Sure! My review for the Aeroad is forthcoming, but let's dive in for this stuff.
Quote:
- Any initial feedback on the bike (build quality, ride, wheels, etc.)?
I ordered a frameset and built it up, so I can only really give you feedback on the frame, fork, cockpit, and brakes (the frameset comes with Dura Ace direct mount).
The Good:
Frame itself is really well made. I stuck a scope in it while hunting down a Di2 loose connection (turned out that I didn't leave enough slack when I wrapped the bars) and the interior of the frame is cleaaaaaaan. All the sharp angles for the frame are chamfered nicely, and no sprues are visible anywhere I can find.
It is stiff as all get out - this is NOT a comfort frame and if you ride it over bad roads you will rattle your fillings loose.
The paint is consistent and even throughout the frameset. I've got bikes that were more money and from more "mainstream" manufacturers that have uneven paint, areas where there's patches wearing through directly out of the box, and worse. The Canyon's paint is really even, nicely laid, and the gloss will hold up for a long, long time.
DA direct mount dual pivot brakes are seriously good - they stop well, modulate well, and once I figured out what I was doing wrong were a cinch to set up (kinked a brake cable and took forever to figure that out). Considering they were "free" I'm really happy.
Fork has that whole "stable/able" thing where you can switch it around if you want, but I haven't messed with it. Came in the stable setting, YMMV.
The various plugs they give you for cables and wires are pretty decent and fit nicely. You do kind of have to figure out what goes where, as there's no documentation. Putting it together yourself means spending some extra time in, that's all.
The Di2 battery clamp in the downtube is just genius. Installing it was so ridiculously simple that it's kind of a wonder more companies don't use a system like this.
The Bad:
If your legs brush the top tube, the matte grey paint on the top tube has a lip that you can feel with every stroke. Kind of annoying. Most will never notice this, I ride with close knees.
Access hole below the bottom bracket for Di2 is pretty small. Maybe an inch wide? You have to install the internal battery before you put the bottom bracket in, otherwise the sleeve will prevent you from getting it in there.
Wiring this cockpit is an exercise in repeated frustration. The brake cables will follow the channels, but running them and Di2 wire underneath the channel covers on the underside of the bar is an absolute chore. Get it right the first time, because you do NOT want to unwrap this bar and deal with it again.
Measure your cockpit Di2 wire carefully - extra becomes a liability due to the highly limited amount of space for slack between the Junction A box and the shifters. It's all got to go underneath that center channel cover, and that's some pretty cramped space already.
I loathe the saddle clamp Canyon uses on the Aeroad. It's one of those single bolt clamps that effectively presses the binder into the seat post, and the cycling gods may help you if you don't get it right the first time, because nothing short of a deadblow hammer will otherwise. It works fine once it's in at the right saddle angle, but until then you will swear. A lot.
