So I thought I’d just post here to say I’ve replaced my Shapeshifter and it was actually pretty easy. One of the criticisms of the Strive is that the Shapeshifter is unproven and that servicing it is an unknown quantity. Based on my experiences, I can put that to bed.
I had a problem with mine, so I sent Canyon an email. They seem pretty good at answering them, and they offered to send out a replacement Shapeshifter FOC, which is great since my problem is actually accidental damage – not failure on their part. So top marks for service, although it then took 21 days to arrive.
So today I got a rather large parcel which was mostly air. The actual shapeshifter is really light! It came with a new gear cable, ferrule and a link to some instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9GhPBp3zC6M&app=desktop
Then it was just a matter of bolting it all in. With the help of the video this was actually very easy. If you’re familiar with working on bikes there’s nothing too taxing. I wasn’t timing but it took me no longer than 45 minutes from unboxing to testing the (working!) bike. In fact, now I’ve done it once I reckon I could get it done in 15 minutes.
The only real downside is that troubleshooting the shapeshifter is still very difficult. You can’t see it because it’s hidden and until I took mine apart, I couldn’t really work out how it all functioned. Your LBS will be no use (I suspect) and you can’t exactly swap bits in / out to diagnose the problem. Whatever, I’m just happy it’s working again!
I’m not entirely sure why I posted this, but hopefully it’ll be useful to someone.
TLDR: The shapeshifter is easy to replace for anyone with skillz, and shouldn’t put you off buying a Strive.
