deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 5
Review

2023 Canyon Strive CFR

Photos Deniz Merdano
Reading time

Canyon released the second generation of the Strive, their dedicated enduro bike, back in April of this year. The Strive only comes in Canyon's highest tier, CFR carbon construction and is now intended to be a full on race bike. Canyon tells us the bike is optimized to give you the fastest possible race time. You can catch all the geometry, suspension kinematics and build details in our launch article, or on Canyon's website.

One day I came home after work to find a Canyon box just cold chillin' on my porch. Eeeek! Canyon says they have signature on delivery as standard, but UPS didn't get that memo, and just tossed 'er on the old porch till someone showed up. Thankfully no one in the 'hood pulled a five finger discount on a brand new Canyon Strive CFR!

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 4

The Canyon Strive CFR looks fast even when sitting still.

Canyon Strive CFR Highlights

  • ShapeShifter bar mounted travel + geometry adjust between Shred Mode and Pedal Mode
  • 160 mm rear travel in shred Mode, 140 mm rear travel in Pedal Mode
  • 29" Wheels only
  • 63° Head Angle in Shred Mode, 64.5° Head Angle in Pedal Mode
  • 435 mm rear center on all sizes
  • Size large wheel base is 1,291 mm with a 505 mm Reach (2 smaller, and 1 larger size available)
  • Front center can be adjusted +/- 5 mm
  • Weight: 15.8 kg or 35 pounds
deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 8

We took WAY too many pictures of the Strive, and can you blame us?

Build and Assembly

With any direct to consumer bike I think it's important to chat about the unboxing and assembly process. The Canyon packaging is impressive, and comes with a nice little torque wrench, a shock pump, some assembly paste, and detailed assembly instructions. But there were some issues. The rear brake lever was significantly bent and there was some surface damage to the frame. Undeterred, I got to assembling the bike.

Canyon provides excellent instructions for assembly, and a nice unboxing/assembly video online. I got the bike assembled, and carefully straightened the lever. A bounce on the ground off the bike stand and there was a strange rattle. After some investigation I found the cranks weren't correctly installed/preloaded. I got that fixed, but then the brakes felt spongy and inconsistent, so I bled the brakes. I asked Canyon about this, and they were quick to respond. The issues I had were likely due to the media bikes launching from a separate facility. The regular consumer bikes go through more QC before being released. If you did have an issue you can return the bike for a replacement, or minor issues can be repaired at a local bikeshop at Canyon's cost, or repaired by Velofix if you're in North America. This seems reasonable, but it's worth mentioning that while direct to consumer can be cheaper, dealing with small problems could be time consuming and frustrating.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 18

With the assembly issues fixed, it was time to get the Strive dirty.

Sizing and Fit

I'm riding the size large, and there is an even longer XL available. "Aahhhhhh," listen to the angels sing! I think it's great that manufacturer's are finally making bikes that fit actual tall people. I shouldn't be on the longest size. Front center-wise I like the fit of the Strive. It's roomy, with a slack head angle, and a steep seat tube. The seat position is perfect for climbing, striking a nice balance between comfort, ergonomics and front tire weighting.

Once descending I found I needed to add a bunch of headset spacers due to the relatively short stack height. I also kept the Strive in the longest front center option, which felt the most comfortable for me. Canyon elected to use one chainstay length across all the Strive sizes and while Canyon has other models where the rear center changes with frame size, they claim their enduro racers all felt the relatively short 435 mm rear center with the roomy front center provided the fastest overall platform. Canyon's thinking is that the longer front center provides the lion's share of the stability, while a shorter rear center improved agility, losing little time in the rough sections, but making time in the slow awkward sections.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 24

While I'd prefer a longer chainstay on the size Large, the shorter backend did help with faster direction changes.

