Frame Features

The new carbon framed Torque:ON is quite a bit different from its alloy predecessor. For starters, the bike is now designed around a mixed wheel setup and the frame is 3.3 lbs or 1.5 kgs lighter, as well as 25% stiffer than the alloy one. That put the weight of my size medium CF 8 at a respectable 53.1 lbs or 24.1 kgs (tubeless and without pedals). Another new and very unique feature on the Torque:ON is its proprietary water bottle that actually sits within the toptube. I actually got along just fine with the 650ml bottle; one handed removal and stowing was easy to do on the fly. The bottle and its corresponding cage can, however, be removed if you choose. Another new addition to the carbon frame is through-headset cable routing, a trend that in my opinion, makes more sense on e-bikes like the Torque:ON than on traditional bikes.

Like the alloy version, the Torque:ON CF has a 175mm of travel in the back paired with a 180mm fork. The bike also features mounting bolts for a tool or frame bag under the top tube, generous chainstay and seatstay protection, and a skid plate/downtube protector built into the battery cover.

Geometry

The Canyon Torque:ON is big by all accounts, and frame geometry is no exception. At 6’1”, I typically ride a size large mountain bike with a reach of around 470-480mm. As such, the rep I spoke to at Canyon actually recommended I go with a medium frame, which still has a generous 475 mm reach, 25mm less than the 500 mms of the large. The bike also has a steep 77.5 degree seat tube angle and very tall 648 mm stack.

This, combined with the 63.5 degree head tube angle made the bike feel every bit as planted as you’d expect on the descents, while still inspiring me to find side hits to pull off of and play around on. Climbing was a bit of a different story, and the high stack and steep seat tube made for a borderline cramped feel, which was fine on straight fire roads but allowed for less body english on technier climbs. Unlike the non-powered Torque, the Torque:ON does not have a geometry adjusting flip chip, which I think could have been a welcome addition on this super long, low, and slack bike.

At the back of the bike, the Torque:ON has 445 mm chainstays, putting the wheelbase on my size medium at a whopping 1276 mm. Lastly, the bike has 32 mms of bottom bracket drop, which puts the skid plate beneath the motor just 250 mm off the ground! 

Suspension

As a direct to consumer company, Canyon has long been known to pack serious value into their bikes, and the Torque:ON CF8, the most affordable build, is no exception. The bike features a Fox 38 Performance fork and Float X2 Performance shock. At around 100 lbs, I ended up running 195 psi in the shock with 14 clicks of rebound and 9 clicks of compression. Up front I had 110 PSI with 12 clicks of rebound and about ¼ turn of the sweep compression dial. 

Groupset and Touchpoints

Shifting and braking is taken care of by Shimano, with an SLX drivetrain paired with a Deore cassette and four piston SLX brakes fitted to 203 mm rotors. I found the brakes to be a bit underpowered on flat out sections of trail; not frighteningly so, but enough to make me reach for them a bit earlier than I might otherwise. 

The rest of the cockpit is well sorted, with 30 mm rise, 800 mm wide bars mounted to a 45 mm stem. Moving towards the back of the bike, my size medium came with a 170 mm Canyon Iridium post and a Fizik Gravita Alpaca X5 saddle. As much as I tried, I could not get along with the saddle’s narrow 130mm width and I ended up swapping it out pretty early on. I’m sure it’s narrow, round shape is great on descents, but I’d imagine all but the narrowest of sit bones will likely want to replace this to something a bit more climbing friendly.

Wheels and Tires

Lastly, the CF8 rolls on a pair of DT Swiss HFR 1700 wheels with a 2.5” Maxxis Assegai tire in the font and a 2.6” DHR II in the rear. Both tires feature Maxxos’ EXO+ casing, which I could see being a bit overwhelmed by such a big bike, but I never had a puncture while testing.

In total, the Torque:ON CF8’s part spec far exceeds what you’d expect from a $5,500 e-bike. With the exception of the saddle, which really came down to personal preference, I had zero issues with the build and would happily ride the bike as is.

