Canyon Experience Weekend
Discussion
Was held last weekend at the Mercedes Museum in Brooklands (home to a few Sunday Services)
They had a fair few of the range on display, some pro bikes and were doing test rides out the back if you brought your own pedals
Some (phone) pics
Only Puritos bike looked genuine, it was cleared used, stickers torn, paint chipped. All the other bikes were clearly show examples.
This jacked up V class is obviously a commercial tie in between Mercedes and Canyon in Germany, hence the venue.
Anyone else go?
Have to say though it was disappointing! Their pre event hype made it sound better. They talked of discounts if you ordered at the event. Initially 5% then it became £250 over £2K. But again no signage on the day hinting as such. They asked for you to register and tickets would be emailed nearer the date which also entered you into a draw. Seems I wasn't the only one to never receive a ticket (it was free but there was a "win a bike" comp as an incentive to register)
The range was just spread out over the area, there was no logic to what the bikes were. Where they fitted in the range. I'm not looking for a MTB and my knowledge on them ran out some years ago, but it would have been nice to learn something. Is a Lux better than a Neuron?
No bikes had their RRP prices on. Really?!?!
They talked pre event of having people on hand to measure you up, since obviously they only do online, makes sense. But where I expected some kind of frame with a ruler at head height, one for measuring inside leg, arm span etc. Nothing! No "get yourself measured here" and then tell them if they want a road bike they'll need a "S/M/L..."
Read some things online and it seems that with test rides, people were kinda just given a bike "near" their size and off they went.
What I am in the market for is a Speedmax. (A CF 8.0 poss Di2) And the 2 you can see above were the sum total of them onsite. And NONE were available for test rides. A sales assistant was chatting to a guy about it and was recommending to him a XL. And he was about 2" taller than me. So it seemed odd. Especially when I was expecting to be a M. I loitered for a good 15mins by the CF in the pic. Examining every little detail. While they were chatting 2ft away. I wanted to ask a couple questions. (and if possible throw my leg over it briefly) As soon as he finished chatting, assistant literally wandered off towards the MTBs and was then collared by someone else. (maybe it was me!
)
They did have some of their women and mens pro team (Tiff Cromwell) and Ned f
king Boulting was there as well to interview blandly. 
I have to say it turned me off the brand a little.
Though in fairness their expected delivery time for a CF in M is too close to my A race, so it's probably not going to happen this year)
They don't do these events that regularly either, so it's a missed opportunity to me. I'd love to know how many orders it generated. But imagine if it was better run where people became fans of the brand.
What I did come away with was seeing the AMG driving day thing and hearing those V8s hammer up and down is great!
They had a fair few of the range on display, some pro bikes and were doing test rides out the back if you brought your own pedals
Some (phone) pics
Only Puritos bike looked genuine, it was cleared used, stickers torn, paint chipped. All the other bikes were clearly show examples.
This jacked up V class is obviously a commercial tie in between Mercedes and Canyon in Germany, hence the venue.
Anyone else go?
Have to say though it was disappointing! Their pre event hype made it sound better. They talked of discounts if you ordered at the event. Initially 5% then it became £250 over £2K. But again no signage on the day hinting as such. They asked for you to register and tickets would be emailed nearer the date which also entered you into a draw. Seems I wasn't the only one to never receive a ticket (it was free but there was a "win a bike" comp as an incentive to register)
The range was just spread out over the area, there was no logic to what the bikes were. Where they fitted in the range. I'm not looking for a MTB and my knowledge on them ran out some years ago, but it would have been nice to learn something. Is a Lux better than a Neuron?
No bikes had their RRP prices on. Really?!?!
They talked pre event of having people on hand to measure you up, since obviously they only do online, makes sense. But where I expected some kind of frame with a ruler at head height, one for measuring inside leg, arm span etc. Nothing! No "get yourself measured here" and then tell them if they want a road bike they'll need a "S/M/L..."
Read some things online and it seems that with test rides, people were kinda just given a bike "near" their size and off they went.
What I am in the market for is a Speedmax. (A CF 8.0 poss Di2) And the 2 you can see above were the sum total of them onsite. And NONE were available for test rides. A sales assistant was chatting to a guy about it and was recommending to him a XL. And he was about 2" taller than me. So it seemed odd. Especially when I was expecting to be a M. I loitered for a good 15mins by the CF in the pic. Examining every little detail. While they were chatting 2ft away. I wanted to ask a couple questions. (and if possible throw my leg over it briefly) As soon as he finished chatting, assistant literally wandered off towards the MTBs and was then collared by someone else. (maybe it was me!
)They did have some of their women and mens pro team (Tiff Cromwell) and Ned f
king Boulting was there as well to interview blandly. I have to say it turned me off the brand a little.
Though in fairness their expected delivery time for a CF in M is too close to my A race, so it's probably not going to happen this year)They don't do these events that regularly either, so it's a missed opportunity to me. I'd love to know how many orders it generated. But imagine if it was better run where people became fans of the brand.
What I did come away with was seeing the AMG driving day thing and hearing those V8s hammer up and down is great!