Issues / Durability

The only issue I had with the Strive CFR over the test period was the frame creaked when cranking on the pedals after a descending section. It's almost like there is a small amount of play somewhere in the suspension, and with high chain forces there is a small initial creak, but not on every pedal stroke. Once the bike is wet, the creak went away. The Canyon mechanics at Crankworx said it was likely in the ShapeShifter linkage. Getting into the ShapeShifter linkage isn't trivial, so I never managed to check. This wasn't a major issue, but a minor quirk worth mentioning. Other than that all the pivots stayed tight, the ShapeShifter worked flawlessly, and there were no issues with the frame.

The ShapeShifter system worked as advertised and I asked Canyon about service intervals. They recommend servicing the ShapeShifter at a Fox Service Center every 200 hours. Under most conditions however the service intervals could probably be longer as there is very little motion and stress on the unit. If it were my bike, I'd probably send it in at the same time as getting the rear shock for an annual service. If you're changing the dropper cable, it's probably worth changing the ShapeShifter cable as well to keep the system running smoothly.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 13

Climbing wise, I like the seated position on the size Large.

Component Check

The build on the as tested Strive CFR leaves little to be desired. The Fox 38 fork and Fox DHX2 shock were flawless. I like the 38 a lot and is a perfect fit with the Strive. The DHX2 shock felt great, and even though there isn't a Climb Switch on this unit, I was able to find a great compromise setup. The Shimano XTR drivetrain was excellent, with nothing but crisp positive shifts and the Race Next R cranks worked great. The XTR brakes have a lot of initial bite feel to them, offer gobs of braking torque per finger force through the mid range, and then struggle a bit at high torque when they get hot. They're getting a bit spongy now, and also have the occasional siesta after getting hot that requires some panic pulsing of the levers before they wake up again. A bleed will likely fix this. I was skeptical of the EXO+ casing Maxxis tires, but the MaxxTerra DHR2 rear and MaxxGrip Assegai front choice is spot on. While I'd prefer a DoubleDown casing rear tire, I had no flats or issues with the tires over the review period. The DT Swiss EX511 wheels were up to the task as well, and had no major issues. I really liked the Canyon house brand G5 cockpit bar, stem and grips. Lastly the Canyon G5 dropper post worked perfectly and the Ergon SM10 saddle was comfortable.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 14

Dammmnnn Deniz, what a shot!

Ride Impressions

What you've all come to read... What's it like to ride? In pedal mode, which reduces to travel 140 mm, while significantly stiffening the feel, the seated position is just about perfect for me. The bottom bracket raises up, and the head angle steepens to 64.5°. This makes pedaling up technical sections much easier with the nimbler handling and more pedal clearance to the ground. The Fox X2 shock on the Strive doesn't have a climb switch, and with the ShapeShifter, I never once wished for one. In pedal mode the Strive felt firm and efficient, and even on long road sections there was minimal pedal induced movement in the suspension.

A push of a button and we're straight in to shred mode. The bottom bracket drops, rear travel increases to 160 mm, and head angle slackens to 63°. Braaappp! In shred mode the Strive has a strange sensation of stability, while also being lively and agile. I think I'd prefer a longer rear center, as I think it'd make a better balance for me, but I can see what the race team are banging on about. The Strive forces you to ride more forward in the chassis, weighting the front end, and offering great front end bite in the corners. The back end is easy to rotate into corners as your weight is already forward in the chassis. The Strive suspension feels like it's on the efficient end of the spectrum. This means the Strive isn't the biggest bump eating machine out there, but pedal efforts are rewarded with ample forward acceleration regardless of what mode the Strive CFR is in.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt

The Strive CFR getting gnar-approved. The gnarliness doesn't come through in this shot, those that know, know this isn't a trivial line. While there are other bikes I'm more comfortable on, the Strive mobbed down everything I attempted on it.

