks pretty poor now! Just wondered whether he had tried making an issue about it and whether Canyon did anything about it?

I’ve also worn through shock pivots and bearings in the swingarm mount so know only too well how shocking their customer service is!

Saying all that, I’d still recommend a Canyon. Lots of fantastic bike for the money, just try not to break anything that your lbs can’t fix…

Thanks Cazum, will take a look now

I’ve got a Nerve AM in the black “stealth” colour. I helitaped all the usual bits (top tube, sides of the down tube, rear chain stays etc) as soon as I got it and I can honestly say not a thing has gone wrong with the frame, I’m no lightweight and I give it some hammer down hill (as revenge for the pain of getting up there). My brakes didn’t need bleeding, my Reverb hasn’t missed a beat, everything else has been fine.

Had it 13 months now and just got round to getting the forks serviced and I’ve hot my first problem…the headset is weird. However a quick search on here and use of the Cane Creek headset finder and I now have a ZS44 top race and IS52/40 bottom bearing on their way.

The only significant mod I have made is to replace the air shock with a VanRC. I’m afraid Canyon order their shocks with lightweights in mind. Any one over 12 stone will need to consider re-valving, volume reducing or replacement imho. Otherwise you’ll be running the thing with 300psi in and still wondering why it’s bottoming out.

Even the rear bearings in the suspension are all 100% still.

Chris

a name like that and canyon in one 😉

i got last years model also and also have a canyon hardtail. i cant fault them, never had a problem with both bikes, done and hammered nearly every trail in the north west, even done all runs at antur, no problems at all, i no a couple of people who had to use there customer services and they said they were great and problems sorted asap.

i do slightly agree with poster above about rear shock bottoming out. even though i havent really had that, but ive definatly used nearly all the travel up when i shouldnt have, but the shocks are the boost valve type so there to take more psi anyways, so once its set up its been fine.

i definatly be buying another one.

Chris_db – Balfa are the distributor for Acros in the Uk and have been good about answering my questions – am sure they could also provide any headset parts you need.

Agree mostly with Chris – frame is good, shock depends on weight (I’ve also put a van rc on but hardly ridden it yet). I thought I was a lightweight but have since realised that was 15 years ago and now I am actually fat(ish) and middle aged.

Only real weak point in my opinion is the brakes, they are sh*t

A lot of bike for the money

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_165499_productId_777755_langId_-1?cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google%20Product%20Search-_-Bikes%2FMens%20%26%20Womens%20Bikes%2FMountain%20Bikes-_-Boardman%20Mountain%20Bike%20Team%20FS%202011%2F2012%20-%20Small%2016%22&source=shopping

Although the brand snobs might not like them.

I bought the AL+ 7.0 a few weeks ago and I love it. The main issue I had with it out of the box was that the rear brake hadn’t been bled and therefore didn’t work which was a shame but was quickly solved. It was cheaper to get the lbs to fix rather than buy a bleed kit so got them to do it but it is a bit embarrassing taking a brand new bike bought online straight to the shop.

The only thing I would echo is the air shock. I must admit to being a very heavy rider and have only recently got back into biking as a way to lose weight. I have since discovered that the way the internals on the fox shock are set up mean that it is intended for a 12 stone rider. This, I guess, is their average customer weight. Mojo were able to make the shock more suitable for me very quickly for £36 and it has made a huge difference to the shock although I am changing it for a Van RC as I am still managing to strike the pedal on the floor on occasion and am simply too heavy for an air shock….. for now!

I am very happy with my Canyon though, went round Dalby at the weekend and it was great fun to ride and when you start going down hill it comes alive. Just need to sell the Float now to part fund the Van RC

Another Canyon Fan boi here had mine 16 months and cannot fault it for the money.Brakes are begining to cause me problems(Avid Elixar 5) so I,m just about to change to Hopes. Noticed a bit of play in my main pivot bearing will look into sorting out in the spring.Oh and the headset bottom bearing was very dry it needed a lot more grease in it.
I have changed various bits and pieces mainly bargins off the classifieds.

Rich

james239, I think he’s just heli taped the area where it was wearing off from a Thule carrier holding the frame. I’ll be doing the same to mine should it start to go a bit iffy.

I’ve also got the Stealth paintjob and the reason I’m already on my second frame was because the paint all started to come off the top tube, less than a month after I got it.

They are great bikes and although I’ve been a bit hacked off with some of the build quality issues with mine, I’ve fixed them at no great expense.