So I bought a Canyon Nerve AM 9.0X in May.

Bike was delivered, put together and I straight away have issues with it. Reverb doesn’t work, brakes need bleeding, saddle creaks like mad. After less than a month the paint on the frame is starting to peel off so I contact Canyon who offer me a new frame.

After much faffing around (contacting their uk centre is a nightmare), they eventually collect my old bike. After further delays they decided that instead of replacing just the frame, they’ll give me a whole new bike. Great you may think, except I changed the tyres to Tubeless and replaced the rear wheel quick release skewer with a Hope one and I’ve seemingly no chance of getting that back as they will not reply to my emails asking for it.

So I eventually get a brand new bike, except this one isn’t in working order either. Once again the brakes need bleeding and are on the wrong way round. Of more concern are the Talas forks which seem to be unable to hold the air in them. I inflated them to 125psi (they come with no air in so they fit in the box) but a few days later it was down to less than 50psi. I found this out when I went to take the bike out for it’s first ride.

I’m incredibly hacked off with all this, to the point where I’m considering asking for a refund and spending my money elsewhere. What would be my chances of getting this, would anybody know?

I would ask Canyon but they don’t answer their phone and rarely respond to emails. I contacted their German head office who just got the UK people to get back to me. They have offered to pay to have the brakes bled in a shop but I’m just fed up with once again something else going wrong.

Admittedly their bikes are cheap and when working are great, but it’s still a near £3k bike that doesn’t work properly. It’s not fit for purpose so would I be entitled to a refund?

Appreciate any help. Cheers – Chris

Oh dear, just take it to a shop and get them to give it some love. Fork may just need used if it’s been sitting for a while, possibly dried out seals.

Not sure on your rights here: you do have a month to return for refund I think, but not sure where you would stand with this now.

I’ve had a Canyon Strive which had a few minor issues. Have all been sorted now, but was a bit of a pain in the **se dealing with the UK service Centre who then seem to defer most stuff over to Germany. All sorted but not quickly.

Sounds like your issues are all sortable, but a fair bit more hassle than dealing direct with a good LBS: just think of all the money you’ve saved buying direct!

You sure you should have 125psi in the Talas? My 36s have got 50psi in them.

where do I stand

The wrong side of the North Sea

i ordered a bike from canyon 8 weeks ago.
i was given a 4 week delivery date, this passed, i was given another 4 week delivery date, this too passed.
i got a refund last friday.

their prices are good, but service is shyte………as for after service, i would hate to have to find out.

I’m all for support your local bike shop but unfortunately where I live I don’t trust any of them. I’ve had bad experiences form all of them so do my own mechanic work when possible.

Regarding the Talas, I inflated them to 125 psi first off and then aimed to see what would work with trial and error. It most definitely isn’t 50psi though, unless you want very low handlebars and about 1″ of travel.

After less than a month the paint on the frame is starting to peel off

I thought that canyon frame was an anodised finish?

If you like the bike then just get a LBS to sort out the brakes and ask about the forks. Think of the extra money and time you will have to spend if you want a refund and buy elsewhere.

Also think of the bike who will be saying in a very quite, worried voice, “fix me….ride me….ride me!!!”

Although the frame is anodised, parts of it are also painted to give a slightly more gloss finish, it was this that started to go pear shaped. Big section on the top tube. Must admit it was very odd but a friend of mine with a Nerve XC also has some issues with the finish on his frame. It was his general satisfaction that led me to get the bike in the first place.

I inflated them to 125 psi first off and then aimed to see what would work with trial and error. It most definitely isn’t 50psi though, unless you want very low handlebars and about 1″ of travel.

Sounds like something is wrong I’m 14 stone (200lb) and running 65psi in my 36s.

Fox recommend 90 psi for a 250lb rider, so unless you are 300lb+?

If you like the bike then just get a LBS to sort out the brakes and ask about the forks. Think of the extra money and time you will have to spend if you want a refund and buy elsewhere.

Also think of the bike who will be saying in a very quite, worried voice, “fix me….ride me….ride me!!!”