On sections of trail that curls up for a bit, or get tight/janky, a quick push of a button to pedal mode transforms the Strive back to a firmer, more agile and efficient bike. I particularly liked the extra pedal clearance for the technical pedal up or flat sections in pedal mode, another click of the ShapeShifter, and you're straight back into shred mode. I raced the Strive a few times in the local Fiver series, and found the ability to switch the bike for the punchy or janky sections was an advantage. I couldn't quantify that advantage, but on a longer EWS style event l think those smaller savings would add up over a day. Outside of racing I found I really enjoyed the ability to switch between shred and pedal modes where having a shorter, more agile, 140 mm bike was more fun, or on trails that had small ups mid trail that I'd normally just grunt through.

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 23

You can't not have fun on the Strive.

Bike Setup

Strive CFR:

  • Front center in the longest reach
  • 20 mm Headset Spacers
  • 190 psi in the ShapeShifter

Fox 38 Fork:

  • Air Spring: 108 psi with 3 tokens
  • HSC 2 clicks out
  • LSC 6 clicks out
  • HSR 5 clicks out
  • LSR 5 clicks out

Fox DHX2:

  • Air Spring: 225 psi with stock air volume
  • HSC 5 clicks out
  • LSC 6 clicks out
  • HSR 5 clicks out
  • LSR 6 clicks out

Maxxis Tires:

Assegai MaxxGrip EXO+ Front: 23 - 25 psi (no inserts)

DHR2 MaxxTerra EXO+ Rear: 27 - 30 psi (no inserts)

deniz merdano tim coleman canyon strive leatt 1

In case you couldn't tell, I had a lot of fun riding the Canyon Strive CFR.

Conclusions

It's hard to deny that the Canyon Strive CFR offers incredible value for money with an asking price of 7,699 CAD. To be fair you have to pay an additional 1,000 for duty, $99 for shipping and $29 for the box. So you're in for 8,827 CAD + local tax (another $1,000, which you'd pay on any new bike). While this is significantly more than the website sticker price, it's still very reasonable for an XTR / Fox Factory spec enduro race bike. If you don't want to built it yourself you can pay an extra $150 and have Velofix build / deliver the bike for you. For some, not having to involve a bike shop might be a plus, while for others, not having that bike shop support could be problematic.

I've spent a few months riding the Strive CFR all over British Columbia now and it makes a compelling argument having two bikes in one. One day I'm blasting laps down the Whistler Bike Park and the next I'm smashing out an XC ride on Hornby Island, and having a great time on the Strive CFR in both settings. I was skeptical of the ShapeShifting Strive, thinking it'd be a bit gimmicky, but I came away impressed. The execution of the ShapeShifter concept is excellent, and the resulting changes to the bike are exactly what you'd want. In an enduro racing environment I can see a tangible benefit in being able to switch the travel / geometry mid stage to optimize the bike to that section of trail.

While the Strive CFR might be intended as a dedicated enduro race bike, I think it covers a wide range of use cases that non-racers will also like. It's pretty fun having two distinctly different bikes available at the push of a button. There might be some additional maintenance costs and weight/complexity with the ShapeShifter, but for many that complexity will be worth it. I'd personally prefer a longer rear center, but otherwise the Strive CFR geometry is spot on. Besides an on-power creak in the suspension, and the Shimano XTR brakes having a personality, the bike proved flawlessly reliable.

The Strive CFR isn't a master of any one thing, but it proved to be a very effective tool at devouring an entire network of trails regardless of what direction it's pointed in. The Strive CFR won't be for everyone, but if you're looking for a versatile, aggressive 140 - 160 mm travel bike, I think it's well worth a look.

Timmigrant
Tim Coleman

Age: 41

Height: 183 cm / 6'

Weight: 87 kg / 192 lbs

Ape Index: 1.055 / +10 cm

Inseam: 81 cm / 32"

Preferred Riding: Gravity Mountain Bike

Bar Width: 800 mm

Preferred Reach: 500 - 520 mm (but this is stack and head angle dependent)

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Comments

Tjaardbreeuwer
+6 Lynx . Andy Eunson T0m 4Runner1 Dogl0rd lennskii

Strange to have rear centers so short (for how long the front centers are in the bigger sizes).