E-Drive System

The Canyon Torque:ON is powered by a 250 W Shimano EP8 motor with a peak torque of 85 Nm. As powerful as the EP8 motor is, its delivery is not quite as smooth or nuanced as some others, but I don’t think that should be an issue for a bike that’s purely built to get you to the top only so you can descend again. The Torque:ON has three power modes, eco, trail, and boost, and I spent most of my time in the trail setting, which was quite eager and active, with very little difference in power delivery than the boost setting. 

The motor on my CF8 is paired to a 720 Wh downtube integrated battery, but a 900 Wh battery is available as well. It’s great to see Canyon having this as an option, as to my knowledge there’s only one or two other brands storing such large batteries cleanly into the downtube like the Torque:ON. During a range test I was able to get 26.4 miles or 42.5 kilometers of distance and 4,899 feet or 1,493 meters of climbing on one full charge. For reference, the bike was left in trail mode the entire time and my rider weight is just over 200 lbs. To me, this is on the border of what I’d consider acceptable, and it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where you’d want a bit more battery life. But again, Canyon does offer a 900 Wh battery for those all day rides.

Climbing

During the climbs, the EP8 motor provided more than enough assistance on even the steepest trails, and as long as the power was constant traction was very good as well. Where the bike struggled was in situations that required more finesse, as the motor’s power delivery felt more like hitting a switch than easing a throttle. This was especially noticeable on techier sections of trail where the low bottom bracket required ratcheting the pedals, resulting in a jolty feel that almost always resulted in the front wheel lifting or a loss of traction in the back. Like many modern e-bikes, the Torque:ON also has a walk mode, which was a feature I used more than I would have liked for those techy climbs as well as hiking up to repeat some sections of trail. 

As I mentioned earlier, the compact seated position of my down-sized frame made for a comfortable, almost moto-inspired feel while climbing fire roads and less technical singletrack. This, combined with the low bottom bracket, made for some seriously enjoyable flow-trail-esque experiences while climbing. Sadly, however, these two characteristics proved to be detrimental on techier climbs, where the smaller front triangle provided less room to maneuver over the bike when navigating tight corners or rocky sections of trail and the low bottom bracket made this bike more prone to pedal strikes than potentially any I’ve ever ridden, even with the 165 mm cranks.

In total, the Torque:ON excels in doing what it was designed to, getting you up the shuttle road as quickly as possible so you can spend more time descending. It even handles non-technical single track well, but technical climbs are its achilles heel. 

Descending

The Torque:ON is designed to ride the same trails with nearly the same intensity as a full fledged downhill bike, and it's in these conditions that the bike really gets into its element. It features Canyon’s Triple Phase four bar Suspension that provides a pretty progressive tune, making it nice and soft through smaller impacts like braking bumps and trail chatter, but still plenty supportive on big hits and flat landings. The slack 63.5 degree head tube angle favores flat out descents, which is really where this bike excelled the most. The high stack inspires confidence in the steeps and does a good job at keeping the front end of the bike feeling lighter and poppier than you’d expect for a 53 lb e-bike. The relatively short chainstays and 27.5” rear wheel helped with this playfulness as well, making the bike feel surprisingly lively on even smaller jump lines and flow trails. 

One area I didn’t get to take the Torque:ON through were any true bike-park-esque jump trails, which is a bummer because I think this is where the Torque:ON would probably shine brightest. Its low center of gravity and low slung frame are perfect for railing berms and throwing whips. 

I’m sure that in the right hands the Torque:ON can feel plenty nimble on tighter trails, but even with the smaller wheel it felt a bit cumbersome through slowier, janky sections of trail. My biggest, and really only complaint while descending had to do, once again, with the low bottom bracket. I bottomed out the frame multiple times in even relatively tame rock gardens. This sadly made me hesitant to charge through this type of terrain with as much speed as I knew the bike could handle. Obviously, this wouldn’t be an issue on large open jump trails or desert freeride lines, which again, is the type of riding I think this bike was designed for.

