So it’s cross season here and I did my first ever race yesterday, in C grade on my 29er MTB and absolutely loved it! I’m now officially banned from C grade and need to move to B apparently.

This has got me thinking about getting a CX bike, I definitely want 1×11 and budget is around $2.5k (NZD).

Looking at the Canyon:
https://www.canyon.com/en-nz/road/inflite/2018/inflite-al-slx-8-0-pro-race.html

Or the Giant
https://www.cyclescience.co.nz/product/Giant-TCX-SLR-1-2018.html

I prefer the looks of the Canyon and it’s still cheaper despite $250 for postage to NZ. Will be a bit of a wait though although not a show stopper as a mate is lending me a bike for the next race.

Anyone ridden either and have any thoughts?

I have the Giant, but an older model.  Replaced the wheels straight away as they are really heavy, about 2200g IIRC.

Although its a few years old I like it enough to not have any plans to replace in the near future.

However, as the Canyon is cheaper and has better wheels out the box if was me I’d go for that.