Besides my personal experience with longish front center : short rear centers on big frame sizes, I also recently heard Jess Melamed talk about that in a Pinkbike podcast from a while ago.

He mentioned that all his bad crashes have been from cornering, and that when he’s tired, pinning it in a race, he needs the bike to corner naturally and neutrally, trying to weight the front wheel through your hands isn’t happening in those cases.  Too big of a front center/short of rear center was a problem for him a few season ago, and he sized back down, as well as the rear centers grew on the newer Rockies Mtns.

Reply

morgan-heater
+3 Mammal Andrew Major lennskii

It might be part of why the Canyon team riders ride such small frames compared to their size.

Reply

Dogl0rd
0

I have a long Canyon and immediately started crashing left and right until it forced me to change how I ride. Feels sluggish in situations where you have to change direction a lot, but bombs steeps well

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zombo
+3 Dogl0rd T0m Albert Steward HughJass IslandLife

Higher stack height is going to be the new slacker head angle in the next couple years.  Modern bikes are way too low with a few exceptions.  My bikes ride a lot better with tons of spacers plus a riser bar.  I'm running a 60mm rise plus 4 spacers on my stumpy evo and it's awesome.

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IslandLife
0

Generally a riser bar won't change reach, but 4 spacers, if they're 10mm each??  Will shorter your reach by approx 20mm depending on HT angle.  You just might really like shorter reaches and prefer a more upright and/or rearward biased body position?  I've played around a lot and like a pretty low stack, longer reach and being more forward and low over my bike.  But it really is all about personal preference, which is what some manufactures are trying to offer.  Make a bike with a low stack (short head tube) and longer reach... if that's what you like, ride it.  Want less reach and more stack, add some spacers.  Want to keep the reach but like more stack, add a higher rise bar.  And fine tune with stem length.

But Canyon hasn't given us the ability to tune our ride here (as the stack is already fairly standard) so you can't shorten the effective reach by much.

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zombo
0

Yeah, you may be right.  I'm 5'11 on an s3 stumpy evo with a ~460 reach and it feels great.  I think I have t rex arms.

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LoamtoHome
0

S3 stumpy evo is 448....  s3 Enduro is 465.

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Tjaardbreeuwer
+1 dhr999

Maybe he has the previous Stumpy Evo, the crazy long and low one, that only came in a few sizes?

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Timer
+1 cxfahrer Albert Steward Alex D Kenny Lynx . kcy4130 IslandLife

The only way a riser bar isn't shortening reach is by lengthening the effective stem.

TINSTAAFL!

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Lynx
+1 Andy Eunson IslandLife Timer

@Timer - A riser bar is not "effectively" lengthening anything, it is just raising the position of your hands up, vertically. Once the bar has the same backsweep as the lower rise bar and you don't roll it back any different, then NO, it is NOT shortening the Reach. The reason spacers under your stem shortens the reach is because it then moves the stem up, accordingly with the angle of the HT, hence that means it also goes back as it goes up.

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alexdi
0 Timer IslandLife

> A riser bar is not "effectively" lengthening anything, it is just raising the position of your hands up, vertically.

Pretend you swapped in a flat bar for the riser. To get the same hand position, you'd have to mount the stem higher on the steerer. But that's not enough. The steerer slopes toward you, so the stem would also have to be longer to compensate. Hence "lengthening the effective stem."

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Tjaardbreeuwer
+3 Niels van Kampenhout DadStillRides Kenny

True. But only if the bar rol is exactly zero/vertical.

If bar roll is inline with HTA then it’s exactly the same as adding spacers.

In short, it all depends on how you set the stuff up, but in the end it doesn’t matter. If you grips are in a certain position, that’s all that matters for handling and fit. How you achieve it has no effect on that.

