Buying direct: Unboxing the Canyon Neuron CF 9.0 LTD
Canyon bikes come direct to your door thanks to German efficiency - but what's involved in ordering and building one up?
For our next issue we decided to test a couiple of bikes from companies who do things a little differently, offering their bikes direct to riders via online shopping sites. The first bike we got ordered was the Canyon Neuron CF 9.0 LTD. Partly beacuse the Neuron with 130mm travel and 29" wheels looks to be a perfect trail bike for most Australian trails – but also becase we've had such great experiences with other Canyon bikes like the Canyon Lux cross-country bike and the Canyon Spectral that we knew we wanted to check it out. At about $7000 the Canyon Neuron CF 9.0 LTD isn't cheap – but with a full carbon frame, SRAM X01 Eagle, DT Swiss carbon rims and Fox Factory suspension and dropper post it represent really good value.
Ordering the bike from Canyon is straight forward. You can use their size guide to make sure you get the right frame size.
Shipping has been a concern for some, and import duty. That's part of what Canyon offer – making it easy! And the price you see online is the price you pay, delivered to your door. And as canyon now have a large part of their German warehouse set to expedite bikes with left to rear braking (hey, that's us!) Canyon reckon that if you're in a major Australian capital city you're likely to see your bike in 5 days.
Ours came all the way from Germany to Canberra in just two.
Yes, two days.
Building the bike took about 20 minutes, aided by having a workstand. Our tester Ryan said if you don't have a workstand, it might take a little longer.
The bike did need the gears adjusted, plus Ryan needed to fit the handlebars to the stem and attach the dropper post. There is a torque wrench provided, plus a few other small parts like the headset block that prevents frame damage.
"The high level of spec on the Neuron at this price point brings the weight down considerably for a bike in this price braket and adds to the overall ride quality of the bike," said our tester Ryan.
"The finish of the frame and attention to detail around areas such as the pivots and frame hardware are impressive, and the slightly longer chainstay at 440mm feels stable on long rides without needing extra persuasion in the turns."
As a 130mm travel 29er trail bike the Canyon Neuron is in the middle ground of bikes. It's not a long-travel enduro sled, nor is it a short travel race whippet. It's a mountain bike. And our tester Ryan thinks that's probably why he is riding it so much.
"I'm finding myself riding the Neuron more than the XC and Enduro bikes in the shed, it nearly climbs as well as the XC rig and is nearly as fun as the enduro bike on the bigger trails and I don't have to change between the two. 130mm of travel and not too outlandish geometry is my sweet spot for mountain biking."
Well the ordering was simple and fast, and the building was the same. The rest is upto the trail – and Ryan's full review will be in our next issue in late October. If you don't want to miss it, make sure you subscribe.
