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FEATURES: CANYON ULTIMATE CF SLX 9.0 TEAM
Road Bike Action
August 12, 2011
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Not much flash, but a record that proves it doesn’t need it.
Canyon may not ring a bell for most Americans, but in Europe the consumer-direct German brand is well known for their high-quality bike builds at prices well under their competitors.
What originally began as a family business selling Italian parts out of a trailer in 1983, Canyon has since grown into a leading German bicycle brand. Since 2009 the Omega Pharma-Lotto team has been racing Canyons, winning a world championship with Cadel Evans and multiple classics under Philippe Gilbert.
THE FRAME
With Canyon’s new $8000 Aeroad road bike garnering all the attention as of late, the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team has been a little overshadowed. While it may not have all the flash of the Aeroad’s aero tubing, the SLX is still used frequently by the Omega Pharma-Lotto riders.
Canyon has stuck with the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team’s frame design for the past few years. Rather than completely overhauling what has been their best selling frame, they’ve made some improvements in both comfort and stiffness.
Using their proprietary headset called I-Lock and an oversized Ritchey WCS stem, Canyon takes their tapered head tube design one step further in stiffness than other brands. Most tapered head tubes go from 1 1/8 inches at the top to 1 1/2 inches at the bottom. Canyon started their taper a 1/4-inch bigger than most others, going from 1 1/4 inches to 1 1/2 inches, dramatically stiffening the SLX carbon fork and, in turn, helping create a very rigid front end.
Canyon’s VCLS (Vertical Comfort, Lateral Stiffness) technology adds basalt fibers to the carbon on the fork, seat stays and seatpost. Canyon claims this improves vibration damping without compromising lateral stiffness.
The rear triangle slightly resembles a Cervelo R-series, with small 12mm seat stays for rider comfort and huge chainstays or power transfer. A distinctive looking seat tube called Maximus is just what it sounds like: massive. The asymmetrical tube starts out round at the top but bulges out on the left side as it goes down to intersect the 68mm-threaded bottom bracket shell.
By today’s standards, the bottom bracket junction looks a little small when compared to the new wider shell designs of BBright and BB386EVO, which allow for a wider tube interface with the bottom bracket shell.
THE PARTS
Our Canyon came decked out with the same build the Omega Pharma-Lotto team races, featuring the Lamborghini of componentry, a Campagnolo Super Record 11-speed.
The Super Record group came with a 53/39 crank, but a 50/34 option is also available. A set of sub-1300-gram Mavic R-Sys SL wheels with Continental Grand Prix 4000 tires adds a level of quality—and weight savings—that other brands often forgo when spec’ing a bike.
The Ritchey front end gets a WCS alloy stem and Super Logic II carbon handlebar, which retails for $320. A VCLS seatpost features the same basalt fibers for vibration damping as the fork and seat stays of the frame. Mounted to the VCLS post is a Selle Italia SLR carbon-railed saddle.
THE RIDE
What’s ironic about the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team is that as it sits in production guise, the team couldn’t actually race it. Weighing in at a paltry 14.1 pounds, it’s a full pound below the UCI mandated minimum bike weight. So, even though the team riders can’t enjoy the full benefits of its low weight, we sure did.
Unfortunately, we don’t come across many bikes these days with Campy’s high-end Super Record group. After feeling the hoods, shifting the gears (all 22 of them) and pulling on the brakes, we were grinning from ear to ear. Yeah, it really is that nice.
The stiff front end was the very first thing we noticed with the Canyon. The large diameter of the fork’s steerer tube kept it ultra rigid laterally when we wound up our sprint, pulling hard—side to side—on the handlebars. But, even with the VCLS fork, we felt all the bumps the road had to offer in our hands. It’s a compromise most racers would take—stiffness over comfort—but for the average rider, it might be the other way around.
The rear of the bike felt like the right balance between stiffness and comfort, keeping in mind that it’s a high-level race bike. As frames get stiffer and stiffer, many companies are going back to smaller-diameter seatposts to help dampen the ride. This is the case with the VCLS 27.2 seatpost—and we have to say it accomplished the job. The post’s basalt fibers and smaller diameter, along with the thin seat stays, provided a decent ride for an upscale racer.
When it came to climbing, our Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team ascended like it had a motor on it. The 53/39 chainrings and 12-25 cassette offered a low enough gear on the climbs for race-fit riders, but we would recommend going with the 50/34 chainring and/or the 12-27 cassette options for most riders. A 98.5cm wheelbase makes the Canyon a great all-around road racer, giving it stability at speed but still making it quick out of sharp corners.
THE VERDICT
The Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team delivers a full-scale race bike that needs nothing more than a seat adjustment to be more than competitive at any level.
Having the ability to choose a compact crank and cassette option opens the door to customers who want the team bike but don’t want to suffer going up all the climbs. If you don’t have to have the same model that most of the Omega Pharma-Lotto team use, Canyon offers a total of nine different models of the Ultimate CF in all different build options and prices—just not in America.
PUNCH LINES
• Not officially available in America
• Race-ready straight out of the box
• Everyone should enjoy Super Record once in their lives.
STATS
Price: $6,670
Weight: 14.1 pounds
Sizes: 50, 52, 54, 56 (tested), 58, 60, 62, and 64 centimeters
www.canyon.com |
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