Lynx
-3 Timer Kenny Alex D

But you're not having to do that, that's the whole point of a high rise bar, you still keep the same relationship to the steering axis, just raising the bar instead of going to a longer stem, so the stem/offset relationship stays the same, e.g. you don't need to go from a 50mm to 60mm, changing the leverage ratio between those two, so steering feels the same input wise.

"Pretend you swapped in a flat bar for the riser. To get the same hand position, you'd have to mount the stem higher on the steerer. But that's not enough. The steerer slopes toward you, so the stem would also have to be longer to compensate. Hence "lengthening the effective stem."

Agree Tjaard that it's about getting your hands where you like/want them relative, but the different ways of getting there can and do effect the way the bike steers/handles and that's the plus of using a high rise bar vs spacers and low rise/flat bar. 

Now me, I learned the "don't cut your steerer tube too short right away lesson, because if you want to move the fork to another bike or sell it,  that can cause some issues. So for me I like to keep the steerer as long as I can and so, I tend to cut it so I have about 20mm below and above of spacers, that way there's adjustment room. How I accomplish this is I take my regular +6 degree stem, put the 20mm of spacers below it and then I flip it to a negative rise, which then would give me back about 1/2-2/3 of the reach I would have lost going with the 20mm of spacers.

DadStillRides
0 Tim Coleman Dogl0rd

If we can all just agree that only kooks don't roll their bars to align with head angle, we can save ourselves this whole debate

Timer
+2 Tjaard Breeuwer DadStillRides Kenny Lynx .

Sorry, but it seems you misunderstood the geometry that is at work here. If it helps, just draw the side view of a bike cockpit on paper and see what happens.

The fork steering axle is running at an angle (HTA). If you lift your grips vertically above that axle, they move away from that axle. That's exactly what a stem is, space between the steering axle and the grips.

And if you lift the grips in parallel with the steering axle, you move the grips towards the rear of the bike. Because the steering axle is tilted towards the back. Which results in shorter reach.

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Lynx
-4 Kenny Dogl0rd dhr999 Alex D

I think that someone has it wrong, just that someone isn't me, I understand geo just fine thanks, can't say the same for you. If you install a riser bar, you're not following the tilt of the steering axis, it's mounted at the same point as a lower rise bar would be, hence you are not shortening the reach, in any way, shape or form. You could though say that you are increasing the STACK, I guess, if you wanted to say you were changing something.

What you can change is, which to me the more important measurement from the center of the BB to center of the outside of the bar - some call it RAD.
How to size a bike with Lee McCormack

If the diagram below doesn't explain it well enough, I'll get out my crayons later and add in the riser bar for you so you can understand.

Reach explained

alexdi
+1 Dogl0rd

Super arrogant response from a guy getting it wrong. No cred to you, Lynx.

Lynx
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

Glad to see the full follow up on this, seems like the bike "fit" you well and that's kind of what I'd expect living where you do. To me though, again, while the Shapeshifter thing might give you an option for "lesser", more pedally trails, the resulting super steep STA would make that not a nice experience IMHO, to me it's only really for when you encounter climbs with a DH or to do the boring climb up, or if you're lucky, might be nice for tech climbs, but then again, can't see a 64.5* HTA being nice on steep techy climbs with such a short CS. 

Also again to the size SM having a 455mm Reach WTF :facepalm: Jack no longer responds to his YT comment section on sizing, so I think Canyon are a bit touchy on this fact and have probably had a "discussion" with him about talking about sizing. 

Again I'll bring up a point/question I did in another bike review article of the race team running "X" components and then the actual bikes offered for sale running completely different - here it's a complete reverse, the race team run full SRAM, yet on both of the offerings for these, they're kitted with full Shimano. This is weird to me. [edit to add] They have also added a team replica build with full SRAM now.

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Tjaardbreeuwer
+1 Lynx .

I agree, if ever there was a candidate for a less steep seat angle, it’s these bikes (and Scotts with a similar suspension effect), where sag is reduced in pedal mode.

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Tjaardbreeuwer
+3 Lynx . Andy Eunson 4Runner1 dave_f bishopsmike

Yes, the reaches are overly long, and especially the fact that they don’t offer a shorter reach than 455.

