Photos: Kevin Mackinnon
The launch won’t. be coming until July 9, but a number of Canyon’s pro athletes will be riding the new Speedmax in tomorrow’s race, including full-distance rookie Rico Bogen. We had a chance to check out Bogen’s bike this morning, and also got the lowdown on some of the features of the new bike – we’ll have to wait until July 9 for all the details, including pricing and the various model options.
Canyon arrived at Challenge Roth with a huge expo area that includes a trailer to display the new bike and its various features. One of the first things you’ll see in that trailer is the original “Frankenstein TT #01” bike that Jan Frodeno rode to help design the original Speedmax. Canyon engineers used the adjustable front end and pressure meters to dial in the geometry for the new bike.
Also on display was “Fritz,” which Canyon uses for the initial aero testing of the bike.
The new Speedmax is considerably lighter than the previous version and provides a lot more adjustability. Following with the current trend to stretch out more, athletes seem to be sizing up on the new frame – both Bogen and Sam Laidlow are riding an XL. The goal for the new bike is to offer age group athletes the same performance benefits that pros get after tweaking their ride through lots of wind tunnel testing. According to Canyon, this new bike tests as fast right out of the box as the previous version did once it was tweaked and modified for each of the pros.
Where Canyon really appears to have gone to town is with the various cockpits that will be available for the new bike. Two options will be available – the AeroShield, which has lots of adjustability, and the AeroShield Pro.
According to Canyon’s display information the AeroShield bars offer “the world’s fastest, most adjustable cockpit” – Previously reserved for our pros, now all Speedmax CFR and SLX athletes benefit from the outstanding aero performance, ergonomics and control provided by closed cockpit setups.
The Aeroshield Pro offers a somewhat customizable option that saves “300 g and 3 watts at 45 km/h over the standard Aeroshield,” according to Canyon. There will be a number of size options – presumably for both length and width – available so that athletes can dial in the perfect fit on these new bars.
AeroShield Pro is the absolute core of every professional athletes setup at Canyon. Now, it’s available to every athlete.
There’s also been lots of work done on the hydration and storage options. Canyon worked with other manufacturers in the industry, along with World Triathlon and IRONMAN, to help develop the new rules and standards for cockpits. That’s encouraging news for consumers, who can be assured that their new bike will conform the new standards.
In addition to an internal bladder, there are options for a couple of water bottles on the front in between the arms. Below you can see the double bottle configuration.
As we’re used to seeing, there’s also an aero seat mast option (below is the one on the back of Bogen’s bike) along with a standard behind the saddle water bottle mount.
We’ll look forward to getting photos of the new bikes in action tomorrow, and will provide a more detailed review once the embargo lifts on July 9!