If you’re prepared to possibly wait a bit for a bike-in-a-box delivery, the Grand Canyon AL SLX 9.9 is an incredible ride for the money. The obvious highlight is the gold Kashima-legged Factory-series Fox 32 fork providing beautifully smooth, consistently controlled suspension. You even get ’automatic’ bump sensing Terralogic damping for set-and-forget sensitivity levels.
The 2x11 Shimano XT transmission gets a Side Swing front mech and a direct-mount rear one for equally slick shifts at either end. While one of the XT brakes was erratic at first, bite point settled down after a couple of rides and the 180mm rotor provides plenty of power.
You’re going to be getting between technical sections extremely quickly too thanks to DT Swiss wheels and Continental RaceSport tyres that create light rolling stock. The Mountain King, X-King treads also create an all year, all conditions rubber mix of rear-end velocity with reassuring front-end traction.
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Not just a racer
It’s not just the tyres that take the capability of the Canyon outside the course tape either. The front centre and reach of the frame are generously long and the 69-degree head angle naturally encourages you to attack corners and descents hard rather than switching to the defensive. It’s a surprisingly forgiving and fluid feeling bike that flows beautifully through rocks and roots rather than choking and clattering off every stopper.
Even the Ergon grips and Crankbrothers cockpit and seating are noticeably more comfortable and shock shrugging than their counterparts on the other bikes and it’s also got a port for a dropper post.
Direct drive
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