I think somewhere along the line, people got the idea that ‘longer is better’. Of course it was when bikes where too short, but that doesn’t mean we should keep going longer and longer for ever.

Mondraker’s original forward geometry idea was to take the toptube, lengthen that, and shorten the stem. That works. But once a rider has a 35mm long stem, they can’t go shorter, instead, they lose range of motion, becoming ‘crucified’ on the bike.

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cxfahrer
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

In my opinion this is the perfect bike, if you have the trails made for this bike. I wonder if Canyon supports trailbuilding, anywhere?

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IslandLife
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

Couple things:

1. C'mon Canyon... that reach is getting crazy, you say stack is low, so you had to add quite a bit to the stack which depending on how much, could reduce your reach by a reasonable amount.  But when I look at the geo chart... those stacks aren't really that low... the large head tube is 120mm with a stack of 642, that's a little low, but pretty typical is it not?  I probably wouldn't add many, if any, spacers... so then my size large reach is pretty much all of that 510 in descend mode?  That's huge!  I would definitely size down on these bikes, which I can do... smaller people though... reach of 460 in size small??  That's the reach of some company's size large's!  Great bike for extra big people... 535 on the XL... that's gotta be one of, if not the, biggest reach available, no?  Nevermind just looked at Geometron's geo table (470 to 555, oof!), anyway, among the "normal" bikes... they must be one of the biggest.  But who knows maybe I need to get on one to see, which is a problem for "mail order" bikes... no matter how many reviews I read, I would need to demo something with a 510 reach before pulling the trigger.

2. Why hasn't Canyon set up a basic Canadian office so that customers can avoid the crazy duty (a la YT)?  It doesn't have to much... again YT is a good example, and I bet they'd sell a lot more bikes to Canadians.  They're announcement of finally "coming to Canada" was funny... it was more of a "we've finally decided to start shipping to Canada, but you guys still have to eat the crazy duty" announcement.

While you say it's still a good value... no way do I consider that a good value when I'm forced to pay a ridiculous tax just for bringing the product across a border... especially when a customer a few kms away from me is paying $1000 less... and the the bike company doesn't even see a dime!  Nope.

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Timmigrant
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

1. No doubt the new Strive is in general a longer bike per size than most other companies. However I think the Strive rides smaller than it's reach number due to the slack head angle and short stack. Reach is a misleading metric for quantifying fit of a bike. I found the Strive cockpit quite compact with the steep seat tube angle, and the 20 mm of stem spacers I had to run. Your point about being able to sit on a direct to consumer bike is valid, and makes it tough to decide on a size before purchase. 

2. Another great point. The customs on a complete bike are 13%, where as parts for a bike would be 0%. Canyon having a location to ship "parts" to, and then assembling the bikes would reduce the cost to Canadian consumers by 13%! I assume the price would go up a little to pay for the additional labour and location, but one would think would be easily offset by the savings on customs.

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IslandLife
+3 BlazersDad89 Tim Coleman Dogl0rd

Oh for sure, I never just look at reach alone, and yes, steep seat angles make sitting reaches more manageable for sure... but again, it's seat tube angle isn't any steeper than most modern 160-ish enduro bikes, so we're comparing apples to apples here, so that's gotta feel more stretched out no matter how you measure it.

But, I'm more concerned about the standing reach where a steep SA has no effect. The Canyon's head tube angle, stack, etc (like it's ST angle) is all relatively similar to other 160-ish enduro bikes, so once standing, it really is about that "pedals to handlebar" length. Not to question your review and feelings on the bike... but when comparing bikes with similar geo but this one has a 30 to 40mm longer reach... I don't know it can't start to feel long? Or too long? Although, everyone that owns a Geometron seems very happy!

