We’ve already seen it in the wild, and Canyon has now announced details of its new top-end lightweight bike, the Ultimate CF SLX. BikeRadar got a chance to ride the new machine in Pamplona, Spain – keep reading for a rundown of what’s changed and our initial impressions on the road.
Canyon is the king of direct sales, but success in the pro peloton with teams like Katusha and Movistar means the German manufacturer doesn’t need to make excuses. It may be best known for the absurdly generous build specs it offers for the money, but Canyon isn’t a budget mail-order warehouse. It makes serious kit for serious cyclists, and the new Ultimate CF SLX has a realistic shot at being a Tour de France-winning bike this July between the capable legs of Nairo Quintana.
The Ultimate has been around since 2005 and this latest release is the fourth generation. Although outwardly similar to the previous iteration, the new Ultimate is an entirely new bike. At the launch, Canyon’s engineers took pains to detail the thinking behind the new design, which they describe as “engineered perfectionâ€.
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Hitherto, Canyon’s range has had a clear aero/lightweight split, with the Aeroad in the former category and the Ultimate the latter. Now, while the frameset’s stiffness-to-weight (STW) ratio is still the main concern, considerable effort has been put into improving the Ultimate’s performance in the wind tunnel.
At the same time, Canyon is a big believer in comfort as a factor in performance, so the aim of the Ultimate project was to offer a 10 percent increase in “compliance†(i.e. vertical displacement of the seatpost under load) along with a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic drag. It was considered essential to hit these targets without compromising on STW, and Canyon says the frame weighs just 780g in a medium, plus 295g for a fork with 210mm of steerer.
That’s not too shabby, although Canyon showed it can do even better, bringing along an ‘Evo’ weight weenie version of the bike with a 665g frame that will apparently retail at €13000 ( £9200) for a complete bike. It’s also worth pointing that if the new frame is lighter but STW remains the same, then stiffness must actually have reduced slightly.
- Frame: Ultimate CF SLX
- Fork: Ultimate CF SLX
- Stem/handlebar: Canyon H36 carbon one-piece
- Brakes: Shimano Dura Ace 9000
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 Di2
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 Di2
- Shift levers: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 Di2
- Cassette: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 11-28
- Chain: Shimano Dura Ace 9000
- Crankset: Shimano Dura Ace 9000 52/36
- Wheels: Zipp 303 Firecrest carbon clincher
- Tyres: Continental GP4000S II 23mm front/25mm rear
- Saddle: Fizik Antares
- Seatpost: Canyon VCLS
- Bottle cage: Canyon
- Weight as tested: 6.8kg including pedals
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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