So plan on getting the bike in 2018? haha

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

What's so cool about Canyon bikes?

Nothing. Just another bike.

Wait.....I mean it'll make you faster. It's so aero it save you 2 hours in your next IM..! Behahaha.

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Pat Green
Green Multisport Training

Just as good as Trek/Specialized/etc, but direct to consumer and ~20% cheaper.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Distribution model. And they look cool.

I think Canyon will be my next bike. Just have t decided if it will be a road or tri bike.

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I get the look cool part, but if their distribution model is direct via online, I hope they have a really good return policy and some good shipping cost. Just because some pro teams ride them may not be the thing for everyone.

and the only OEM to offer integrated classic round bars

their size S bike also happen to fit me quite well, so there's that

Well that's part of why they're not in the U.S. yet. Because they have no U.S.-based entity to hold on-shore inventory and to process warranties and returns.

Though the U.S. visibility of the brand may be largely through Katusha and Movistar, they're quite common in Europe, even with lower-end commuter bikes, etc.

I think the ability to spec out your whole bike on the Web is brilliant. No, I don't want to buy your stupid OEM saddle. I know what saddle I want with my bike.

Their frame-size calculator which uses height, inseam, weight, torso-length, shoulder width, and arm length as inputs is pretty good.

But I agree that it makes the most sense for people who know what they want.

That said, a great many bikes are purchased just after getting the saddle set approximately right then riding a few hundred yards around the parking lot. Which isn't terribly good either.

May not be for everyone, but I welcome the model.

I do sympathize with LBS owners who write long manifestos wondering how they're supposed to stay in business when people can buy Shimano groups online for cheaper than the LBS can buy them wholesale.

But I think the LBS is going to have to learn how to adapt.

You can build your own canyon on their website? I can't seem to find it.

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I'm sorry, maybe I'm wrong. I could have sworn I once went through a Canyon Web page where you got to pick out the crankset, saddle, groupo, etc. But I can't find it now either. Maybe they either got rid of it, or I'm imagining that I did that.

Now here is one thing I don't get. On all of the woe-is-me LBS threads, we are told that they make their lowest margins on bikes, and high margins on everything else (service, add-ons, bike fit, etc.). So why is the direct-to-consumer trend a bad thing for them? Doesn't it give them the ability to shrink their store footprint significantly, decrease costs of carrying inventory on high-end bikes that rarely sell, and so on. Then they can make good margins on all of the mechanical lunkheads like me who would buy online and take it straight to the LBS to be assembled, tuned, and fit to my anatomical needs.

Assembly is easy. I bought a Canyon mtb a couple of years ago and they shop in a cardboard bike box. All you need to do is add pedals and twist then tighten the stem then pump the tyres up. My rear wheels hub failed after3 weeks and this is where you wish you'd gone through the lbs. To be fair canyon were very responsive but the wheel had to be sent to them, they sent to mavic who assessed then agreed I was right and sent a replacement 4/5 weeks of no bike. My lbs would have swapped the wheel straight away and sorted things with mavic/the distributer. I would still buy from canyon as its immense value but I'd like to see the middle man cut out to save costs, I guess the manufacturer doesn't want the inventory costs and having to deal with thousands of shops worldwide.

How often do you return your bikes? I have ridden 7 bikes over the last 10 years and never once had to have anything done to them. I do all my own wrenching now and have no interest handing my LBS an extra 35% for zero benefits. Heck, whenever there is a warranty issue they just ship it off anyways, might as well do that myself.

You are exactly right, most shops make little to no money off high end bikes, that is why most don't even stock them anymore. They make their money off service, MTB, accessories, and low end bikes. This will hurt companies like Specialized/Trek/Cervelo who so carefully control selling distribution and pricing though. The LBS and bike companies need to adapt to specific market changes. Canyon will force this change. BMC/Pina/Argon/Ridley are already allowing online sales and lower price points.