As with the climbs, I’d sum up the Torque:ON’s descending performance by saying that it does an exceptionally good job at what it was designed to do; going fast and hitting big features. If your typical terrain features big jumps, steep lines, or even bermed flow trails then I think you’d find no issues with the Torque:ON. But if you prefer techier, enduro style trails then the bike’s low bottom bracket would likely cause more harm than good.

How Does it Compare?

The first bike that comes to mind when I think of a contemporary to the Torque:ON is the Specialized Turbo Kenevo, which in its comp build lists for $6,000, $500 more than the Torque:ON. The Kenevo comes with 27.5” wheels front and back and gets a slight boost in rear travel, bumping up to 180 mm. It also comes with Specialized's highly praised 2.2 motor and 540 Wh battery, but with an alloy frame and some lower tier components. The smaller battery and heavier bike will almost certainly reduce the Kenevo’s range as well. In terms of geometry, the Kenevo is a bit less radical than the Torque:ON, with a 64.5 degree head tube angle, lower stack, and thankfully, a much higher bottom bracket. So which is better? Well at least on paper the Torque:ON’s direct to consumer model makes it a better value than the Specialized, but I think there’s definitely something to be said about the added assistance from a local bike shop, especially when it comes to the added complexity of e-bikes. And while I haven’t personally ridden it, I think the Kenevo’s geometry makes it a slightly more well rounded option that could still handle big features, but also climb and descend techier trails with a bit more dignity.

The next logical comparison is against the YT Decoy Core 2 MX, which lists for the same $5,499. Like the Torque:ON, the Decoy features a carbon frame, mullet wheel setup, and the same Shimano E-drive system, though with a smaller 540 Wh battery. The bikes are similar spec-wise as well, though I’d give a slight upper hand to the Canyon. Where these bikes differ most is in travel and geometry. The Decoy has 10mm less travel in the front and back and much more conservative geometry all-around; with a steeper head tube angle, shorter reach, shorter stack, and higher bottom bracket. Having spent a decent bit of time on this bike in the past and can say that it’s by far the most playful and maneuverable full-size e-bike I’ve ever ridden. That said, if outright speed and composure on the biggest of features was my top priority I’d likely reach for the Torque:ON instead.

	Torque:ON CF 82023 Canyon	Turbo Kenevo Comp2023 Specialized	Decoy CORE 2 MX2023 YT Industries
MSRP	$5,799	$6,000	$5,499
Spec Level
Weight	54.8 lbs		52.7 lbs
Frame	Carbon	Aluminum	Carbon
Fork	Fox Float 38	Marzocchi Bomber Z1	Fox Float 38
Wheel Size	29″ / 27.5″	27.5″	29″ / 27.5″
Motor	Shimano mid-drive	Specialized mid-drive	Shimano 250W 85Nm mid-drive
Battery	720Wh	Specialized 500Wh	540Wh
Groupset	SLX, Shimano	GX Eagle, Praxis	Deore, Shimano
Drivetrain	1 × 12	1 × 12	1 × 12
Travel	175mm rear, 180mm front	180mm rear, 180mm front	165mm rear, 170mm front

View In-depth Comparison →

Conclusion

In total, the Torque:ON is a purpose-built freeride machine, and its high powered motor, super progressive geometry, and 175 mm of travel makes it an ideal choice for big hits and fast chutes. On top of all that is an extremely dialed part spec that wouldn’t be out of place on a comparably priced analog bike, let alone a full-powered e-bike like the Torque:ON. I think this bike makes the most sense as a powered option for riding big open jump lines traditionally found in bike parks, but that seem to be popping up in more and more non-lift access locations.  I don’t think, however, that the Torque:ON would thrive in areas like the north shore, where technical rock rolls and tight loamers are par for the course. I also wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for a long travel trail bike either. Obviously the addition of a motor makes it much more versatile than a traditional DH bike, but I think it’s helpful to think of the Torque:ON as excelling in the same type of terrain a DH bike would.