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Re: New Canyon on their website [cartsman] [ In reply to ]
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cartsman wrote:
Karl wrote:
Problem is that you are buying without taking a test drive. Worries me a bit.
I know, most lbs can not stock high end bikes anyway.
I, too, am hoping for the end of the year


The thing is, if you're buying a high end bike, you likely already know your fit anyway, or else can work with a bike fitter to get your coordinates and figure out which size and model works for you. So no real need to test drive it for fit. My experience with Canyon has also been really good on this front - I have one on order (3 month lead time in UK by the way, which doesn't bode well for their ability to scale up and get into the US this year), I had a RETUL fit done a few years ago so just sent them the numbers from that and have had good discussions about sizing so I'm very comfortable that the bike will fit when it arrives.

So if you're not test driving for fit, you're test driving for other factors like stiffness, ride quality, etc. I've been riding road and tri bikes for nearly 25 years, and I can honestly say that I don't think it's possible to make a meaningful judgement of these things on a test ride. If I had the opportunity to get a Canyon, set it up exactly like my current bike (fit, bar tape, saddle, pedals, tires, wheels, etc), and then ride both bikes back to back on the same road, then it's just possible I could make a meaningful comparison. But even then I suspect there would be things I maybe didn't like on the first ride which grew on me with time. If you're test riding a bike that is set up even a little bit differently to your current bike, then IMHO the test is largely meaningless.
I totally agree.
When I was shopping for a nice road bike I was advised to make sure I got a test ride on any candidates to make sure they suited me. I did ride a couple of bikes and quickly came to the conclusion that this often shared advice is total nonsense. What matters is fit and even this can't be well checked with a test ride. The rest is all too subjective and has too many variables. How you feel the day of the test ride, the weather, the local terrain and road surface, how well the bike is set up for you (saddle position, bar position, brake and gear tuning) are all far more important than the construction of the bike itself. Tyres and tyre pressure are vitally important to handling and comfort but people reject bikes for comfort when they don't even know what tyre pressure they were riding on or haven't ridden those road surfaces on their existing bike for comparison. Test rides are almost entirely a nonsense.
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Re: New Canyon on their website [Ai_1] [ In reply to ]
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But it sure is nice to see the quality and detail in person.

Team Zoot So Cal
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Re: New Canyon on their website [Karl] [ In reply to ]
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Karl wrote:
But it sure is nice to see the quality and detail in person.

Okay, but that's nothing to do with test riding it - just seeing/handling it.
I don't think it's really about quality either, it's just about getting a proper sense of proportion, colour and scale that's not always conveyed sufficiently in photos. Are you actually worried the quality will be unacceptable or is it just a case of seeing it in person and deciding if you really like it?

But yes, it's nice to see what you're buying in person. However I've still bought my last two bikes without having seen them in person first. My roadbike is a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 9.0 which I bought when they were released without having seen one and I recently bought a Felt IA14. I'd seen one of the original IAs previously but didn't get to see what I was buying until it arrived. Worst case you somehow completely misjudged it from photos and specs and don't like it in person. So send it back - it does cost a bit, but how likely is that to happen?
Last edited by: Ai_1: May 18, 16 7:22
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Re: New Canyon on their website [Karl] [ In reply to ]
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Not sure it makes much difference if you're buying a reputable brand to be honest, the quality is going to be fine and if it's not you send it back. If you're particularly fussed by having a certain shade of colour then maybe it's a problem, but to my eye most high end carbon bikes these days look much of a muchness, but then I'm not much of an aesthete ;-) If it's important then chances are you can see one in the flesh either at a bike show, out on the roads or in the transition area.

When Canyon do launch in the US then I guess for the first year or so they'll be a pretty rare sight, but have no doubt that enough people would be prepared to buy based on photos and reputation that there'd soon be a fair few of them around to see.
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Re: New Canyon on their website [david222] [ In reply to ]
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Got mine first!:D




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Re: New Canyon on their website [Skammenv] [ In reply to ]
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That is one sweet bike!
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