Hi, I am whittling down the list and looking at the Canyon Nerve. To those who have owned one,what have been your experiences? Stuff like bearing life etc.

Mate of mine has one and it’s caused him no problems in 18 months. Would have bought one myself had it not been for the Cannondale Trigger thread

Thanks for the reply, they look really good vale for money, so very tempting.

You mightn’t have heard but Canyon are having massive delays since they moved factory. I have a Strive on order that was due to be shipped the week starting the 19th of October but haven’t received a revised shipment date as of yet. Their twitter is full of people in the same boat. Worth bearing in mind!

I built mine up from a barely used s/h frame/fork.

Its the bike I keep out in France, where I ride anything from long XC days, to making a tit of myself on blue and red DH runs.

Only had it for one season so I cant say how bearings hold up, but Ive not noticed any slop or wear or noise.

They are v v good vfm as a whole bike. Even if you decide at a later date to swap the frame out.

The addition of a dropper post was a revelation though. I wouldnt go back to normal post on a FS, even though I’m happy without on my rigid hardtails at home.

Son bought himself a Nerve AL 6.0 (i.e. the 2015 model) just under 12 months ago.

Seems fairly bulletproof and keeps a smile on his face.

One of the pivot bolts has occasionally worked a little loose, but nothing a quick tightening can’t sort.

As some of the reviews have said, could do with a clutched rear mech. The wheels on the new one look like a small upgrade (CrossRide vs CrossOne) compared to the 2015 model.

No other issues of note (none that we know about anyway!).

Unless there is something we don’t know about, the frame is the same for the £1199 model as with the £2,599 model so its simply about components the higher up the range you go. The only addition made to my son’s has been a Reverb seatpost which he’s worked hard to fund and is really enjoying the use of.

In an ideal world, he should probably have tried to afford the Spectral for the longer travel, but it was out of the budget range. 120mm is working fine though.

I had a Nerve AM from 2011 till this summer. Good bike, no issues. Excellent value for money kit-wise too. Very neutral ride, not exciting but extremely solid and predictable in a good way.

Thanks for the replies. Heff, thanks for the heads up, I will bear it in mind. The shortlist is the Nerve, Trek Fuel EX and the Kona Hei Hei trail. Decisions, decisions

I have the 2015 AL 9.9 (the 29er), which came with (mostly) XT and a Reverb for £2200.

I ride long XC days out and the occasional blat around Swinley or Surrey Hills. I love it. It’s been an ideal intro to FS for me.

The rear brake was spongy when it turned up. Canyon offered to pay for a bleed at the LBS, but I ended up doing it myself.

I see the new model has just been released – looks like a few upgrades (Fox 34 instead of 32, XT 11 instead of 10).

I have a 2014 version (110mm suspension, 29er, no dropper, fox 32s). Really good, rapid bike and had no problems at all with quality/reliability. Swapped some components to make it a full XC rig which the geometry suits. Weight including pedals now 11.5kg which for an alu full-suss 29er seems pretty good.

I see the 2016 version is 650b. Slightly surprised as imho 29in wheels suits this type of bike well.

I’ve had one for 3-4 years now. An XC9.0…. so old it’s got these tiny wheels and came with 3 (yes 3) rings up front!

It’s never put a foot or wheel wrong. It’s my only mtb and up until recently was putting in around 50 off road miles every week. Nothing other than wearable stuff (cassettes, chainrings etc) has ever needed changing.

I have a Nerve AM 7.0 from 2012. It’s great. I have never had to replace the frame bearings, admittedly I did get a brand new set when Canyon replaced the cracked frame with a new one.

Other than their current delivery difficulties, I’d have one again.

I see the 2016 version is 650b. Slightly surprised as imho 29in wheels suits this type of bike well.

They do 29 & 27.5.

29er is 110mm, 650b is 120mm. Looks like the 2016 frame is identical to the 2015 frame, just some minor tweaks in the components up the range.

I was going to get the 29er AL 9.9, the large Stealth version is not available until February..

Have an 8 month old 2015 29er 9.9. Cheaper/lighter than anything else for the cash, but it is hard trying to find bike weights as the manufacturers don’t like to publish them. Did consider a Spectral, but like doing big days out and peddaling up, so went with the lighter one.

Love the dropper post, not so sure of the tyres but will keep them till they wear out. No issues with wear yet, a plastic cable guide popped out on the 1st ride and Canyon sent us a couple in the post.

Glad I kept measuring until I could persuade the size calculator that I wanted a medium, so keep an eye on that.

Trying to think of the ride, but can’t so must be ok then.

The misses has the womens 650 version and loves hers as well.

P.

I had a Nerve Ali 8 for eighteen months. Great bike, light a fast, until it had a crack in the swinging arm. Sent it back to Canyon eight weeks ago…and still waiting. Had to buy a new cannondale Trigger from Paul’s for a MTB ride in India. So a good bike apart from the crack, but you may have to wait forever to get it repaired!

Where was the crack, above the brake mount?

My replacement took a week or two.

I had a 2011 Canyon Nerve and replaced with a Trek Fuel when it got pinched. The Canyon was better value for money but the Trek frame seems like better quality.

Current Canyons look like the quality has gone up a notch since I got mine so probably not a fair comparison.

I’ve had my AL29 9.9 since April 2013. Still on the original bearings/bushings etc. A great all round bike-I use mine for events and knocking about the Malvern’s, FOD etc. Not as light as some but doesn’t feel heavy when pedalling
I’d buy another.

Love the picture Stoner- I’m very glad it does what you wanted out there.

I bought a 27.5″ AL 6.0 for my son this march. Great all-round trail bike. Light, pedals very well and is good downhill. Looks great. Above all, its pretty mazing vfm. Ordering process was informative, organised and well controlled (compared to Commencal). Unfortunately it was stolen just 2 days before a trip to the Alps in July so I can’t comment on how it would have help up there. We did compare it to a Trek Slash 7 at bike park wales & we both thought its was a touch flexy compared to the slash – but that’s probably to be expected. Def recommended tho.