Does this Canyon bike "make sense" for a beginner?

j_w_h

So I want to buy my first road bike. Up to this point I mainly considered Canyon, Rose and Giant bikes but have not yet pulled the trigger on one.

I am fairly sporty and enjoy riding up and down the surrounding hills. Most likely I would ride my bike about twice a month, maybe more if I get really into it. I would like to keep my bike for a longer period of time and not switch every couple of years - rather buy one really decent bike and not be upgrading periodically.

Having said that, I don't think its reasonable to just go out and buy the most expensive bike I can afford. Thus I am stuck with the question: What bike makes sense for me?

After some research I decided against electronic shifting. I am not sure I will ever need it and if I do I would update to SRAM eTap since I really like the cable less design. At this point in time, I am not willing to spend around € 3.500 on a bike tough.

So I am left with the choice of either rim or disc brakes. At first I thought rim brakes are well enough for me and the way to go since they are cheaper and lighter, but the more I read about it, the more people seem to favor disc over rim (and I like the disc brakes on my mountain bike, haven't had any rim brakes in about 15 years or so). I see advantages and disadvantages with bot brake systems and am, at the end of the day, indifferent. I just want to make the "best choice".

Having said all that, I ended up at this bike as it´s currently on sale and fits just inside my budget:
https://www.canyon.com/en-at/ultimate-c ... 01465.html

Would you guys say that
a) my choice of bike is solid and a good balance between future prove but no overkill for a beginner (I am aware though that the bike is more than I "need")
b) the bike is a good deal on sale
c) most importantly: it is advantageous to go for a disc bike as my first (and only) road bike, especially if I want to ride mainly hills? If not, I would wait until next season and go for the rim brake version of the Ultimate CF SL 8.0.

Or is it advisable wo wait on next years Canyon models anyway? Tough to judge for me.

Thank you very much for any help!

cougie

It's an expensive bike.

Personally I'd go for a cheaper one - maybe 1000 or so and see how you like cycling. Possibly not that much if you last did it 15 years ago.

You do need s fair amount of kit to go with it too. Clothes and tools etc.

The cheaper bike won't be any slower but will save you a bit of cash. If you're still cycling in a year then buy a new bike and the old one becomes your winter bike.

It's not the bike that makes you fast it's your training.

j_w_h

That's a misunderstanding:
I have not ridden a bike with rim brakes in the last 15 years. My 2 mountain bikes had disc brakes. I like riding my mountain bike and do it on a regular basis, especially I like riding uphill.

I fully understand that its not the bike that's making it fast but the rider. But my thinking is: Rather buy a solid bike and not have to need to upgrade cause this will, at the end of the day, be more expensive.

But if this bike is "too good" or too expensive for a beginner, I would gladly reconsider and switch to something cheaper like the Canyon CF SL 7.0

diamonddog

There is no such thing as a bike that is too good or too expensive for a beginner, if it fits and you want it buy it.

super_davo

Well... you're not really a beginner if you've been riding mountain bikes for years.

Things to consider if shifting codes:
- Fit is much more important on road bikes than mountain bikes. If you're not sure on the fit, that's a major negative on an online only bike, especially one costing that much
- Disk brakes were a massive improvement over V brakes on mountain bikes. But they are (IMO) a much more marginal improvement over caliper brakes on road bikes. There is definitely life in rim brakes for road bikes, especially on dry weather summer bikes. If climbing is your bag, then you'll typically end up with a bike thats 500-750g heavier with disks than vs rim brakes for any given budget. That makes a real difference going uphill.
- You'll want a whole new set of clothes, shoes, helmet etc. in no time. This will add up, and going for decent stuff makes a performance difference (both aero and comfort). So basically leave a decent budget for that.

Canyons are great bikes - but there are some awesome deals on other brands at the moment that you can get in shops, Boardmans from Cyclesrepublic being the pick of the bunch for me ATM (the aero with Dura-ace Di2 for c£2300 being a particular bargain, with the SLRs also being very good)

mrb123

It's a nice bike and if you can afford it then no reason not to go for it.

