Well... Yesterday...
Post first ride pic...
So courtesy of the PSA thread and Rockhopper70's lengthy search for a new eBike, I ended up buying a new Canyon Neuron Onfly CF7 in their sale myself, and have subtly upgraded it with a few of my own existing parts... After fully ignoring Canyon's size recommendations (thank god, cos at 1m78 they have me firmly on a medium, and this is a Large and I wouldn't really want it any smaller!) I ordered the cheapest one knowing I was going to customise it. Got hold of a Merlin special "paint defect" Fox 36 knowing I already had the correct shorter air shaft to go on it, and resurrected my old X01 mechanical Eagle groupset and Mavic Deemax's etc... I had bought a cut price Ohlins TTX2 shock to go on it too, but sadly due to a peculiarity in Canyon's frame design the Ohlins shock doesn't fit (so if anybody wants a half price brand new 210x55 Ohlins TTX2 shock give me a shout!), but never mind...
So how does it ride...? Really rather bloody well actually! Being honest, it doesn't feel like a 140mm travel bike, probably more like a 120-130 bike, at least with that stock shock, but that's no bad thing for what I want anyway... I have a 150/160 full fat eBike too, and I wanted something lighter and more responsive for flatter more local trails, and the Bosch SX motor is awesome for that too. The geometry (at least after ignoring Canyon's sizing chart) is bang on, it's really well balanced with an almost perfect 1.8:1 Front to rear ratio (I've measured wheelbase myself @ 1275mm and chainstays @ 453mm, which gives 1.815:1 which ironically is identical to my Mondraker Crafty!) and a Head Angle a touch over 64deg.. The 200mm drop seatpost is a superb touch too, never had the clearance for anything longer than 175 on a bike before and really appreciating the full 200mm drop!
All up weight as is including pedals is 20.5kg (so under 20kg exc. pedals as everyone weighs their bikes)... It feels lighter I'll be honest. Definitely feels closer handling and weight wise to a conventional MTB than it does to a full fat, yet with 600W peak power still (accessed at a ludicrous 108rpm cadence!) it'll drop many full fat ebikes on the trails still (at least as long as they haven't been derestricted and before the 400Wh battery runs out!) and it's a lot less draggy above the 15.5mph cutoff too...
Oh, and as complete luck would have it... First ride out on it it ticked onto 0% range just as I arrived back at my car, after 24 miles and just over 1000m of climbing! 😂 And for anyone still in the "eBikes are for lazy people" persuasion, check out those HR zones... 👍🏻
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I'd look at normal person-powered bikes all the time thinking, 'That's a nice-looking bike,' but rarely do I look at an e-bike and think they look that nice; however, as e-bikes go, that is tidy-looking!
Nice, especially like the Mavic yellow hubs and the single yellow spoke.
I like that. Definitely one of the nicer looking eBikes. Good to hear it rides well and you're happy with it too.
Nice bike. Looks fast.
so if anybody wants a half price brand new 210x55 Ohlins TTX2 shock give me a shout!
Depends if they're rebuildable to 185x50.
Nice, especially like the Mavic yellow hubs and the single yellow spoke.
no wonder he wanted to fit the ohlins, wouldve worked nicely with the yellow!
Cheers for the positive comments guys
Went down FoD on it yesterday, quick hour and a half session...
I'd look at normal person-powered bikes all the time thinking, 'That's a nice-looking bike,' but rarely do I look at an e-bike and think they look that nice; however, as e-bikes go, that is tidy-looking!
Cheers! It's one of, if not the least, eBike looking eBikes that I've seen myself too. A lower torque motor and 400Wh battery are much easier to hide than their full fat counterparts for sure, but from a few metres away, you've really got to know what you're looking for to spot that it's an eBike at all from a side profile at least...
Went down FoD on it yesterday, quick hour and a half session...
BIG stack on Murdocks (a trail I have ridden hundreds of times) wrapping myself around a tree, and woke up very sore today as a result! A few cuts and bruises will keep me off the bike for a week or so but thankfully nothing major...
Long and the short of it is that the geometry on this bike is writing cheques that the suspension can't cash... I figured this would be the case, hence changing from a 140mm base model Pike to a 150mm Fox 36 before even riding it. Put my Diaz Runt air cart in it too, and degreased the air shaft, but it's definitely spiking under compression and/or the bushings are too tight... Next step with the fork is to hone the bushings, and then maybe play with a lighter oil weight in the GRIP damper... I don't want to spend money on a new damper as this is supposed to be a cheap 2nd bike, but if needs be will go to a GRIP2 with 2.5 or 3W oil, as I know this has worked for me in the past on a 36...
As for the shock... Well it's making the bike feel like a 120mm "downcountry" bike not a 140mm trail bike. No room for a piggyback or even a higher volume air can in-line air shock as previously discussed... Research reveals that a 2024on Fox Float (not DPS as they dropped this moniker I have just learnt) should yield a little more suppleness and control hopefully, and as luck would have it, Merlin have one in the right size @ 1/2 price right now... So will get that ordered, tested, then see what can be done regarding custom tune to make it better... At least i'll put some money back in my pocket selling the Ohlins that didn't fit!
Sadly not... Easy to change the stroke length, but to change from a 210 regular fitment to a 185 trunnion mount would require a whole new shock head assembly.
Might be interested in the shock. Nice bike!
Upgraded the rear shock to a current Fox Float Performance and have stripped and rebuilt the fork with a new NA3 "Glidecore" airshaft and 2.5W oil in the GRIP damper (even at 95kg rtr, the stock GRIP damper was spiking harshly with the stock 4W oil in)... This bike was the most extreme take on "Geometry writing cheques that the suspension can't cash" that I've experienced probably since my 2015 Whyte T-129, so hopefully these upgrades will make the difference required...
Ha, what a shout out!
Great bikes, my fourth ride on mine today, and I’m gelling with it more every ride. Geometry and hence ride feel is miles different it my old 2017 trail bike and the canyon just feels so stable.
And that motor, it just pulls and pulls when you get it spinning. I’m climbing stuff that appears impossible.
Very very happy with mine.
OK so the tuned forks and the upgraded shock have made a significant amount of difference... The bike still doesn't feel like a long travel enduro sled, but it definitely now has more of the suspension performance to match its geometry... 3rd ride done now, 990m climbing over 24km and 99% battery used (keeping up with guys on full fat ebikes to be fair!)... Loving the symmetry of those numbers!