At Mountain Biking UK magazine we ride our long-term test bikes hard for a year, constantly scrutinising their performance, to bring you the truth behind the marketing waffle. We also use them as test beds for the latest kit, chopping and changing parts to help you decide which upgrades are worth spending your money on. In this new video series we'll be giving you a closer look at some of our rides.
Our Technical Editor in Chief, Rob Weaver, has three bikes on long-term test for 2015 but it's the Canyon Strive that he's using for all-rounder trail riding duties. Over to him...
I’ll admit it, it was the Shapeshifter technology that got the bike testing sceptic in me interested in the Strive in the first place. I wanted to know just how much of a difference this geometry and travel adjusting system would really make on the hill, and how well the compact little unit would hold up in some rather murky British weather. Should we really believe the hype? That and the fact that Canyon have made the wise move to offer a ‘Race’ geometry version of the bike, which has a dramatically stretched front centre compared to the standard option. Plenty to think about then! So, after a couple of months aboard the 9.0, here are my initial thoughts.
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Highs:
- Activating the Shapeshifter takes a little bit of practice but the changes it makes to the bike (in XC mode) make the climbs less of a chore.
- Take a closer look at the frame and you’ll be impressed by the attention to detail. Canyon seem to have found a solution to that irritating cable rattle some internally routed bikes are prone to. Using a male/female threaded connector where the cable enters the frame eliminates cable flap and gives the bike that all-important stealthy silence on the trail.
- Model: Canyon Strive CF 9.0 Race
- Price: £3,746.98 including boxing and shipping
- From: Canyon, www.canyon.com
- Rob's Canyon Strive CF 9.0 Race
- Rob's Scott Spark 700 Ultimate Di2
- Rob's Pivot Phoenix
- Guy's Whyte T-130 SX
- Guy's GT Force Expert Carbon
- Jake's Merida One-Sixty 7.900
- Jake's Saracen Myst Pro
- Olly's Giant Reign 27.5 1
- Olly's NS Fuzz 1
- JCW's Intense Carbine 29 Expert
- JCW's Stanton Sherpa 853
- Jimmer's Marin Mount Vision C-XM8
- Matt's Surly Ice Cream Truck Ops
- Ric's Vitus Sommet VRX
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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