Afternoon…

after looking at the canyon stand st the bike show yesterday my certainty of which bike I want was shaken. I was going to be getting the nerve al 9, but after seeing the 29er 9.9sl I’m not so sure. So who has one and what do you think of them and the ride?
Cheers

I have a 2013 Nerve AL 29 9.9.
It is very good indeed in my experience- very useable and reassuring, much more chuckable than I expected and very comfortable for longer rides. I use mostly locally ( malvern based) and in FOD and it has plenty enough travel for these.
I have had two build issues with the bike, one relating to bearing in Mavic wheelset (had Crossmax ST29 last year), the other with creaking bearing in seatstay. Both sorted after consulting with UK service centre who were very helpful.
Would thoroughly recommend.
Take care with sizing measurements though-really important you do it exactly as they suggest. I am 6’2″ and initially suggested a medium until I checked my measurements with someone else helping. Large is just right for me.
Edit:
I did change the brakes as they were Avids last year, and add a dropper. Both well worthwhile in my opinion. With Hope X2 brakes, a Giant dropper post, Maxxis Ignitor tyres and Shimano M540 pedals it weighs just under 29lbs compared to advertised weight of just under 27 lbs without pedals

Cheers for that, most helpful. I’m 5’11 so I am probably on the cusp of a medium to large. If it works for FoD it should have no problems with the massive mountains of hampshire and the SDW, swinley, QEP and the occasional Welsh trail centers….

Anyone from the evening crew have any insights?

I’ve got a 9.9sl, as Jim says it’s a great bike, very stable but also far more agile than I thought it would be. Possibly the trick mavic slrs or just sorted geo. The fox remote seems like a good idea, not 100% sure it makes much difference on the ups but certainly does going down! flipping to descend and dropping the post makes a big difference in confidence if nothing else.

Lots of cables on there, I’ve gone 1×10 with just a nw ring, added a reverb stealth and a shorter stem.

Had no problems at all with mine, 6ft and a large size for me.

Oh, it’s very fast, the first few rides are quite an eye opener, you’ll mop up your pbs if you use strava.

I’ve also got a 9.9 and not changed a thing on it. To be honest it’s far more bike than I need but hey, it’s fun! Rolls noticeably faster than other bikes. I’ve had no problems with anything mechanical (that wasn’t my fault!) and all I’d change will be adding a dropper and maybe going to a single up front.

Thanks for that…how tough are they? Im not the lightest or gentlest rider

I am about 14st at the moment, and whilst not particularly kind to bikes ( broken three Trek carbon frames-but that’s another tale…) I don’t tend to do big drop offs etc. has been fine so far.

Sounds like me then. Like to get the wheels off the ground occasionally but no big stuff. Many thanks, might just be another canyon in the uk soon

Got a 7.9 in August, in large. I’m 6ft2, I’ve absolutely battered the thing and it’s taken everything and not had an issue (asides from me breaking rear mechs but thats my shit lines) – it’s done the Isle of Man End 2 End too, it was perfect.

All I’ve changed are the brakes for SLX as Avids are junk, put a 65mm stem on – didn’t get on well with the longer stem and put a Thomson Elite on, although I think the bike needs a dropper!

Get one, they’re absolutely top value.

I fell in lust with the Lux on display at the bike show. It was telling me that it was the perfect solution for racing and general XC.

Mmmm.

The lux looked like I’d breakit, pluss it’s over budget. Very nice tho

A mate of mine has just got his Lux CF29. Now that is a lovely piece of kit, and noticeably lighter than the AL29. He was fast before but now…
The most impressive thing was that he has got confidence in the bike straight away, no messing about, and he had only ever ridden a 29er once before.

Apparently the blurb that came with the bike said no bigger drops than 600mm IIRC

I’ve had my Nerve 7.9 for almost 10 months now. No problems. I fitted a Works Components -1.5 degree headset, 60mm stem and 740mm bars.

The forks are actually 120mm models. The 2013 bike have a 10mm spacer on the air side that can be removed. The 2014 models are better and don’t have one. The weak point of this bottom of the range bike is the rather basic Fox Evolution fork. The Fox Performance shock, on the other hand, is superb.

The last photo is the bike pre-mods. It’s a size large. I’m 5’11” with quite a long 86cm inseam.
The top tube would of been to short for me switching from the standard 90mm to 60mm stem.

Forgot to say. To see all the details click on the images, then click on the + symbol and then click it again.

Im really impressed with the pics. And thanks for the reviews. I may be looking at the 8.9 now as they have it in the right colour, I know very shallow!, then upgrade the wheels to kinesis , a carbon bar, my xt brakes and single n/w ring… then hope my local trails dry out enough to actually be ridden!!!

Hi all, I’m currently looking at the Nerve AL 29 9.9 and wanted to check in with you guys above – for those of you who have a canyon 29er already, are any of you around the 5′ 9″ mark (like me)?

If so, how have you felt on the 29er?

Thanks