And yes, about the duty... I'm not sure about this but once you're a business importing the bikes and selling them, isn't there a whole different tax structure involved. Like I don't think the whole parts vs complete applies to businesses does it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I always assumed YT doesn't do their sort of 3/4 assembaly in Canada... those boxes just come in to their "wharehouse" (if you can call it that) and then get sort of re-shipped to the customers. For sure there's extra expense in doing it that way. But if Canyon added $100 to $300 a bike to cover their "Canadian HQ" costs vs pushing $1000 to the customer, maybe they'd sell more? But, looking at a similarly spec'd YT Capra, it comes to $8950 with taxes and shipping, vs $8800 with duty/shipping for the Strive. A Commencal Meta SX comes in at $8250 with taxes and shipping. Maybe there isn't much in the way of savings??

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Lynx
0 BlazersDad89 IslandLife

OK, first up, stop winging about that pittance for Duties, down here a complete bike pays about 45% duty, as would a lot of others countries in the world have similar high import taxes/duties. Just pop on down to the US, pick yours up, ride it a few times, then go back home duty free. We have guys here who fly to Miami to collect bikes and bring them back because it's cheaper than shipping them in and paying all the duties.

@ Zombo, I'm guessing that you're one who only suffers the climbs so you can rip the descents, if not, can't imagine HTF you can stand such a high bar relative to your saddle height for anything but descending - that'd be horrible to climb anything steep and technical.

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LoamtoHome
+1 Cooper Quinn IslandLife BlazersDad89

what about warranty issues or getting parts for the bike?  buying a bike without a shop/distributor close by is in the "no sale" category.  It's like buying an ebike second hand with no warranty.

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Timmigrant
+2 IslandLife Niels van Kampenhout

I definitely see both sides here. Buying consumer direct, you're saving the markup a bike shop would normally make, we all get that. The question then becomes is the service the bike shop provides for that fee worth it for you or not. Bike shop builds the bike for you, there is a value there. You might get service included with a new bike from a bike shop. Warranty on components is easier too, as most bike shops will help with the return and replacement of defective components, most of the time. For warranty issues on the frame, from what I've heard support from Canyon for warranty / crash replacement has been good. For getting parts for the bike, this is the worst bit. A derailleur hangar from Canyon is $30, great, but it's $49 shipping ... not great.

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LoamtoHome
0

and how long is that part going to take?  Does Canyon support local trail builders, associations?  I bet not $1.

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thinblue
+1 IslandLife

Some one close to me recent broke their month old Canyon. Complete defect in the carbon.

I get it, it could happen to any brand (I'm being generous). He sent in the warranty request and was told they would hear from someone in two weeks. 

Yet to be seen how it will be handled, but it sure makes whatever he saved on the purchase price look trivial, especially if you have a quality local bike shop you could have bought a comparable bike from.

I swear I'm not the guy that posts the support your local bike shop every time, but watching someone have to deal with this sure makes you appreciate what you have in town.

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Lynx
0

Hope your friend gets sorted soon, that really sucks for sure. but not sure right now the answer would be much different from most brands with the supply "shortage".

They only have one bike? :-O To me that's just crazy owning only one bike if you're really into mountain biking, why I always tell people to buy a nice rigid like a Kona Unit or Surly Karate Monkey as a second bike for "milder" rides so you can mix things up and then if your fancy, smancy plastic wonder goes down, you still have a very capable bike there to ride and you might be surprised what it can ride down if you've got the cahones and skills.

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BobCob
0

I had the same shipping issue with this same bike. I called UPS the day before to pay taxes and confirmed it needed a signature and wasn't going to arrive for another week. But then surprise! UPS dropped it on my doorstep when I was out of town and congratulated themselves for delivering it early. Epic fail.

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Tjaardbreeuwer
0

I must say I really like the idea of the shapeshifter. (Never ridden one so can’t say from experience).

Rather than locking out the rear on climbs or mellow trails, you reduce travel, and all the relevant geo changes to match.

After all, if you are climbs an actual mtb trail, it’s nice to have suspension.