As others have said, just make sure the bike fits you properly. If you can't try out the Canyon itself then try to ride as many other road bikes as you can and compare the stack and reach measurements to get an understanding of what they mean in terms of bike fit.

Oh, and don't get them started on the disc brakes argument, it's worse than Brexit!

joey54321

Have you also got budget for things like shoes, clothes, helmet and possibly a new saddle? Could easily add up to a few hundred. It's a lovely bike, if you want it and can afford it then go for it.

There are pros and cons to discs but personally I cant see myself buying another rim brake bike.

j_w_h

Thank you for your answers so far, have been a big help already.

To adress a few of the topics:
Yes, I have the budget for additional gear and am aware of that. I am willing to shell out some money for a quality bike, but I also don't wanna waste any money on quality I do not need (eg a € 10.000 bike).

Fit is a real issue: I will not be able to give the Canyon a try and have to rely on the fitting tool Canyon provides on their website. If the fit turns out unbearable though, I guess I could always use Canyons return policy, but this is a measure of last resort for me.
The thing with fit is, that although stores do offer the ability to try bikes, a lot of stores, at least in my experience, might also sell you bikes that don't fit all that well just to get somebody to buy them. That is not true for all stores of course, but if you do not know what you are looking for when it comes to fit (and I don't really), it can be a problem.

Finally disc vs non-disc: Although I am fairly lightweight and I want to climb, I thought that the 600g difference will not be a real issue. Something I might notice in direct comparison, but not something that would leave me wanting buying an even lighter bike. After all the CF Sl disc 8.0 is only 7,6 kg, the non-disc version is 7.0 kg.

sam_anon

Have you seen the new Rose AL disc? Looks a whole lot of bike for £1600!

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/rose-pro-sl ... ndarin+red

step83

Try a few in shops an see, then punch in the models here on the ones your comfortable with and the sizes then you can compare. Tools more for people who know their bike fit numbers but it gives all the stack and reach figures which are considered the main numbers for a basic fit.

https://geometrygeeks.bike/

j_w_h

Step83 wrote:

Try a few in shops an see, then punch in the models here on the ones your comfortable with and the sizes then you can compare. Tools more for people who know their bike fit numbers but it gives all the stack and reach figures which are considered the main numbers for a basic fit.

https://geometrygeeks.bike/

Thank you, I will do that. I have already tried some bikes and they all seemed fine to me. I think if you don't know what you are looking for it´s a little hard to know when the fit is just right.

Regarding disc vs. rim then, there is no real answer to what is better then for somebody who likes to climb hills (not mountains really) and will ride almost exclusively during nice weather? It would be no mistake to go for rim brakes over disc brakes?

step83

No massive difference for a climber, wheels and the actual brakes can be a bit heavier, aero isn't really a concern while climbing (some arguments on the aero side of disc brakes). Wheels tend to be a bit more stout due to the forces involved as do frame mountings. Cant say I have noticed this overly between the two bike types.

One nice perk is you wont wear out rims through braking, just pads and discs. weighing up the price of a new set of wheels vs a set of pads and discs is a bit of a no brainer.

keef66

If you'll only ride it in good weather and you don't weigh 120kg, get a rim braked bike and save some weight and money.

cougie

Step83 wrote:

No massive difference for a climber, wheels and the actual brakes can be a bit heavier, aero isn't really a concern while climbing (some arguments on the aero side of disc brakes). Wheels tend to be a bit more stout due to the forces involved as do frame mountings. Cant say I have noticed this overly between the two bike types.

One nice perk is you wont wear out rims through braking, just pads and discs. weighing up the price of a new set of wheels vs a set of pads and discs is a bit of a no brainer.

I think I've only ever worn out one set of rims in 35 years of cycling. If I had a long wet commute then discs make sense but even my winter bike hasn't got discs.

keef66

I'm fairly light and live in rolling countryside. My rides are all quiet rural lanes and I don't really do much braking. I have a pair of Shimano wheels over 12 years old and the brake track wear indicators are still visible despite being ridden in all weathers.