I've three canyons. A nerve. Speed max and ultimate and they cost peanuts to have delivered. 35 euros I think
At order I was able to change stem and crank length

By every single measure they beat spec and trek when comparing like for like in price in the UK and France

Aside from the software problem they had at the beginning of this year my experience wi th them has been seam less

You may be thinking of Rose bikes. Another German direct sales bike manufacturer. Haven't looked in a while but they used to have what they called a "Configurator" on their website. You could buy their bikes in the stock build or you could use the configurator to switch parts. Almost everything was swappable for any other compatible components they stock, groupset, wheels, saddle, pedals, seatpost, stem, bars, tyres.....

When I bought my Canyon Ultimate CF in 2014 there were a few options at the checkout like chainring sizes, cassette range, left or right front braking and a seatpost upgrade but that was about it.

This!

I'm not sure what availability in the mainland Europe is like, but here in the UK it's a disaster. If you want a popular frame in a popular size then you can realistically expect to add 6 months onto whatever estimated shipping date they give you. The UK cycling forums such as BikeRadar are rammed full of complaints about placing an order only to have the shipping date pushed back again and again and again, even in the off-season.

I have got some sympathy with them, they're clearly a victim of their own success and just can't keep up with demand, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

It used to be there, they've turned it off because I think they're struggling to fulfil high demand at the moment. I nearly pulled the trigger on a Canyon Aeroad last summer, at the time I could have played around with stem length, crank length, cassette options, saddle, etc. Eventually ordered last month (and not due to arrive until July) but have had to go for off-the-shelf spec. They have upgraded the bars on the model I was looking at though, so not all bad. Actually looks like the fit will be about spot on, only annoying thing is the saddle, which will be going straight onto eBay (I've been riding cut-off saddles for nearly 10 years, going to a traditional shape just feels completely weird now).

My question is will this be true in US.

For example Specialized MSRP for the Venge pro is $5700 in the US or £5000 in the UK with £5000 equals $7300. The Canyon Aero road is a pretty equivalent bike and is listed at 3800 euros or $4250. Clearly the Canyon is still cheaper in the US market but by $1500 rather than $3000 as it stands in the UK. Canyon rarely sells below their list price where as Spec will meaning the price gap will be smaller in the US. You reach a point where buying direct doesn't represent a great savings and this is where I see big difference in the US and UK market.

In the UK consumer direct bikes (Ribble, Wiggle, Planet X) have long thrived in the because the absolute prices are so high they can represent real savings. With lower prices in the US it will be interesting to see how Canyon approaches the market. Unless they really drop their prices I just don't see them replicating their European success.

How much of this price difference is because of the European standard retail pricing to include VAT and the American standard retail price NOT including any applicable sales tax?

It's always the bike you don't have that's faster. ;)

@ solitude - bikes are necessary because they provide necessary revenue and are often the lynchpin to selling other, more profitable items. Bikes are the key to foot traffic into the shop. When someone buys a bike, they will often buy a helemt, water bottle and cage, lock, etc. Takeaway the bike purchase and you take away the accessory sales, as well.

@ RB - no, shops don;t make more money on low-end bikes. In fact, modey on low end bikes sucks more than almost any other sale in the store. People confuse "margin" and "profit" all the time and they aren't the same thing. The "margin" on a low end bike may be OK, but the profit (in dollars) pretty much sucks. Higher end bikes can have much lower margin, but still bring in much higher profit dollars. Let's say a $300 bike has a 50% margin (it is actually lower, but let's use an easy number). So the shop brings in $150 in profit (gross, not factoring in thing slike overhead, etc). If the shop sells a $3000 bike that only has a 10% margin (again, round numbers for ease...actual number is higher), they bring in $300 of profit.

The reason brands like BMC, Ridley, et al are allowing more online sales is because the IBD channel is increasingly dominated by brands like Specialized and Trek. As their high-end goods have improved over the last 20 years, they are now as good as the boutique brands, and arguably better in almost every facet. Those brands are increasingly putting the squeeze on the LBS to carry only their brand and accessories. If the LBS goes exlusive, they get additional discounts form the supplier, thereby increasing their profitability on those goods. Boutique brands, who really only have their frames to sell, are left out in the cold.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

It's not the return for repair, but rather, how do you convince people to buy your bike sight unseen, without knowing how it fits?