Canyon Neuron First Look: A Very Rejigged Trail Bike

What sort of bike is the new Canyon Neuron? The simple answer is: it’s a mountain bike. The more specific answer is: it’s a trail bike. A trail bike with 29in wheels with 140mm travel front and 130mm rear.

We say “29in wheel” but the very smallest adult size (and the Young Hero Neuron for kids) actually come with 27.5in wheels. But for the Medium, Larger and Extra Large adult Neurons, it’s 29 all the way baby.

It’s a mountain bike

Described variously as “the ultimate all-rounder” and Canyon’s “most versatile bike to date”. It’s designed as a bike for what Canyon calls the “99 percent of riders who just want one great, do-it-all bike.”

And it’s also meant to be for folk who only want to own one mountain bike (we know! Can you imagine?)

Those of us with far too many bikes taking up space in our brains, who have been riding for a long enough period of time, may remember the Canyon Nerve that came out in 2002. Essentially the new Canyon Neuron is that bike’s 20-years-later descendant.

The new Neuron still sticks to ye olde Nerve’s vibe of “forget the frills – focus on what matters out on the trail”.

The Neuron look like it’ll be a decently lightweight-yet-capable bike. And kudos to Canyon for smoothing the aesthetic. It really does tick the ‘functional simplicity’ box. Aesthetic shouldn’t matter, but we all know they do. And Canyon have finally made the Neuron into a good looking trail bike (it was always a bit marathon-XC gawky before to some eyes).

To briefly contrast and compare the Neurons to its similarly suspended siblings, the Canyon Lux Trail is the XC racer, the Canyon Spectral 125 is the downcountry steed for progressive riders.

Comfort

The real strength of the Neuron is aiming to lie more in comfort than in speed or tech. It is intended to be a bike for all-day rides. Efficient propulsion. Solid traction. Ample comfort. That sort of thing.

In terms of sizing, there’s a lot. The Neuron is available in five different frame sizes for adults and there’s also the Young Hero models for young people, available in XXS and XS frame sizes.

Sometimes when a so-called “new” bike comes out, it’s little more than some componentry changes and a bit of BNG (Bold New Graphics). But the all-new Neuron really is all-new.

Admittedly, in terms of suspension travel there’s not much changed. It’s still a trail bike after all. The fork is 140mm still but the rear travel is 130mm.

Visually, the down tube has been slimmed down compared to the outgoing Neuron. The overall result is a more elegant looking bike.

Important numbers

Geometry then. This is where the most significant changes have been made to the outgoing Neuron design. 

It’s longer. The reach has grown. A lot. We have a Large size Canyon Neuron on test and it comes with a healthy 480mm reach, compared to the 453mm of the previous Neuron. That’s 27mm longer reach, maths fans.

The head angle has slackened 1.5° and now sits at 66°. This should give it a bit more confidence on steep stuff and stability at higher speeds.

The seat angle has steepened 1.5° to 76°. This places the seating position more centrally in the bike. Which is both an ergonomic pedal power advantage as well as a blessing on climbs generally. It increases comfort, control and efficiency.

The seat tube has had 20mm hacked off it. Our Large frame’s seat tube is 460mm long now, compared to 480mm previously. Better standover is the obvious benefit but a shorter seat tube also means you can run a generous dropper seatpost that gets your saddle even more out of the way on tricky trails. This bike comes with a 170mm travel dropper, for example.

All four of these key geometry changes should result in better balance and overall bike handling. Kudos (again) to Canyon for almost forgoing a stop-gap make-do-and-mend generation of Neuron. Instead Canyon has come straight out with a decently modern geometry trail bike and finally cutting the Neuron’s XC-race apron strings.

Triple Phasing

In terms of the rear suspension design, those of you familiar with Canyon will be pleasantly unsurprised to see the utilisation of their tried-and-true Triple Phase Suspension ethos making its way on to the new Neuron. 

Broadly speaking, the rear suspension travel is split into three sections: beginning, middle, end. The beginning is supple and sensitive. The middle is supportive with plenty of feedback to the rider as to what’s happening down there. The end ramps up to prevent harsh bottoming-out. It’s a tale almost as old as time, but Canyon tend to execute it very well in our experience.

Nuts

On to the nuts and bolts. Or the suspension hardware, in other words.

There are reinforced bolts, newly designed axles and improved pivot seals all over the new Neuron. The widened main bearing stiffens up the rear end’s rigidity. This is especially true of the pivot hardware used at the Horst Link on the chainstay. It’s had a real makeover/gym session.

The improved bearing seals should result in longer lasting, more supple suspension action. As well as sporting double-lip seals and being filled with a particularly stable, high-performance grease, the bearings themselves have more actual ball bearings in them compared to those found in other bikes.

What else? Threaded bottom bracket shell. Universal Derailleur Hanger, which helps future proof against any changes to drivetrain tech over the next few years. There’s no downtube storage. There are bottle bosses.

Yes, there’s a Canyon Neuron CF

Oh, there’s also a carbon fibre Neuron. Called the Canyon Neuron CF.

