Canyon Neuron 7.0 - Need Advice!

Nout

Hello!

I’m in the market for my first full suspension bike to go alongside my hard tail 29er, after looking at quite a few of them I keep coming back to the Canyon Neuron 7.0.

In regard to the riding I am going to be doing, it will be mostly local trails as well as ascending and descending large hills of questionable terrain.

The bike:

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/neuron/2018/neuron-al-7-0.html

I’m ideally wanting to stay with a 29er, so the bike overall looks ideal. However the 120mm forks and 110mm travel in the rear seems a little small? Would that be sufficent travel for most things?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

larkim

Eldest son has the Nerve AL 6.0 which is the precursor to the Neuron (obviously at 6.0 spec rather than 7.0 spec) and comes with 27.5 wheels on all sizes rather than the 29er sizing on the larger frame sizes for the Neuron. Frame looks pretty much identical though.

He's ridden that in my eyes fairly hard at places like Llandegla on the blacks, and did two weeks bombing down DH trails at Les Gets / Morzine two years ago on it. It's not the perfect machine for the Alps, but it survived. He's really enjoyed the bike.

There's no reason why 120mm should be massively insufficient, but I suppose it depends on the specific nature of the trails and how fast you are on them. But I'm sure others will have recommendations for other bikes, all I can say is he's been happy with his choice and paid a sensible price for it.

JGTR

I’d look at the YT Jeffsy 29” - seems to tick more boxes for you than the Neuron. Should be better descending and has more travel (140mm), also climbs extremely well.

It’s a shame that Canyon don’t make a 29” Spectral, think they’d pinch a lot if sales from YT if they did.

steve_sordy

The Jeffsy is a cracking bike, well worthy of consideration.

billycool

It's hard when you almost want a bike that can do general trail stuff, then climb well but also descend well on `questionable` terrain (you might need to clarify what that means). Most bikes that go up really well don't go down so well and vice versa.

120/110 should be fine for general trails, climbing and certainly some descending - just depends exactly what that is.

Personally, I have a 140mm FS bike that copes with anything that I throw at it. It's not that heavy (c.13kg), climbs well and has been down BPW, Cwmcarn, Afan and very recently a very rocky trip down Jacobs Ladder and other parts of the Peaks.

It's a bit too much for general trail riding at times and I have a 90mm HT that is a great trail blitzer and winter hack. Really don't need any more than that at times.

My friend has a lovely Santa Cruz Tallboy 29'er that I thought was the bees knees. He said it covers the ground so well and is a joy to ride on fast XC. He said that when he rode it at Afan and BPW, the geometry was wrong and he keep feeling too much weight over the front wheel. Was very uncomfortable on anything DH.

That was a geometry issue rather than suspension, but it still needs to be considered on shorter travel XC bikes.

I think my FS (Norco Sight 1) would be deemed a `Trail` bike, so pretty good going up and down.

For me - 130 to 140mm might be the optimum, but it does depend what you will ride most of the time as I'd happily do a lot of stuff on 120mm, as long as the geometry was right.

steve_sordy

Geometry is the key!

slc123

Again, I think you would need to clarify "most things". There is huge disparity over what different people ride and how fast they ride it. As the others have mentioned geometry is a massive part to how the bike will feel and handle. If you were looking for a decent trail bike that will descend and climb well, then I wouldn't go over 140mm for the travel. If you are looking more XC with a bit of trail, stick to 100mm-120mm.

I've got an XC bike that has 100mm travel and it's awesome for general XC riding and winter stuff. I've actually ridden it at the Forest of Dean and Cannock. It gets slightly out of it's depth in places, but still rideable. I built up a "trail" HT last year with really slack head angle and stuck 160mm fork on it. It's a good bike, but I am going to swap the forks out for some 140s as it's a bit overkill for my general riding and I don't think adds much really, just makes the climbing a lot harder. I am going to stick those on the new FS bike I am building.

In terms of the bikes... I like the look of the Canyon and think that would make a pretty decent trail bike, but the travel could limit you on gnarlier stuff. The Jeffsy is a really nice bike. Always one I had my eye on before deciding to build my own. Over the two I would pick the Jeffsy.

Nout

Thank you all for your input - I've had my eye on the Jeffsy, it looks like a fantastic bike. I just can't currently stretch that far unfortunately (£1900), I originally started my hunt for a new FS with a maximum of £1000 to spend.

With the Neuron 7.0 being on sale at £1500, I think that is an all rounder which I can justify (and keep the extra £500 quiet from my partner)!

In regard to clearing up the 'questionable terrain' I suggested, my parents live up in Aviemore and there are a few trails I would love to venture out on. I am not looking at doing huge drops and large jumps, more of a casual yet moderate ride with the occasional hill trek up and down the Cairngorm terrain.

After talking to someone yesterday, he mentioned that I could in the future swap out the front 120mm forks for 130mm. Would that be an option or would it completely change the dynamics/geometry of the bike?

Thanks again everyone!

slc123

If you are looking at an FS bike for good value and aren't too set on a 29er, check out the Calibre Triple B. https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-tr ... ke-p432765 or the Bossnut https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-bo ... ke-p431792

They represent really good value, but appreciate you might want a 29er.

From what you've described the 120mm would be fine for that, although I confess I don't know the area. I would think an upgrade to 130mm would pose any major issues with regard to the geometry.

jamski

The Neuron looks very XC to me. I’d personally go for geometry aimed more at ‘trail’ riding for an all rounder. Travel wise, I’d say anywhere between 120-140mm is a good all round level. As above, for your budget the Calibre Triple B is hard to beat, but it’s not a 29er.