2011 Canyon Ultimate AL
furrag
Posts: 481
Become a bit of a Canyon fanboy as of late, and my 2011 Canyon Ultimate AL has had a bit of a makeover.
-17 deg stem came from Canyon direct to fit onto the 1 1/4" steerer tube which has become more popular with Felt and Giant following Canyon. Being rare as rocking horse shat, this mean I had to pay £70 for the thing to get me into a nice aerodynamic position. I didn't like the polished silver face plate, so picked up some Black satin spray paint, sanded, primed, and sprayed the faceplate. Then using nail varnish remover, cotton buds, and cotton pads, de-decalled the stem, but not the torque setting - steerer tube is carbon!
Acros I-74 Headset is not typical. Rather than using a star nut and bolt in the steerer, you slacken off a T6 Torx screw which unscrews/lowers the top of the headset directly above the headtube. By putting the stem on, you then tighten the headset. The top cup of the headset then rises to load the bearings and remove play. Doesn't require a top cap either. Simples.
Canyon chain catcher. Rather than attaching to the front mech, it screws in beneath the bottle cage:
New Look Keo blade pedals (12nm). Negotiated 3 pairs of grey cleats and these pedals for £83. Top bargaining! I opted not to go for the ti-axle due to it not being magnetic, so I wouldn't have been able to fit my GSC-10 cadence magnet onto the pedal axle spindle:
Canyon's own frame-protector to prevent cable rub:
And as a training bike with Powertap on a DT Swiss R450 rim, Fulcrum R5 front, and transparent Canyon bottles:
And as a race set-up; couldn't get the red FFWD rear decals off as they're under cleat coat, so gave up going for a stealth look and decided to get some black/white decals to cover up the rear ones and got some for the front too. Note too black branded Canyon bottles.
Plan is to get a 24h Powertap with Campag freehub and lace the FFWD rim into it. As they're race wheels, I'm tempted go with Vittoria Open EVO tyres at 320tpi. They last roughly 1000-1500 miles, but apparently give one of the smoothest rides.
Frame & Fork: 2011 Canyon Ultimate AL
Bars: FSA Compact Omegas (38cm on hoods, 40cm on drops)
Stem: -17 degrees 110mm Ritchey WCS 4-axis
Headset: Acros I-74
Bar Tape: Fizik Dual tape wrapped to hide grey edges, but to show grey stitching.
Groupset: 2011 Centaur (nowhere near as good as 2010 imo)
Seat: 143mm Specialized Romin
Seat Post: Canyon VCLS
Cranks: Centaur ultra-torque, 50/34
Cassette: Centaur: 12-23
Pedals: Look Keo Blade
Wheels: DT Swiss R450/Fulcrum R5 or FFWD F6R/SRAM S60 with FFWD decals
Tyres: Continental GP4000s
-17 deg stem came from Canyon direct to fit onto the 1 1/4" steerer tube which has become more popular with Felt and Giant following Canyon. Being rare as rocking horse shat, this mean I had to pay £70 for the thing to get me into a nice aerodynamic position. I didn't like the polished silver face plate, so picked up some Black satin spray paint, sanded, primed, and sprayed the faceplate. Then using nail varnish remover, cotton buds, and cotton pads, de-decalled the stem, but not the torque setting - steerer tube is carbon!
Acros I-74 Headset is not typical. Rather than using a star nut and bolt in the steerer, you slacken off a T6 Torx screw which unscrews/lowers the top of the headset directly above the headtube. By putting the stem on, you then tighten the headset. The top cup of the headset then rises to load the bearings and remove play. Doesn't require a top cap either. Simples.
Canyon chain catcher. Rather than attaching to the front mech, it screws in beneath the bottle cage:
New Look Keo blade pedals (12nm). Negotiated 3 pairs of grey cleats and these pedals for £83. Top bargaining! I opted not to go for the ti-axle due to it not being magnetic, so I wouldn't have been able to fit my GSC-10 cadence magnet onto the pedal axle spindle:
Canyon's own frame-protector to prevent cable rub:
And as a training bike with Powertap on a DT Swiss R450 rim, Fulcrum R5 front, and transparent Canyon bottles:
And as a race set-up; couldn't get the red FFWD rear decals off as they're under cleat coat, so gave up going for a stealth look and decided to get some black/white decals to cover up the rear ones and got some for the front too. Note too black branded Canyon bottles.
