When to buy . . . . . . a Canyon?

kfinlay

I'm planning on buying a Canyon CF Ultimate 9.0 - had a brief flirtation with building a custom bike using a chinese frame but have come back to the Canyon more sure than ever.
I'm not sure whether to commit just now in time for the new season or wait until the TdF when they have their sale. I read on previous threads about some good discounts during the sale but I'm not sure if the best deals are or frames or complete bikes. If I can hope to get about a 30% discount then I'm prepared to wait (in the hope I could get an SLX Pro 9.0) but if it's more like a 10-15% discount I would rather buy sooner.
I know there's no guarantee that they will have a sale this year and if they do it will be the same discounts but can anyone help give me an idea of the discounts that were available on complete bikes in 2010?

Mccaria

I got a 45% discount on a CF frame, I think the max discount was 50% during the TDF sale and was based on the performance of the Omega pro team - the better the team did the higher the rate of discount.

Evil Laugh

Hang on, I'm having a look for my crystal ball.....

superkenners

From what I can make out its tricky getting a price at the moment, UK prices seem to change on a daily basis which seems to be linked to what the currency is doing, not sure if anyone has noticed this!!

Mccaria

Canyon prices in euors (all products ship from Germany) and quotes prices in £ based on the prevailing £/euro exchange rate. £ strengthens against the euro, then prices in £ fall and vice versa.

superkenners

Pricing in euros is one thing but changing your GBP price everyday because of daily changes in the exchange rate is crazy! That said it at least helps me with my timing on when to buy!

PeterBL

You would be billed in euros anyway, wouldn't you? So in reality, the price does change every day.

Mccaria

I don't think that's the case in the UK anymore.

You used to be billed in euros but following the opening of a UK rep, I recently purchased some bits and pieces for my frame and on the invoice they set out the euro price and then convert this into £ and the bill is stated in £. I haven't seen the card statement to confirm, but this would suggest they are now billing UK customers in £ rather than euros - which is helpful as you now know the exchange rate at which you transact and are not hit by unfavourable credit card £/euro exchange rates.

On balance I think this is better for UK buyers, whilst the online price will fluctuate with underlying £/euro rates, you at least know your £ cost at the point you transact.

kfinlay

yeah know what you mean about prices but thats not really an issue for me at the mo.
back to topic, anyone else buy from last years sale or see what sort of discounts were available on complete bikes?

The Other McHoy

I got a complete CF SLX with Dura Ace and Citec Aero wheels for 2500 euros last July with approx 500 euro discount. The discount lasted for a while, it wasn't a "one-day only" offer, although it was tied into the team's performance at the TdF. I think they released a certain number of bikes per good showing and when they were sold, they were sold.

Approx. a saving of 16% on an already brilliant deal.

I guess Canyon's buying power with Shimano is clearly higher than with Campag or SRAM, hence the great deals on Dura Ace 7900 bikes. I wouldn't pay 500+ euros to get better wheels or groupset (unless it was someone else's money). The Citecs are good wheels and perfectly suitable for everyday training.

Still not sure about the missing cap on the headset, too many people insist in sticking their fingers down it.

By the way, anyone here got experience on tightening the I-Lock headset? I got gargled instructions in poorly translated English from Canyon. I removed the handlebars to take out one of the spacers and the cone which I thought played a part in tightening the headset wasn't tight at all.

wombler

I kept an eye on their "sparbuch" sale last time it came round (November?) and the discounts were nowhere near the numbers mentioned above for the TdF sale. Don't know if that's just the different timing or if supply and demand were different then. I've got my eye on an Ultimate CF 8.0 but TBH once I have the cash burning a hole in my pocket I don't think I'd be able to wait until the summer.

From what I've seen, the UK (GBP) prices have been constant (at least for the CF 7.0/8.0) since they launched the UK site but went up 20 quid since Xmas.

Mccaria

The Other McHoy

There is a very (and I mean very) small allen key screw on the headset that you tighten as you tighten the stem. There are instructions on the website or in the manual.

Also you can buy covers for the top of the headset on the website - from memory I think they are £10, but then there is p+p

The Other McHoy

Mccaria wrote:

The Other McHoy

There is a very (and I mean very) small allen key screw on the headset that you tighten as you tighten the stem. There are instructions on the website or in the manual.

Also you can buy covers for the top of the headset on the website - from memory I think they are £10, but then there is p+p

Mccaria - thanks for that. before removing the 1cm spacer, I had adjusted the cone part that you mention with a 2mm allen key and everything felt tight. When I took the bars off to remove a spacer and place it above the bars, I noted that the conical part slid off with no effort. As far as I can see, there is no connection between this and the fork stem, I don't understand how turning it can tighten anything as it doesn't connect to anything - it just seems like another spacer in the way it comes off and goes back on. The strange thing is that with everything back on and in place and the bars and stem tightened up to reccomended torque, I can rotate the conical part with no effort yet there is very little play in the headset.
I have checked the manual and I don't appear to be doing anything wrong. Any ideas of how the conical part works? What does it help tighten when it is not connected or threaded into anything else?

The Other McHoy

OK - following on from above. I took everything off again and redid it and this time everything is snug. The conical part has an upper and lower part. When you turn the 2mm allen key, it raises the upper part which then eliminates any space between it, the spacers and the stem.

Headset now is secure with no play.