High end aluminium bikes - Canyon, Rose or Cannondale?
Discussion
I'm debating a new bike and I think I've decided that aluminium probably suits me better than carbon. My budget is the equivalent of about £1,200 but thanks to the joys of 8% VAT it goes a bit further than in little old England.
For me light weight is more important than aero, most of my rides are about 40k with 800-1,000m of climbing spread across a couple of cat 3 or 4s and I'm far from powerfully built. I'm looking at a 52/36 chainset but will probably fit a 11-32 as a 'bail out' option for the high mountains. I want Ultegra (or SRAM Force) and circa 7kg weight in a 56 or 57 frame size and at the moment I think I've narrowed it down to the following:
Canyon Ultimate AL SLX 9.0 - we get a limited range of Canyon bikes here due to a trademark dispute, and they don't actually say 'Canyon' on them anywhere. The spec is great (full Ultegra, Mavic Ksyrium Elite S WTS wheels) but the frame isn't as nicely finished as the CAAD
Cannondale CAAD 10 Ultegra - I can buy from my LBS which is a big plus. Spec is similar but not quite as good with a Cannondale chainset running FSA rings and Aksium wheels. The frame is better finished with smooth welds but the price is almost £200 more than the Ultimate
Rose Xeon RS-3000 - basically the same spec as the Canyon. It's easier to tweak (I can order it with a 11-32 cassette) and there are more options for wheels, finishing kit etc, but I get the feeling it's probably not as good a bike as the Canyon. Price is about the same but I think this one is in third place for the moment.
As an alternative for about £100 more than the CAAD I could have a carbon Canyon Ultimate SL in the same spec as the alu one, but then we're starting to get into budget creep territory...
What does the PH community think? I wanted to build up a Bowman Palace but it ends up costing much more than a built bike for the same spec. An Allez Smartweld isn't racy enough for me, Trek doesn't light my fire as a brand and the usual UK suspects like Planet X/Ribble/Dolan don't light my fire.
For me light weight is more important than aero, most of my rides are about 40k with 800-1,000m of climbing spread across a couple of cat 3 or 4s and I'm far from powerfully built. I'm looking at a 52/36 chainset but will probably fit a 11-32 as a 'bail out' option for the high mountains. I want Ultegra (or SRAM Force) and circa 7kg weight in a 56 or 57 frame size and at the moment I think I've narrowed it down to the following:
Canyon Ultimate AL SLX 9.0 - we get a limited range of Canyon bikes here due to a trademark dispute, and they don't actually say 'Canyon' on them anywhere. The spec is great (full Ultegra, Mavic Ksyrium Elite S WTS wheels) but the frame isn't as nicely finished as the CAAD
Cannondale CAAD 10 Ultegra - I can buy from my LBS which is a big plus. Spec is similar but not quite as good with a Cannondale chainset running FSA rings and Aksium wheels. The frame is better finished with smooth welds but the price is almost £200 more than the Ultimate
Rose Xeon RS-3000 - basically the same spec as the Canyon. It's easier to tweak (I can order it with a 11-32 cassette) and there are more options for wheels, finishing kit etc, but I get the feeling it's probably not as good a bike as the Canyon. Price is about the same but I think this one is in third place for the moment.
As an alternative for about £100 more than the CAAD I could have a carbon Canyon Ultimate SL in the same spec as the alu one, but then we're starting to get into budget creep territory...
What does the PH community think? I wanted to build up a Bowman Palace but it ends up costing much more than a built bike for the same spec. An Allez Smartweld isn't racy enough for me, Trek doesn't light my fire as a brand and the usual UK suspects like Planet X/Ribble/Dolan don't light my fire.
The price difference between the Canyon and CAAD isn't a big deal, but my concern is the wheels where the Canyon ones seem to be quite a lot better. If I put aside £2-300 for an upgrade the CAAD then becomes £1,500 against a little bit over £1,000 for the Ultimate AL which puts me into sub 7kg Ultimate CF territory with a bit of change.
Am I going to notice a big difference between Aksium and Ksyrium wheels?
Am I going to notice a big difference between Aksium and Ksyrium wheels?
A 11 week wait isn't going to happen that's for sure! I've mailed Canyon to ask about lead times, they also have a few older model AL frames built with Di2 which are within budget, but I'd have to go and collect it from Koblenz as they can't ship anything with Canyon stickers to me and I'm not keen on the 10 hour round trip...
