Canyon Inflite | Cyclocross Race Bike Gets Spec Update

Canyon’s cyclocross race bike, the Canyon Inflite, gets an update for this year. Will there be a race season to put them through their paces?

With the Yorkshire Cyclocross points league races cancelled for both summer and winter, plus no 3 Peaks race for 2020, there’s a big gap in the traditional race calendar for this year. Nevertheless, you may still be eyeing up a new race bike, and Canyon’s Inflite has a spec update for you – no changes to geometry though.

Mathieu van der Poel solos to victory and another year in the rainbow jersey. Men’s Elite race UCI 2020 Cyclocross World Championships Dübendorf / Switzerland ©kramon

The Canyon Inflite has been ridden at top level competition since its launch in 2018 – if a bike can be successful, then this is one of the most successful bikes there is. Though we can’t guarantee you success – fitness, training and skill by the ride are also required – even if you haven’t got the legs for it, you can still emulate the pros with this year’s pro-replica designs that copy the Alpicin-Fenix team colours.

For this year, the Canyon Inflite comes in both carbon fibre and alloy, but there are no frame only options. The alloy model, at £1,499, is one build spec but with two colour options. If you go for carbon fibre, you get three build specs with Carbon CF SL, and two with the higher end Carbon CF SLX, which tops out at £4,199 for the Team edition. All bikes are available in a whopping eight sizes, from 3XS through to 2XL.

The 3XS and 2XS bikes come with 650B wheels, which Canyon says maintains handling qualities across the sizes. Sizes 3XS to XS use smaller disc rotors (140F/140R), while S to L use 160F/140R, and XL and 2XL use 160F/160R. Canyon considers that these are enough to meet the specific demands of a ‘cross course, rather than the terrain of a gravel or adventure bike. The CF and CF SLX models also offer a 2x chainset option. There’s no women’s specific option in the range since Canyon doesn’t think there’s a difference in rider demands at race level, and the huge size range should cater for smaller riders.

The bikes are all UCI race standard compliant, so tyres are 33m – although there is room for a 38mm if you want. The distinctive top tube ‘kink’ still gives UCI compliant geometry, while giving a better shape for shouldering the bike. The junction with the seat tube also gives a little extra flex than more traditional designs, increasing comfort.