Product news: Canyon Strive 2019 – A worthy successor?

Product news / MTB: After five years, the Canyon Enduro Strive is getting a completely new frame for 2019. We took a look at the new Canyon Strive 2019 and introduce you to features, equipment and prices.

Finally! After Canyon had overhauled almost the entire MTB portfolio over the past few months and years, it is now the turn of the venerable enduro from the Koblenz-based direct seller, the Strive. A lot has happened compared to its predecessor: The new Strive CF consistently relies on 29″ wheels, comes exclusively as a carbon version and has slightly less spring travel than its predecessor. On the other hand, some things have been retained that are already known from the previous model: This includes the geometry adjustment via Shapeshifter and less has changed in terms of geometry than many might have expected. But first things first...

Canyon Strive 2019 – Shapeshifter 2.0

The in-house geometry adjustment, called Shapeshifter, which can be controlled from the handlebars, is in and of itself nothing new at Canyon – after all, it was already installed on the current Strive. As with the predecessor, this was again developed together with Fox and consists - to put it very simply - of a two-stage gas pressure spring, which can be extended and retracted from the handlebars via remote. This shifts the position of the damper and not only changes the geometry, but also the kinematics and spring travel.

Canyon meaningfully designates the two positions XC and DH – for cross-country and downhill. While you are efficient in XC mode with a reduced rear spring travel of 130mm, the DH mode unfolds the full downhill potential of the new Canyon enduro with 150mm. However, as already mentioned, the spring travel is only one component that changes when the Shapeshifter is actuated: The steering and seat angles are 1,5° steeper in XC mode and the bottom bracket is also almost 2cm higher, which means a lot of ground clearance in technical terms uphill. The kinematics also change – the rear triangle is tighter and the sag point is higher. In practice, this means: In XC mode, the rider sits more on the bike than on the bike and can look forward to more efficient kinematics for flat passages or uphills. If it becomes necessary, a quick grip on the remote is enough and you get the full potential of the rear triangle in downhill mode.

Speaking of the remote: this has been completely redesigned for the new Strive. Two dedicated levers for XC and DH mode allow you to switch quickly and error-free between the two modes - even in the heat of the trail battle. A third lever controls the dropper support - the accommodation of the remote for the latter was always a bit problematic with the previous Shapeshifter.

Canyon Strive 2019 - Moderate geometry and two lightweight carbon frames

Two not unimportant things have changed with the Canyon Strive 2019 compared to its predecessor: on the one hand, the new version will only be available with a carbon frame, on the other hand, Canyon, like most of the competition in this suspension range, now only uses 29-inch wheels. These give the bike a noticeable plus in running smoothness, especially when the terrain gets rough. The current trend is also followed in terms of tire width and all equipment variants are based on 2,4″ wide WT variants from Maxxis.

The Canyon Strive 2019 will be available with two different frames - but as has been available since then with a carbon and aluminum frame, the new model relies entirely on light carbon fiber. Despite the significantly larger dimensions and the new wheels, the CFR carbon frame used in the two top models weighs the same as the carbon predecessor: 2.400g without dampers. The Strive CF, which is used in all other equipment variants, weighs approx. 300g more. Apart from the weight, the frames are completely the same: from the geometry to the stiffness.

We find the geometry of the new Strive to be quite surprising: instead of going completely with the “long, flat, deep” trend like almost all other manufacturers at the moment, the Koblenz-based company is swimming somewhat against the tide with its new enduro. Yes, the reach is longer than before and yes, the bottom bracket is low, which is typical for enduro bikes. But: The steering angle is 66° in the flat and 67,5° (!) in the steep version, 1°-2° steeper than most of the competition. In combination with the short chainstays, the bike is kept very compact and should provide a lot of agility even on flat trails. However, so that smooth running in demanding terrain is not neglected, there is a fork with a small offset in all equipment variants. This increases the fork trail, which in turn ensures good-natured handling without losing pressure on the front wheel.

Canyon Strive 2019 - models, equipment, prices

[accordions type=”toggle” handle=”pm” space=”no” icon_color=”#” icon_current_color=”#”] [/ accordions]

Website

www.canyon.com