Fox recommend 90 psi for a 250lb rider, so unless you are 300lb+?

dont no where you see that, fox website says 125 for 230/250lbs for talas forks.

its not what you way also , if you have a camelbak on your back you have to include that weight also. ( sag !!)

ive 2 canyon bikes ( hardtail and full suzz am ) not had a problem and even delivered 3 weeks earlier on one of the bikes.

defo would buy again, same with any bike i suppose, there great until they go wrong !!

frazchops – Member

Oh dear, just take it to a shop and get them to give it some love. Fork may just need used if it’s been sitting for a while, possibly dried out seals.

Cos no one has problems with LBS’ do they…

How did you pay for your bike? If you paid any portion of it via credit card, then you are covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. You call your credit card company, explain that the bike is not fit for purpose, and you wish to invoke your Section 75 rights. Voila credit card is reimbursed by Credit Card company, and they go chase Canyon for a refund!

I always wondered what would happen if I bought and had issues with, one of these euro-bargain bikes. This is pretty much what I imagined. I think I’ll be keeping it face-to-face and local.

repeated problems with two seperate bikes = user interface issue… every time!

good exmaple being two seperate sets of brakes, both need bleeding out the box.. and two seperate sets of forks not working properly?

Really?

sorry mate, the problem is you not knowing what the F you’re doing!

Email them this thread.

Thats shite service and I would want my money back so I could buy a bike from someone else.

They gave him a new bike, that’s good. Sounds like dummy spitting to me 🙂

Op buys bike from Germany and is surprised to find the back brake lever on the right… 🙄

Not sure it isnt a troll

Some idiotic replies on here.

They gave him a new bike, that’s good.

Not when it’s not working it isn’t.

Op buys bike from Germany and is surprised to find the back brake lever on the right..

Yes I’m well aware thanks that in Europe they have the brakes the other way round. I’m also aware that Canyon make a point of supposedly setting them up properly for the UK when you buy one, or at least they do for any that are needed for magazine reviews.

And as for Zulu Eleven? Would you buy a brand new bike where you can pull the brake lever back so it’s touching the bars and still not getting full power onto the rotor, as has been the case with both bikes out the box? And two separate sets of forks not working, where did I say that then Einstein?

Contrary to not knowing what I’m doing, having ridden mountain bikes for over 20 years and being an experienced mechanic it’s precisely because I know how things should be setup that I can spot when a bunch of cowboys don’t.

As it stands, Canyon cannot be contacted at all so I have no way of resolving the issues. Be warned about ordering from this lot. If you get a bike that works then great, if you don’t you’re in for a lot of grief and encountering the wisdom of some right clowns on here.

the brakes are avids, aren’t they? if so, the lever touching the bar problem, isn’t a problem, but a feature of avid brakes.

if you’re a mechanic, then you should be able to sort the problem yourself.

you know how to stop the saddle creaking, don’t you?

avid brakes can be flipped within five minutes.

why didn’t you remove the skewer before the bike was taken away?

in fact, your problem isn’t with the bike as such, but the components, something Canyon have little control over. obviously it is their duty to correct the issue, but still.

i’ve ordered with Canyon (admittedly in Germany) and found them good to deal with. they even refunded my money when i decided i didn’t need a new bike.

Seriously you have my sympathies, but you have made a great saving buying direct as most of us do on this forum.

How about asking if anyone on the forum can recommend a reliable lbs/mechanic in your area.

they did you a favour keeping that Hope QR… all sound like small issues that can be fixed easily, except the frame paint which they have sorted with the new bike. put the dummy back in..

I’ll be the first to acknowledge the savings made and yes it’s a great bike. Before I had the issues with the frame I rode it round Llandegla and CYB and it was superb but these niggling little issues are a bit of a pain.

First time around the Selle Italia saddle was faulty out of the box, the rails seemingly weren’t attached properly so any shift of weight on the saddle meant flex in those areas. No amount of the usual fixes would sort that out. The Reverb came with no air in it, a quick fix but a rather obvious oversight and I’ve bled enough Avid brakes in my time for that to not be a problem either. None of them Canyon products but even so, you’d expect them to actually work.

