Is this a credible alternative to the Canyon Aeroad?

pete1336

I retire next year and had planned to upgrade to a Canyon aeroad CF SLX with either dura ace or Ultegra Di 2. I'm after disks..not rim brakes. I test rode this bike last year and had my heart set on it. I hadn't read much which told me this wasnt a quality bit of kit.
I then watched Hambini's recent roasting of a canyon frame. I know this was a 2013 frame but also noted he commented he'd had over 30 canyon's in which had frame issues. I'm aware he's an aerospace engineer but I've come to put some trust in his viewpoint. I know hes not to everyone's taste but as far as engineering goes..he seems to know his stuff.
I've also recently joined the facebook Canyon group and I'm seeing more comments about frame issues.
Anyway, one of the frames he apparently recommends from an engineering quality perspective is Giant. I'm currently looking at the propel advanced pro 1 disk. Its £1500 cheaper and a little heavier but my question is this...Is it a credible alternative to the aeroad..or is it a league below the aeroad?
Thanks.

timothyw

It's a credible alternative. Giant make quality bikes at good prices.

They also have a pretty comprehensive record being ridden at professional level.

Take a test ride with a Giant and I expect you'll be just as happy with it. If not, don't buy it.

Really though, the people who complain about their bikes on forums, and the frames hambini receives are the minority, the likelihood is if you got the Canyon you would be completely happy with it too.

w00dster

Personally I wouldn’t be led by one persons viewpoint. How many canyon Aeroads have been made and ridden without incident? Hambini slates a lot of manufacturers, this doesn’t mean any bike he recommends will be stress free.
I have an Aeroad, no issues with the frame. I also have a Trek, again they get roasted, but I’ve had no issues with that either. Or my myriad of other bikes that get slated.....apart from my old Cannondale that did creak and groan. But then two of my riding buddies absolutely love their dales.
The biggest concern for me with Canyon is their support. I needed a new mech hanger, ordered one but it takes 3 weeks to get to me, Trek would have been 2 days and fitted. Also my saddle “slipped” forward. It was unmoveable, the bolts would not move whatsoever. Canyon advice was for me to take a rubber mallet to it, if that failed to send it back to them. Which is fine, but it’s time not having the ability to ride the bike due to simple failings....so I’ll only be buying locally in future. If you’re really handy with tools then that’s probably less of a concern, but as I’m a useless fool mechanically speaking, it’s been a bit of a faff.

fenix

Seriously ?

I think you're worrying far too much about the Frame.
Look at the pro peleton. There's no one manufacturer that dominates. It really is not about the bike.

Get the canyon if you fancy it. Plenty of races have been won on it.
Giant is a nice bike too.

I'd probably get that and spend the £1500 on something you would notice. Like a nice holiday with the bike.

joe_totale-2

Why wouldn't the Propel be a credible alternative?
Giant bikes are also ridden at World Tour level.

thegreatdivide

I just do not get the love for the Aeroad. I've got one on a long loan at the moment (a mate was trying to sell me it, and it's ended up living here since last June). It came with Cosmic Pro Exalith wheels, which felt really dead, so I stuck my 404 FCs on and the ride was still meh. So the bike's been gathering dust on the rack.

OP there are so many other good bikes out there compared to a bland Aeroad, and who knows what will be on the cards by the time you retire next year.

As for that Hambini guy...

redvision

thegreatdivide said:

I just do not get the love for the Aeroad. I've got one on a long loan at the moment (a mate was trying to sell me it, and it's ended up living here since last June). It came with Cosmic Pro Exalith wheels, which felt really dead, so I stuck my 404 FCs on and the ride was still meh. So the bike's been gathering dust on the rack.

OP there are so many other good bikes out there compared to a bland Aeroad, and who knows what will be on the cards by the time you retire next year.

As for that Hambini guy...

I think the love for the aeroad isn't so much about the ride quality but the speed of the bike.

Have to give Canyon credit, it's what 5/6 years old yet still pretty much the most aero road bike on the market.

Sounds like they are having major issues with the replacement model though - although not sure if that's design or production.

OP, personally I'm not a fan of giant bikes, however, they are a very popular brand and produce some great bikes.

My advice is find a dealer and take the propel or whichever model you like the look of for a test ride. You will soon know if it's the bike for you.

w00dster

Have to admit I see where The Great Divide is coming from. Really took me about a year to fall for its charms. I’ve made mine a tad lighter, it’s just over 7.5kgs, which for an aero bike with 60mm wheels is pretty good.
I was in a very lucky position when I bought mine, the finance director had released funds for a new Madone or Systemsix (£7k). During the testing of the Madone the Canyon sale started. Like The Great Divide I’d had a friends Aeroad to test, as I wanted a bike to race on (both road and crit), I thought the Aeroad was extremely good for the price.
I guess we are all different, some people love the Cervelo S5, I didn’t. Others love the Systemsix, I found it an absolute pig on descents and in the wind. Whereas the Aeroad for its price is just a good fast bike. It is very bland to look at, especially in my stealth black colour way.
As much as I really like mine, I wouldn’t have another.

davep1

I've had a Giant Propel for 5 years, no issues with the frame. It's not the basic one, one level up, but I love it, cost me £1500. Just before I bought it, I tested a £2.5k model of the Propel, which was SO good I nearly convinced myself to find the extra grand.
As others have said though, the Aeroad is a good bike, and I know plenty of people that love theirs.
More important than any of this is what YOU actually think of the ride. I tried a Fuji aero bike when I was looking at the Propel, on looks it would have won (price and kit were comparable) but the ride was noticeably harsher than the Propel's.

amrushton

Plenty of makers have a breakage policy in their business model. Cannondale were/are known as 'crack n fail' and Pinarello had issues. i noticed Hambini also mentioned that weak point on the bb shell moulding. It's when the get scanned and the frame suffers voids and non-compaction that really irritates me. Giant have control over their own plant/manufacture whereas Canyon outsource.

roadrunner20

I've got canyon aeroad cf slx and it's a great bike, once you get it upto speed it flys (fitness dependant on how long it flys for!).

Canyon service on the other hand has been terrible, I originally bought a 2012 ultimate slx for racing years ago when canyon just started out and service was fantastic, literally brilliant.

Fast forward to 2018 when I bought bike and its god awful, bike arrived in bad state with front disc bent /warped and after many phonecall and emails they just said "fix yourself or take to lbs".... Had to buy a new rotor off the bat so very unhappy with that and still to this day 0 reply or apology! (end of rant)

Regarding Hambini guy, his just a total..........