Can anyone point me to a review/test/discussion of the Canyon Yellowstone AL 5.9 29er? Comment seems a bit thin on the ground!

How are the RockShox Recon Silver TK 29 forks?

You will find plenty of reviews about the forks knocking around and if you’re lucky a mag may have included the bike in one of their low end tests but I don’t think you’ll see many other threads about I’m afraid.

Looks like a reasonable spec though for the money.

Awful. Got them on my new Trance. They feel just like the Tora’s that came on my old Rock hopper.

Awful – that’s a shame as otherwise the bike looks to have some good equipment for the price. How awful is awful though? Am I likely to find better on a £700 29er? If so where should I be looking?

tbh, a decent pair of rigid forks would be better than a pair of fairly crude suspension forks on a bike at that price.

You won’t get anythign better on a new bike for £700, though.

I had the Recon Silver TK’s on my (recently stolen) 26er hardtail. I thought they were alright for the money – rebound and compression adjustments, lockout (if you like that kind of thing).

32mm steel stanchions were nicely robust against scratching too.

Not the most plush of rides but I did a good few day-long rides on them over a couple of years and could still feel my forearms at the end of each day. Cheap to maintain and if you bork them (good luck trying) they’re cheap to replace too.

Don’t know how they do as a 29er but for the money you’d struggle to do better I reckon.

Likewise the Canyon. I’ve been looking at Canyons recently too and no, you won’t find better bangs-per-buck there either.

It seems the spectrum from awful to fantastic is highly price dependent. As much as I’d like to be able to spend £3000 on the bike, that’s not going to happen. The task is the find the best deal around the £700 point. If I can’t do better than the Recon Silver TKs for £700 then they must be pretty good – for the price.

I looks like I’m able to replace the coil spring they come with as default with an air spring (http://www.petracycles.co.uk/rockshox-spring-internals-left-soloair-recon-silver-2629quot-100mm-wtop-cap-amp-knob-p-106023.html). Is this possible and would it be a meaningful upgrade?

For reference – I currently ride a 2002 Kona Blast with the fairly ridiculous Rock Shox Judy TT!

Around that price point most 29ers are coming with Suntours or RS XC forks. I reckon that the Recon Silver TKs are head and shoulders above anything else for the money.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty better forks (but you’d need a plenty bigger budget) and there are plenty worse forks too.

They never gave me any problems, did what I asked of them (XC/trail duties) didn’t cost the earth and I’d have them again (as much of a recommendation as that is for you 😆 )

Kinell 700 for the full bike! The forks are a third of that new! They are tolerable but not very tuneable. They weigh a ton too.

Take a look at this thread from earlier

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/radon-buying-experience

Radon (or is it Raidon?) seem to have some good bikes for the money and the chap in the thread said he got Reba’s for an extra few quid (don’t know if he’s talking 26″ or 29″ though).

Damn you MrTall *shakes fist angrily*

I’d whittled it to the Grand Canyon 7.9 vs 8.9. Now I have to look at all these lovely lovely Radon bikes too…

As far as I can see the Radon doesn’t have eyelets on the stays for a rear rack. It’s not a top priority – but I might, one day want to add a rack. The Yelowstone 5.9 does allow for a rack.

p-clips would let you run a rack.

I hadn’t come across p-clips – reviews suggest they work okay.

The ZR Race 29er 5.0 is certainly interesting, seems to be a slightly better spec. than the Yellowstone 5.9 linked above.

Similar price – which to go for and why? The lack of rack mounts had put me off the Radon.

Have had a look at the Radon bikes. Like you, I was about to pull the trigger on a Canyon 29er hardtail.

The Radon bikes seem slightly better specced than the equivalent price Canyon BUT the thing that’s causing me a little concern is the geometry, specifically the head and seat angles.

For the sizes I’m looking at (M – 17.5″ in the Canyon or 18″ Radon) the difference is this:

Seat angle – canyon = 74deg radon = 73deg
Head angle – canyon = 70deg radon = 71deg

My last bike had a 71deg head angle – good on the climbs and flats but a little fear-inducing when the terrain points downhill. The slightly slacker HA on the canyon should help it play more nicely on the descents.

I still haven’t finally decided though. Dammit.

The Canyon Yellowstone AL 5.9 has increased £10 over night! Stupid exchange rates!

Does anyone have experiences of Canyon’s 29er MTB sizing?
Entering in my exact measurements on their website tells me I need an XL (22″). However it seems I’m right on the cusp, drop my height by 1cm and the recommendation is for L (20″). My currently 26er Kona Blast is a 20″ and fits me well. I’m 6’3″.

How does the Vitus Bikes Zircon 29VR compare with the Canyon? It’s seems to have better brakes – I’m not sure about the SRAM kit though?

Geometry looks comparable to the Canyon – HA and SA are the same, short chainstays and small (for a 29er) wheelbase.

I had SRAM x7 and Elixir 3s on my previous 26er hardtail. I liked them and had no problems with them. The Elixir 3s are the same brakes as Canyon supply on their Grand Canyon AL 7.9 (£1,100 bike).

The Canyon is a triple chainring, whereas the Vitus is a double (if that makes a difference to you).

In my view the rims on the Vitus are better (Mavic 319s vs the Alex rims on the Canyon).

But the Canyon is £100 cheaper.