2023 Canyon

Spectral:ON CFR

What attracted you to the Canyon Spectral:ON CFR? Given that the Spectral:ON CF 9 was mbr’s e-bike of the Year in 2023, I figured the CFR would be the perfect vehicle on which to test Shimano’s new EP801 motor with automatic shifting. But there was a snag. When I received the bike for long-term test I couldn’t get the Auto Shift to work. After much head scratching, I double checked the Canyon website and that claim had suddenly disappeared. So even though the Spectral:ON CFR had the new Shimano EP801 motor, which is Auto Shift ready, it wasn’t enabled.  Need to Know  Full-power e-bike with Fox Factory suspension Travel is 160mm front, 155mm rear New Shimano EP801 motor with Free Shift technology Lightweight CFR composite frame keeps the weight under 24kg even with a 900Wh battery Mullet design with 29in front wheel/2.5in tyre with a 27.5in rear wheel/2.6in tyre Lightweight one-piece Canyon carbon bar and stem and Reynolds E carbon wheelset Full Shimano Di2 12-speed drivetrain with integrated chain device GPS enabled with built-in tracker Was the bike easy to set up? Yes. And the problem with the Auto Shift was simply one of miscommunication. Auto Shift was not activated on this bike because you have to use a Shimano 11-speed drivetrain and Linkglide cassette to work with the technology. Check the specification below you’ll see the Spectral:ON CFR has a 12-speed Shimano XT Di2 drivetrain. According to Shimano, 12-speed XT isn’t robust enough for use with Auto Shift and this was something Shimano stressed at the launch of the product. It seems Canyon’s communication department didn’t get that memo, even if the product manager clearly did. To be fair to Canyon it is an easy mistake to make because YT did the exact same thing when it launched the updated Decoy range a month or so ago.  In short then, we still haven’t had a bike on a long-term test with Shimano’s Auto Shift. And it’s probably because bike manufacturers are concerned that riders will perceive an 11-speed drivetrain, especially on a flagship bike like the CFR, as a backwards step. We have however spent a ton of time on SRAM’s Powertrain which also has its own version of Auto Shift. >> Watch mbr’s in depth video on SRAM Powertrain and Auto Shift Who is this bike for? In terms of intent, the Spectral:ON CFR is very similar to the Spectral:ON CF 9.  Both are full power e-bikes designed for to tackle everything. There are a couple of key differences to the CF 9 though. The CFR gets a higher-quality carbon frame where the R designation refers to the different carbon layup, which Canyon claims is stronger and stiffer. This allows the company to reduce frame weight while retaining similar strength and stiffness to the CF 9.  At 23.75kg (52.36lbs) the CFR is almost half a kilogram heavier than its cheaper sibling, but that’s because I upgraded the battery from the stock 720Wh to the 900Wh option, which adds …Continue reading »

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The redesigned Canyon Spectral:ON CF 8 is a high-value electric mountain bike with an excellent well-rounded on-trail performance. With a carbon frame...

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Its not often we get to compare the latest release from a bike company with their previous model, especially when it comes to eBikes. Canyons Spectral:On CF8 has been [R] test rider Blake’s daily shredder when he rolls on battery power, a testament to the design and ability of the German manufacturer’s bike. So, it was only right to get Blake on the new model to really see whats changed over the last few years of MTB design… Reviewer // […]

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