mountain bikes: Test: Canyon Spectral AL 7.0 – (almost?) nobody needs more bikes!

Canyon Spectral AL 7.0: frame and geometry

Test: The Canyon Spectral AL is not a new bike - on the contrary: Anyone interested in all-mountain or trail bikes can hardly avoid hearing about the all-rounder from the direct seller from Koblenz in recent years. But it is also clear that Canyon does not rest on the laurels of the past years, but makes smaller and larger updates to the frame and equipment season after season, so that the evergreen always stays up to date. In 2017, the bike comes exclusively with 27,5″ wheels and 140mm of travel in the rear. While the standard variants are also equipped with 140mm forks at the front, the head tubes of the downhill-oriented EX models have forks with 150mm spring travel.

The Spectral is available this year with both aluminum and carbon frames. In our test, we sat on a model with a metal frame. Of course, what immediately catches your eye is the bright red tone that the bike has been given in some configurations this year. We find a soothing splash of color in the gray misery of the bicycle industry. The decals – such as the well-known large Canyon lettering on the down tube – are kept in the same color and can only be seen and felt because of their slight elevation. Here one relies fully on understatement. However, the lack of paint or the bare aluminum under the saddle clamp is a bit unattractive: That would not be tragic in and of itself if a continuous clamp had been installed here, through which this small flaw would not have been visible.

Apart from the clamp, however, the material quality and workmanship are of a very high standard and the classic lines have lost none of their attractiveness in 2017 either. Apart from the line for the dropper post, the lines and cables run on the top of the down tube, not inside the frame as is so often the case these days. However, opinions are still divided on this: users who do a lot of work should be happy about the simpler maintenance, fans of a puristic look might be bothered by it.

When it comes to the geometry, you don’t do any crazy things on the Spectral and you’re in the middle of what you know from a modern trail bike: At 67°, the steering angle is neither particularly slack nor particularly steep, and the reach of 455mm in size L is in the for range that is optimal for our taste and the low bottom bracket points to the Spectral's downhill genes. Despite all trail qualities, the relatively large stack ensures a not too low seating position and should therefore particularly suit touring riders.

Canyon Spectral AL 7.0: Equipment

The Canyon Spectral AL 7.0 we tested costs just €2.799, making it one of the inexpensive, high-quality trail bike representatives. In view of the quite low price you get a very good equipment. The FOX suspension made of 34 Float Performance and the DPS EVOL damper is appropriate for the area of ​​application and offers more than enough adjustment options to satisfy even advanced riders.

With the 2x Shimano XT drive, our testers again caused a lot of discussion: Of course, the cockpit is fuller, the drive tends to clatter on the descent and the gear changes are less intuitive than with a 1x drive. On the other hand, you can achieve a large range of gear ratios for a low price, which is not entirely unimportant on a trail bike that sometimes wants to be pedaled up longer climbs. If you prefer to have only one chainring, you can look at the EX variants de Spectral instead. The brakes also come from Shimano, also from the XT series and are paired with 203/180mm discs to keep a cool head even on long descents.

The M1650 wheels from DT Swiss are not available in this form in the aftermarket and are specially produced for the OEM market. Basically, these are the proven M1700 wheels, but with a slightly lighter rim (30mm inner width) to reduce the weight. So there is no toothed disc freewheel – but given the low overall price, this would have been a big surprise. They didn't skimp on the tyres, where they installed a very good all-rounder with the MK II from Conti in the robust Protection version, which is also tubeless-compatible.

Of course, a dropper post should not be missing on a bike like the Spectral. Here, with the Rock Shox Reverb, you trust in proven technology - but we think it's a pity that the variant with only 125mm stroke is also installed in the large sizes L and XL. The 760mm wide riser handlebar comes from Canyon's own production, like the stem, grips and saddle from Ergon.

Canyon Spectral AL 7.0: On the trail

So the overall package is pretty tempting on paper, but as with all MTBs, the truth is in the woods, on the trail, uphill and downhill. The Canyon Spectral also does an excellent job here: the central seating position helps, as does the steep seat tube angle and the neutral rear triangle on climbs. The trail bike from Koblenz isn't really a climbing goat, but it did quite well on different terrain. Whether steep ramps or tough gravel roads: the front wheel always stayed firmly on the ground and the Spectral willingly devoured meters in altitude and meters in altitude. Of course, the wide range of the 2x drive also helped here.

After the work was done, the Spectral, like most of our test bikes, first went on a flowing, rather flat trail and then into difficult terrain, where the chassis was particularly challenged. The bike mastered both tests with flying colours, but surprisingly shone above all in difficult terrain, where there was almost a little enduro feeling. The rear end is full and absorbs a lot of travel, it only gets a little out of step with constant fast impacts. When things get really steep, our test bike in size L would have benefited from a reverb with more travel.

In flowing terrain, the great agility is a lot of fun and berms just put a smile on your face. It feels like the rear end could have a little more pop here – but that would probably be at the expense of the iron feeling in demanding terrain. And somewhere you just have to make compromises - even if there are very few in the case of the Canyon Spectral AL 7.0.