Ultimately, the carbon Neuron CF is the same as the aluminium Neuron AL in terms of geometry and suspension kinematic.

The main differences found on the Neuron CF:

• Fully integrated and sealed cable routing (yep, through the headset)
• Straight seat tube (for even more dropper insertion potential)
• Bolt-on chain guide
• Screwed-down chainstay protector
• 2,400g (Medium frame) versus 3,100g (Medium frame aluminium)

Anyways, we think affordability is way up there when it comes to the target market of Neuron, so we’ve got the £2,249 Canyon Neuron AL 6 in for test. Yes, that’s £2,249.

Canyon Neuron models, spec, pricing

Canyon Neuron CF LTD

• 2,440 gram carbon frame (size medium)
• FOX 34 Float Factory 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Factory shock, 130 mm rear susepnsion
• SRAM X01 AXS 12S drivetrain
• DT Swiss XMC 1200, (30 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• RockShox Reverb AXS 150 mm dropper post (XS 125 mm, S 150 mm, M–XL 170 mm)
• RaceFace Next 35 carbon bars, 760 MM (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S)
• Colours ROW: Valley Purple
• Sizes: XS–XL
• SRP: £5,749

Canyon Neuron CF 9 SL

• 2,440 gram carbon frame (size medium)
• FOX 34 Float Factory 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Factory shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• SRAM GX AXS 12s drivetrain
• DT Swiss XMC 1501 (30 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP60 dropper post (XS 150 mm, S–M 170 mm, L–XL 200 mm)
• RaceFace Next 35 carbon bars, 760 MM (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S)
• Colours ROW: Moss Green
• Sizes: XS–XL
• SRP £4,799

Canyon Neuron CF 9

• 2,440 gram carbon frame (size medium)
• FOX 34 Float Performance Elite 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Performance shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano XT 12s drivetrain
• DT Swiss XMC 1700 (30 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP60 dropper post (XS 150 mm, S–M 170 mm, L–XL 200 mm)
• RaceFace Next 35 carbon bars, 760 mm (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S)
• Colors ROW: Summit Silver, Lake Blue
• Sizes: XS–XL
• SRP £3,849

Neuron CF 8 / CF 8 WMN

• 2,440 gram carbon frame (size medium)
• FOX 34 Float Performance 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Performance shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano SLX 12s drivetrain
• DT Swiss XM 1700 (30 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP60 dropper post (X–XL)
• RaceFace Next 35 carbon bars, 760 mm (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S, M on WMN)
• Colours ROW: Summit Silver, Rock Red, Glacier Grey (WMN)
• Sizes: XS–XL
• Sizes WMN: XS–M
• SRP £2,899

Neuron AL 7 / AL 7 WMN

• 3,100 gram alloy frame
• FOX 34 Float Performance 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Performance shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano SLX 12s drivetrain
• DT Swiss XM 1700 (30 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP63 dropper post (XS 150 mm, S–M 170 mm, L–XL 200 mm)
• Iridium bars, 760 mm (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S, M on WMN)
• Colours ROW: Stealth, Forest Green, Peak Blues (WMN)
• SIZES: XS–XL
• SIZES WMN: XS–M
• SRP £2,599

Neuron AL 6 / AL 6 WMN

• 3,100 gram alloy frame
• FOX 34 Float Rhythm 140 mm fork
• FOX Float DPS Performance shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano SLX 12s drivetrain
• DT Swiss LN AM (30/25 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP63 dropper post (XS 150 mm, S–M 170 mm, L–XL 200 mm)
• Iridium bars, 760 mm (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S, M on WMN)
• Colours ROW: Peak Blues, Alps White, Fog Grey (WMN)
• Sizes: XS–XL
• Sizes WMN: XS–M
• SRP £2,249

Canyon Neuron AL 5

• 3,100 gram alloy frame
• Rock Shox Recon Silver 140 mm fork
• Rock Shox Deluxe Select+ shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano Deore 12s drivetrain
• Iridium | Shimano MT400 / MT410 (30/25 mm) wheels (27,5” for XS–S, 29er M–XL)
• Iridium SP63 dropper post
• Iridium bars, 760 mm (M–XL), 740 mm (XS–S)
• Colours ROW: Soil Red, Alps White
• Sizes: XS–XL
• SRP £1,849

Canyon Neuron Young Hero

• 3,100 gram alloy frame
• Manitou Machete Comp 130 mm fork
• Manitou Mara IL shock, 130 mm rear suspension
• Shimano Deore 12s drivetrain
• Iridium Young Hero 152 mm cranks
• Tektro Kids brakes with 180 mm Hayes brake rotors
• Shimano MT400 650B wheelset
• Iridium rigid seatpost
• Iridium 700 mm bars
• Colours ROW: Shockwave
• Sizes: 2XS, XS
• SRP £1,499

So, there you go. The new Canyon Neuron. What do you reckon? Decent revamp from Canyon? What else would you have liked to have seen?

Keep an eye out for a full review once we’ve had the bike for a bit longer!

canyon.com

Check out more data

---