My main point is the standard of service you get from Canyon which has surprised me no end. It’s one thing for a bike to be cheap, but it’s still a lot of money for a product that doesn’t work properly out the box – more than once.

Admittedly anyone buying direct is probably well aware of the risks but surely it should come in working order? First time round I wasn’t that fussed about it, got a great bike for not much money. Then the hassle of resolving the frame annoyed me a bit as they insist on doing as little as possible to help you out in that respect. Put it this way, I work in London where there UK service centre is but would they let me drop it off there on the way to work? No, they insist I wait at home all day for UPS to come and collect it which was very inconvenient.

They promised it would take 1-2 days to return the bike but this turned into over 2 weeks because they ordered the wrong one. Emails and telephone calls to them to find out what was going on were fruitless (they either don’t answer the phone or won’t reply to emails) so perhaps you can understand why I’m not best pleased to eventually get a bike back and once again find it has problems.

All in all I can’t really recommend buying a Canyon based upon my experiences. It may be a great bike, but it’s still a lot of money for something that you have to be prepared to accept in not fully working order. That’s not right in my book, however cheap it may be.

I understand how you feel but in Canyons defense they would mostly deal with bike shops who are use to setting up a bike straight out of the box. I’ve worked in a few bike shops and its normal to receive a bike in a box where the brakes need bleeding etc. So dont be too mad at them for not giving you any more attention than they give to a bike shop.

Still i hope you get everything sorted and start enjoying the bike.

Painey – personally I feel you pain. Ok that’s a bit cheap. But I do feel for you.

But for comparison – I’ve bought a similar FS bike (£1500) from a lbs. The frame and rear swing arm have cracked 3 times under warranty. It’s like pulling teeth to get stuff sorted (almost 6 months in total so far waiting for replacement frames/swingarms).

And its been downright dangerous with these failures – but Im in no doubt about getting a refund. I asked for a fix first time around so I’m living with it til the 2 yr warranty expires.

Lastly, both my reverbs come with no air in them. Dont know why. Thats how they come.

However the measure of almost any “premium” brand / company is in how they deal with complaints. I’d suggest you have a valid point on that one so keep us posted with how you get on (and maybe go heavy on the Canyon service stuff and lay off the “component issues” to keep avoiding being seen as a whiner)

Right so because a bike is good value, the OP or any buyer waives his right to good service…

My Rrrrs!

OP – tbh I think you should just take the bike to a reputable bike-shop (that’s assuming you are within reasonable distance from one) and chuck them a few quid to sort the issues out. Sounds like much less hassle.

Admittedly their bikes are cheap and when working are great, but it’s still a near £3k bike

3 grand a cheap bike? what do you call expensive then?

For 3k I would expect absolute perfection.
You don’t go to a posh restaurant and have to do the washing up yourself.

no but you may have to put salt and pepper on !! 😆

Mjsmke, canyon wouldn’t send stuff to bike shops, that’s why they are so cheap, no dealer network taking their slice of profit. They deals direct innit.

hi Painey been watching the posts on this topic with interest as i am either going to purchase a nerve am9.0x or a strive model from canyon in the very near future. I appreciate you have had a bit of a mare with various issues but as far as the bike goes how do you rate it for trails and moderate enduo type riding.

I cant find any real reviews of this model and your posts represent all the owner feedback i seem to be able to locate, your views now i realise maybe a little sour towards canyon regarding customer service but as there are no recent updates i presume that you are still in ownership of the bike.

Any feedback (if you can manage it) regarding the performance of the bike itself would be helpful in assisting me with my decision, i understand that due to the various problems you have encountered you may not have had much time to appraise the bike in its prime condition but any positives would be good.

The price has recently dropped a little and the spec is amazing so the draw to canyon has drawn my eye away from the zesty i origanilly intended to buy but i am waiting until the months end as a lot of manufacturers are releasing their 2013 models at the 2012 eurobike event in germany 28th sept.

cheers glenn