This way BB stays up, nice for techy climbing, and head and seat angle get steep, for the same benefit.

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Lynx
+1 IslandLife

I would say cool idea, but from what I've read, it's just another thing on the bike that requires quite in depth maintenance and I really don't want another thing like that to add to my headaches. So for me, a compression switch, not lock out, that effectively stiffens up the compression a bit, sitting the bike up in it's travel a bit, which then effectively steepens the STA giving a similar effect, is what I like.

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Timmigrant
+2 Morgan Heater Tjaard Breeuwer

I think both you guys are right. For many folks the additional complexity and maintenance of the ShapeShifter won't be worth it. But for many folks, ShapeShifter is a really nice feature. The bike is fun to descend and ride in the Pedal Mode, much more so than a 160 mm bike with the Climb Switch turned on (even if it's actuated by a lever on the bar). The bike is more nimble, and the additional pedal clearance is awesome. On many flatter, or jankier trails the Strive is really fun to ride in the Pedal Mode, and I think that's a major distinction from a simple 160 mm bike with a Climb Switch. The ShapeShifter also enables the Shred Mode to be more aggressive with a lower bottom bracket without the downsides when trying to pedal it.

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Lynx
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You know Tim, I've heard a lot who have ridden the Shape Shifter equipped bikes rave about them and you have me thinking, but I think to take on that additional amount of service work, it's have to effect my ride like how a dropper post has changed riding an MTB, something people would rather have and give up suspension.

Trying to see if I get this right, you're saying that in "pedal mode" it remains just as active, just firmer, as in the open setting? You say extra pedal clearance, but actually curious how much that is, because you write like it's a 25mm> raise in BB height or something? For/to me, I can definitely feel the raise in BB height, STA and HTA when I use a climb/compression switch, on some bikes much more than others - I remember on my first 29er, a Rip9 gen1, if I only flipped the compression on the shock and not the fork, it felt like I was pedaling a plough into the ground, unless I was climbing something 8%>. On my Banshees I don't get that same feeling, you feel it raise and stiffen up, but doesn't feel like you're ploughing into the ground.

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Timmigrant
+2 Lynx . Tjaard Breeuwer

The ShapeShifter doesn't change any shock settings, the air pressure and damper settings remain the same, so yes the shock is exactly as active in either mode. What the ShapeShifter does is move the upper eyelet position relative to the rocker. This raises the bottom bracket by 15 mm, which steepens the head angle by 1.5° to 64.5°. This also changes the leverage ratio to reduce travel to 140 mm, which due to the change in leverage ratio also feels much firmer. In my opinion, all of those changes are exactly what you'd want. Some may still want a Climb Switch to make the Strive even more efficient on smooth climbs, but I didn't find myself wishing for a Climb Switch, the Strive in Pedal Mode was plenty efficient for me. 

For additional amount of service work, I'm not sure it's that much extra effort. Pull the ShapeShifter shock once year and send it in to Fox at the same time as the rear shock.

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Lynx
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It's been a few years since I saw and read about the SS and know they had done changes to it from the OG version to the current, but now you explain it, it seems to ring a bell. 

Yeah see, that's the problem for me, for you, that "just send it in the same time you service your shock" is an easy one, you have a few service centers in your area, for me that'd be a nice FedEx shipping bill and 3 weeks without it, so I service at home. Is the SS shock as simple to service like a basic air can service? I only ever have considered sending a shock overseas is if the damper blows, but even that, depending on what it is, I'm thinking of dedicating more brain power/memory to learning to do it.

Timmigrant
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@Lynx I'm not sure what the internals look like, and not sure if any special tools are required. All I know is that it's manufactured by Fox, and can be serviced at Fox Service Centers.

Lynx
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Just throwing this link on here so you can see what's possible if you don't listen to manufacturers and ride bikes that are more reasonably sized for all around good riding, not just plowability, high speed and stability at speed.

Jack Moir ripping on a size SM Canyon Strive CFR

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