Canyon can't ship with their stickers on because someone else owns the trademark for 'Canyon' in Switzerland. As a result we get a limited range just branded as 'Ultimate' or 'Aeroroad' as per the one below:
https://www.purecycling.ch/roadbikes/bike.html?b=1...
On a similar note you can't buy an Apple Watch here as another company owns that trademark. It expires in December this year so the expectation is that they won't go on sale until then in CH.
Having played with 105 and Ultegra equipped bikes I prefer the feel of the higher end shifters. My current bike has SRAM Force (older 10 speed version) and to me the 105 feels a bit 'mushy' and the travel of the shift paddles is too long. Also, if I remember correctly there's about half a kilo difference in weight between the two so I'm pretty sure it's worth the £150 extra.
If I go for the Palace the frame is £565 delivered, then I need about £650 to cover Fulcrum 5 wheels, Ultegra groupset, a seatpost and a couple of other little bits from Wiggle. These prices are ex-VAT so adding circa 10% for tax and handling on arrival gets me to about £1,350 or about 2k CHF. That's more than the CAAD and 400 CHF more than the Canyon and I'm not convinced it's worth the extra.
https://www.purecycling.ch/roadbikes/bike.html?b=1...
On a similar note you can't buy an Apple Watch here as another company owns that trademark. It expires in December this year so the expectation is that they won't go on sale until then in CH.
Having played with 105 and Ultegra equipped bikes I prefer the feel of the higher end shifters. My current bike has SRAM Force (older 10 speed version) and to me the 105 feels a bit 'mushy' and the travel of the shift paddles is too long. Also, if I remember correctly there's about half a kilo difference in weight between the two so I'm pretty sure it's worth the £150 extra.
If I go for the Palace the frame is £565 delivered, then I need about £650 to cover Fulcrum 5 wheels, Ultegra groupset, a seatpost and a couple of other little bits from Wiggle. These prices are ex-VAT so adding circa 10% for tax and handling on arrival gets me to about £1,350 or about 2k CHF. That's more than the CAAD and 400 CHF more than the Canyon and I'm not convinced it's worth the extra.
pablo said:
The weight difference between 11sp 105 and Ultegra is under 200g. I get the point about shifter feel though but as I ride 10sp Force too, I know that anything will have a softer throw feel in comparison.
Fair enough, I thought it was more than that. Are the wheels on the Canyon much better than the ones on the CAAD? They're the main difference between the bikes, and the thing that puts the Canyon options above the CAAD and self-build options. I'm not sure what I want in terms of frame, just that it needs to be more race than endurance and light. At the moment I have a carbon framed disc braked bike running carbon rims and Novatec hubs but I also have a steel commuter so want to get something lighter and more focused for proper rides, and someone has offered what I paid for the bike 18 months ago so I thought it might be a good time to upgrade.
I like the more 'boutique' nature of the Palace but I also like the VFM of the Canyon and the look and local-purchaseability of the CAAD 10, it's too hard to choose!
On the tyre front, I have some 25c Veloflex Masters which will go on whatever I buy so tyres aren't a concern.
I like the more 'boutique' nature of the Palace but I also like the VFM of the Canyon and the look and local-purchaseability of the CAAD 10, it's too hard to choose!
On the tyre front, I have some 25c Veloflex Masters which will go on whatever I buy so tyres aren't a concern.
Mr Will said:
Seen this one: https://www.canyon.com/en/outlet/list.html?utm_sou...
11 speed DI2 for just over £1200...
Yeah, looks good but they won't ship it to me, so I have to get it sent to a friend in Germany or collect it in person, which means paying German tax (11% more) but even then it's still tempting.11 speed DI2 for just over £1200...
Does anyone know the difference between the 2013 frameset and the current one?
Jimbo. said:
I'd be tempted to go for something different like the Kinesis Aithein, assuming you suit (and I expect you will) its somewhat stretched geometry. In bright green for good measure. Canyons, as good value as they may be, are found underneath every MAMIL you see.
Aha, everyone you see here rides a BMC though and Canyons are reasonably scarce. I'm leaning towards the Cannondale if the shop will do a deal on better wheels, but the Ultimate AL is good value...Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff