Another Canyon Nerve question

mattjevans

Am looking at either Nerve XC 6/7 or Nerve AM 7. I am 5'8, 31" inseam. Am new to mountain biking but am an experienced cyclist (time trial mostly).

Canyon sizing guide says go small, but I know from searches a number of people have gone M at similar sizing.

My issue is the wait for a S size bike is 10 weeks or more, which basically means no bike for most of summer (and I'm not working right now so I could really use something to do), whereas some size M's are available immediately or with much less wait (ie either XC 7.0 or AM 6.0).

My take on the geometry is that if I put a 50mm (or even if necessary 40mm) on the size M, the reach is basically at (or less than) the size S with standard stem. The front end will obviously be higher than S but that doesn't worry me at all.

So I guess I should clarify what are my questions...
1 Is my thinking above correct or am I missing something? Is there any reason to think that if I fit a small in "reach" terms I wouldn't fit a Med size frame?
2 Is there any issue with standover I should worry about (it's a bit opaque how standover is measured).
3 Will I have enough seatpost for a Reverb to work on a size Med? (Not critical for me, but be nice to have).

Appreciate any views from Canyon Nerve owners who are around my size. Thanks

Torres

It's hard to say really; have you ridden any other bikes that you could use to compare the geometry?

mattjevans

Good suggestion - but am not even sure where to start on what bike actually have a similar geometry to a Canyon, any ideas?

Torres

Not a clue I'm affraid; but I normally look at the seattube size and reach of bikes I have ridden (and liked) before and compare them to a prospective replacement.

It's only a crude test as there are plenty more factors to consider; but it'll give a vague idea if it'll be suitable or not; especially if you're concerned about the reverb fitting.

cubicboy

I'm 6ft and have a Nerve XC in... medium

I did weeks of research on sizing and ended up with the conclusion that the Nerves were sized in between sizes. I think of my medium as a small large or a large medium. I think at your height the Canyon calculator is in the zone. I think that you could obviously ride a medium but the saddle would be very low.

snowrider

I am 6 foot and just got a Medium Nerve AM. I ride it with the Reverb as low in the frame as it will go and it is only just low enough. At 5 foot 8 you definitely want to be on a small if you are going to be riding any extreme terrain.

mattjevans

Thanks - what's your inseam if you don't mind me asking?

mattjevans

cubicboy wrote:

I'm 6ft and have a Nerve XC in... medium

I did weeks of research on sizing and ended up with the conclusion that the Nerves were sized in between sizes. I think of my medium as a small large or a large medium. I think at your height the Canyon calculator is in the zone. I think that you could obviously ride a medium but the saddle would be very low.

Thanks. Seems like I'm stuck with 8 week delay.. damn

Scratch n soda

Bought a Canyon xc nerve 7.0. I'm 6ft 1 and a large fits me just fine. However i would go for the am version? It'l open up far more possibilities than an xc. I regret buying the xc over the am! In the guide you receive in the bike guard box it actually says the nerve xc is a marathon bike . However the bike it's self is flawless. I wanted to upgrade the suspension travel from 120mm at the front to 140mm but apparently the bike can't take it But there's no argument that Canyon arn't amazing value for money

chrisw333

@ scratch - what sort of stuff are you doing when the xc seems too limited for you? I was mulling over the options and hoping to get one in the next 12 months or so and was under the impression the xc could take pretty much anything you can throw at it uk trail wise other than full on DH?

Scratch n soda

I take it to wales, ( coed llandegla, coed y brennin) and i find that the travel at the front is just that little bit too short:( I tested a commencal meta am 1 when i was at llandegla and with the 160mm up front i found myself choosing lines i would never normally choose and doing drops i wouldn't consider on the canyon. also i find my canyon sorta ticks ( may just be my bike) but does anyone else find that? However Chrisw333 Do not be put off buying one. excellent value for money but as i said before, choosing the am will open up a whole new spectrum of oppurtunities for riding

Scratch n soda

Also i forgot to add, that when i asked canyon if the xc could take the UK |trail scene they said yes. However i bent bent a rim and i had to get it re-trued. I then phoned up canyon and asked "why did the rim bend." their answer was that the xc was NOT made for the trail scene and couldnt take tabletops ( the jumps) in it's stride, which is what many trail centres consist of. That was then i was a little dissapointed with my purchase, but since then iv'e had no probelms :0 i'm still hammering it down chikcsands bike park and it's not complaining at all But all in all i'm very pleased with it.

barty81

Ive got a canyon nerve am 7 in a medium. im 5ft 9 with a 31" inseem and the saddle height is same as handlebars, reach seems fine too.

chrisw333

Thanks. Food for thought. I do more natural trails but the welsh centres would certainly be on my agenda too and I'm not exactly a forgiving (skilful!) rider. One to think about for a while.
I'm also 6'1 and thought large would be right. What inseam are you, as it' seems that a lot of 6 footers seem to go medium?

mattjevans

barty81 wrote:

Ive got a canyon nerve am 7 in a medium. im 5ft 9 with a 31" inseem and the saddle height is same as handlebars, reach seems fine too.

barty, if you can be bothered measuring, how much seatpost do you have from post clamp to saddle clamp?

my inseam is same as you, I do have shortish arms (not super short) so I'd put a 40-50mm stem on anyway

barty81

Just measured the seatpost up too the bottom of the seatpost rail.its 218mm and i followed the angle of the seatpost instead of measuring vertically up.hope this helps bud!

mattjevans

Very helpful thanks! Seems like with my inseam it shouldn't be a problem height wise then. So just reach to think about.

Do you find yourself particularly "stretched out"?

barty81

theres more than enough bend in the elbow, im not built like an ape..just your averge joe. ive got my saddle set centrally on the rails, so theres still room for adjust. theres also about an inch standover clearence if thats any good to you.

mattjevans

Thanks, that helps. It does seem these have less stand over than some of the competitors, I guess because the top tube isn't bent/shaped

rostyle

I have just got a Nerve xc7 and took it out today for its first ride and love it!
I'm 5'10 and went for a medium , the canyon site suggested a small but no way would that have been correct
I found the suspension travel fine but then I have just come off a 12 year old Klein hardtail with a whole 70mm travel fork.

where abouts you based? if you are South London you are welcome to try it for size -as long as you leave your wife/girlfriend as deposit, if she looks like Cheryl cole you can keep the bike lol

mattjevans

Thanks for the offer, I'm at Luton and don't really get down your way unfortunately. Anyway it does seem from the responses from people my height that a medium, at least in the AM, will work given I do have longish (or at least not short) legs for my height.

streetvw

I'm 5'9" with a 32" inseam and have a medium Nerve XC plenty of standover for me the bike fits me really well I* was borderline small/medium but glad I went for teh medium as I think the small wouldn't have been right for me

mattjevans

Thanks to all for comments. I ordered a medium AM 6.0 this afternoon. I hope to have it by the end of next week.

barty81

its a cracking bike...enjoy!

MDobs

Scratch n soda wrote:

I wanted to upgrade the suspension travel from 120mm at the front to 140mm but apparently the bike can't take it

i had the same idea recently, out of interest why did they say the bike couldn't take it?

i wouldn't expect much difference in the use of the two bikes in the UK anyway, they'll both get thrown round the trail centres, and neither will take full on DH duties. most of the reviews have been on the XC version and none of them have really mentioned any limits per say. I would have thought that the 140mm fork would just have softened up some of the hits the XC bike is going to take anyway.

mattjevans

Well it turns out that "available immediately" doesn't actually mean that and on the invoice I just got delivery is estimated for "week 24" (it's week 22 now). Still, better than August...

fielonator

Morning all,

I've been looking at the AM 9 for a while now but can't make up my mind. It's a real shame they don't demo in the uk at all. I'm after having a go on one. Is anyone in the southeast feeling like helping me out? Obviously I wouldn't expect to take it out alone, and would be willing to offer some cash in exchange. I'd bring my bike along for the doner to ride, it's an '09 kona hei hei. Also my brother's just got an orange 5 pro that I'm sure I could convince him to bring along.

Any takers?

rostyle

mattjevans wrote:

Well it turns out that "available immediately" doesn't actually mean that and on the invoice I just got delivery is estimated for "week 24" (it's week 22 now). Still, better than August...

When i ordered my xc7 it said available week 23 which, at the time of order,was 3-4 weeks away, however it turned up the following week.
It was delivered by UPS which you can track online.