If either me or the bike were carrying extra weight, doing stop/start commuting or touring through the winter or descending lots of long / steep hills I might consider discs, but otherwise rim brakes are cheap, light, simple and good enough for me.

daniel_b

If you have the cash, I woud be inclined on the face of it to go for it.

The only caveat I would add, is that as you are brand new to road cycling, you won't know what geometry type best suits you and your dimensions / flexibility.

Sportive \ Endurance geometry can be a fair amount different to a full on down and low race bike.
There is a modicum of adjustment you can do to finesse the position - inline\setback seatposts, normal\inverted stems, shorter \ longer stems, spacers \ no spacers, narrow\wide, short reach, long reach, short drop, long drop handlebars, but there is a limit to what you can achieve.

If I were you, and at this time of year, but was fairly confident I would take to it, like it and want to continue, I would spend around the £1000\£1200 mark, and try and get a good solid spec, Shimano 105 (And discs if you want) for example, but get a bike that you could turn into a winter bike with mudguards if you wanted to, and then go for some summer time bling.

This bike would also help you suss out what geometry will work for you - as you need to carry out some 2-4 hour rides imho, to really ascertain this.

redvision

Daniel B wrote:

If you have the cash, I woud be inclined on the face of it to go for it.

The only caveat I would add, is that as you are brand new to road cycling, you won't know what geometry type best suits you and your dimensions / flexibility.

Sportive \ Endurance geometry can be a fair amount different to a full on down and low race bike.
There is a modicum of adjustment you can do to finesse the position - inline\setback seatposts, normal\inverted stems, shorter \ longer stems, spacers \ no spacers, narrow\wide, short reach, long reach, short drop, long drop handlebars, but there is a limit to what you can achieve.

If I were you, and at this time of year, but was fairly confident I would take to it, like it and want to continue, I would spend around the £1000\£1200 mark, and try and get a good solid spec, Shimano 105 (And discs if you want) for example, but get a bike that you could turn into a winter bike with mudguards if you wanted to, and then go for some summer time bling.

This bike would also help you suss out what geometry will work for you - as you need to carry out some 2-4 hour rides imho, to really ascertain this.

This is very good advice.

j_w_h

So I followed the advice to try some bikes in a store and was able to try these two (both € 2.500):

https://www.cannondale.com/de-DE/Europe ... 144718708d
https://www.cube.eu/2020/bikes/road/roa ... hite-2020/

These bikes are less "race" than the Canyon, right? The salesman got me thinking on that tough. I always imagined I want a "true" race bike since I am fairly sporty. But he recommended something more in between, like the Cube above, for a beginner. It´s supposed to be more comfortable and better for longer distances. His reasoning made sense to be honest and I am not sure anymore if it really needs to be the most race bike I can find.

Is the Cube more "Aero" than the Canyon?

I took both bikes on a short test ride and when it comes to fit, the one thing I learned is that I simply cannot say what fits better. Both felt ok yet unfamiliar and I suppose I could get used to both.

The Cube C62 I could get for € 1950. Good deal? It seems sort of heavy though with 8,2 kg - if it was 0,4 kg lighter I would buy it in a heartbeat...

Edit:

I just found this one:

https://www.rosebikes.de/rose-team-gf-f ... _size=50cm

With a stack/reach ration of 1,43 it would be "race" enough, wouldn't it???? Seems like a good deal, € 2.100 with Ultegra (7,1 kg), € 1.700 with 105 (7,6 kg). It seems to have everything I value: Ultegra, lightweight, good looks at a very attractive price. And Rose got a good reputation from what I read and (much?) better service than Canyon.
I think I might go for the Ultegra version and be done with it. A little pricier than the Cube C62 but 1,1 kg really makes a difference imho and I am still indifferent when it comes to disc vs rim brakes. Any objections??? thank you

mrb123

Did you consider this Boardman from the other thread? Amazing value...
https://www.cyclerepublic.com/boardman- ... partnerize

Or this one, even better...

https://www.cyclerepublic.com/boardman- ... -2019.html

j_w_h

Great value! Since I am not from the UK however, this will not be an option for me.