Plan is to get a 24h Powertap with Campag freehub and lace the FFWD rim into it. As they're race wheels, I'm tempted go with Vittoria Open EVO tyres at 320tpi. They last roughly 1000-1500 miles, but apparently give one of the smoothest rides.
Frame & Fork: 2011 Canyon Ultimate AL
Bars: FSA Compact Omegas (38cm on hoods, 40cm on drops)
Stem: -17 degrees 110mm Ritchey WCS 4-axis
Headset: Acros I-74
Bar Tape: Fizik Dual tape wrapped to hide grey edges, but to show grey stitching.
Groupset: 2011 Centaur (nowhere near as good as 2010 imo)
Seat: 143mm Specialized Romin
Seat Post: Canyon VCLS
Cranks: Centaur ultra-torque, 50/34
Cassette: Centaur: 12-23
Pedals: Look Keo Blade
Wheels: DT Swiss R450/Fulcrum R5 or FFWD F6R/SRAM S60 with FFWD decals
Tyres: Continental GP4000s
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Comments
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Different colour coordinated bottles depending on whether your bike is in training or race mode?
GENIUS!0 -
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Just about to buy one of these myself (I think).
Overall are you happy with it? Is this a 54?
Cheers0 -
wilty wrote:Just about to buy one of these myself (I think).
Overall are you happy with it? Is this a 54?
Cheers
I too have one of these which I use as my day to day training bike. I'm really rather happy with it and given the Canyon pricing model it makes for a supurb value off the shelf purchase.
I'm 5"8" and ride a 54" although I've longish legs for my (shortish) height.0 -
NoMoreShadows wrote:
I too have one of these which I use as my day to day training bike. I'm really rather happy with it and given the Canyon pricing model it makes for a supurb value off the shelf purchase.
I'm 5"8" and ride a 54" although I've longish legs for my (shortish) height.
Nice one. What groupo/wheels are you running?0 -
Seriously nice bikes these, nice work.0
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Rick Chasey wrote:Gilbert rode the ultimate AL during most of 2011.
Did he? Thought he rode the Aeroroad for most of it.
Lovely AL there.0 -
wilty wrote:NoMoreShadows wrote:
I too have one of these which I use as my day to day training bike. I'm really rather happy with it and given the Canyon pricing model it makes for a supurb value off the shelf purchase.
I'm 5"8" and ride a 54" although I've longish legs for my (shortish) height.
Nice one. What groupo/wheels are you running?
Not meaning to hijack the thread....
Mine is a mix of Ultegra and a Dura Ace crank set. As for the wheels I'm running a set of Velocity A23s with a G3 PowerTap on the rear and a PMP on the front. These were built by Strada Wheels here in the UK.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Gilbert rode the ultimate AL during most of 2011.
Wrong. Aeroad. Certainly for Amstel, Fleche, Liege, Classica, TdF St 1.
Canyon sponsored teams usually have a surprising contingent of Ultimate AL's at Paris-Roubaix. Hoste and Vansummeren rode them to top ten places a few years back. Not sure if it's for good reason or a publicity stunt?0 -
The cables asides from the front brake could do with a bit of a trim and tidy up but otherwise good effort0
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EKIMIKE wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:Gilbert rode the ultimate AL during most of 2011.
Wrong. Aeroad. Certainly for Amstel, Fleche, Liege, Classica, TdF St 1.
Canyon sponsored teams usually have a surprising contingent of Ultimate AL's at Paris-Roubaix. Hoste and Vansummeren rode them to top ten places a few years back. Not sure if it's for good reason or a publicity stunt?
Mentioned this in another thread.
It was actually in 2010 when he rode Amstel and LBL with the aluminium bike.
I stand corrected.
http://inrng.com/2011/02/what-do-the-pros-ride/0 -
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Even though it's mine, I think they're proper ugly! I've tried polishing a turd to the best I can, but then I did also have a 2010 Wilier Izoard until recently, and that was a work of art!NapoleonD wrote:I do like the look of a canyon
Griepel opted for the Al a few times too over the CF. Could be part of sponsorship, could be that he preferred it. Who knows?
I use mine as I race, and would be too hesitant if I ever crashed a CF - plus the alu is also cheaper to replace. It's not feather-light though!0 -
They aren't the most elegant! But I think they look right functional and that.
I hate the look of my bike (Cervelo R3) the paint is completely boring and due to the frame angles it looks like it's been made my 6 different people each randomly choosing where to stick a tube in the jig, but think the ride/handling is sublime. Funny that!Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
ABCC Cycling Coach0