I went on Sunday morning hoping to test ride an aerorad. I've currently got a 2008 canyon so was interested to see how a more up to date bike compares. Unfortunately it was a complete shambles!! I signed in then queued up with a couple of other guys who were waiting. Then some other blokes turned up and promptly jumped the queue when one of the mechanics asked who was next! The bloke next to me had been waiting nearly half an hour, these guys had been there 5 mins! I challenged the bloke to say there was a queue and he started ranting at us saying we should have said something, completely ignoring the fact that he had just turned up and wandered straight past the line of people waiting. Anyway, there was a fair bit of heated discussion and I decided I couldn't be bothered so got my ID back and left. It just seemed crazy that they didn't have any kind of system for people to take the test rides in order - they could have handed out tickets or even called names out from the list in the order that people signed in. Instead it was a bit of a free for all, made worse by the fact that people were obviously wandering around looking at the bikes and therefore not lining up in any kind of organised fashion.
Didn't have time to go inside and look at the exhibition either but sounds like I didn't miss much!
Didn't have time to go inside and look at the exhibition either but sounds like I didn't miss much!
I didn't go to this one, but went to the one in Cheshire a few weeks ago.
I was in the market for an Aeroad/Ultimate and got the opportunity to test ride both and check sizing which was the key thing for me. Someone enquired in advance about the Speedmax, but the response was that they were too specific to setup for multiple test rides.
I would agree that the registering system and order of rides was a little bit chaotic, but most people just queued up, remembering who they were after, whilst looking at all the bikes.
For me it did everything I hoped the session would do and the mechanics were great.
I was in the market for an Aeroad/Ultimate and got the opportunity to test ride both and check sizing which was the key thing for me. Someone enquired in advance about the Speedmax, but the response was that they were too specific to setup for multiple test rides.
I would agree that the registering system and order of rides was a little bit chaotic, but most people just queued up, remembering who they were after, whilst looking at all the bikes.
For me it did everything I hoped the session would do and the mechanics were great.
I went early on Sunday and ended up parking in the museum car park because there was no signage and all I could see were the flags where the test ride area was set up. I asked them about this and they said it had been an issue on the Saturday but still no one had done anything about it. I did get a ride very quickly though, as I was early. Only got offered £100 off a £3K bike, though. Am considering it but their lack of configurability is a problem as I want a compact chain set and they only offer semi-compact on the Endurace range. They are very good value, though, up to £1K cheaper than the equivalent Specialized or Cannondale for. Disc Di2.
Vorix said:
I went early on Sunday and ended up parking in the museum car park because there was no signage and all I could see were the flags where the test ride area was set up. I asked them about this and they said it had been an issue on the Saturday but still no one had done anything about it. I did get a ride very quickly though, as I was early. Only got offered £100 off a £3K bike, though. Am considering it but their lack of configurability is a problem as I want a compact chain set and they only offer semi-compact on the Endurace range. They are very good value, though, up to £1K cheaper than the equivalent Specialized or Cannondale for. Disc Di2.
You could go for one of the women's range. Me and my missus both have Enduraces - her's is the womens (still a manly stealth black in case you're worried about buying a pink bike!) and the only difference is that her's has a straight seatpost (mine is layback) and hers has a compact (mine has a semi). Gren said:
You could go for one of the women's range. Me and my missus both have Enduraces - her's is the womens (still a manly stealth black in case you're worried about buying a pink bike!) and the only difference is that her's has a straight seatpost (mine is layback) and hers has a compact (mine has a semi).
Interesting option - the frame geometry is slightly different, but not dramatically - a few mm here and there. I've just been looking at the spec for both again though and realised the cassette is 11-30 and comes with an SS rear derailleur. I like my current 11-32 granny gear which needs a GS rear mech. It is very frustrating Canyon can't offer some basic configuration options that every other manufacturer appears able to. Given their direct supply model I would have thought it would be easy for them.Vorix said:
I went early on Sunday and ended up parking in the museum car park because there was no signage and all I could see were the flags where the test ride area was set up. I asked them about this and they said it had been an issue on the Saturday but still no one had done anything about it. I did get a ride very quickly though, as I was early. Only got offered £100 off a £3K bike, though. Am considering it but their lack of configurability is a problem as I want a compact chain set and they only offer semi-compact on the Endurace range. They are very good value, though, up to £1K cheaper than the equivalent Specialized or Cannondale for. Disc Di2.
It's easy enough to buy a different chainset, fit that and flog the "as new" one off the supplied bike, and you'd still be making a big saving.Vorix said:
Gren said:
You could go for one of the women's range. Me and my missus both have Enduraces - her's is the womens (still a manly stealth black in case you're worried about buying a pink bike!) and the only difference is that her's has a straight seatpost (mine is layback) and hers has a compact (mine has a semi).
Interesting option - the frame geometry is slightly different, but not dramatically - a few mm here and there. I've just been looking at the spec for both again though and realised the cassette is 11-30 and comes with an SS rear derailleur. I like my current 11-32 granny gear which needs a GS rear mech. It is very frustrating Canyon can't offer some basic configuration options that every other manufacturer appears able to. Given their direct supply model I would have thought it would be easy for them.Vorix said:
Well I have given up on Canyon. I have been trying to get in contact with them all week with zero response. No phone number on their website. Perhaps the demo day was so successful they don’t need the business any more.
Have you tried the live chat on their website?I purchased an Endurace last year and had some questions prior to ordering, they were responsive and helpful...
I ended up going to the LBS affiliated with my club and got a great deal on a Giant Defy with everything I want/need. Canyon did come back to me eventually but it all just seemed so painful. They don't even take credit cards, you have to do bank transfer, meaning no payment protection either.
Vorix said:
I ended up going to the LBS affiliated with my club and got a great deal on a Giant Defy with everything I want/need. Canyon did come back to me eventually but it all just seemed so painful. They don't even take credit cards, you have to do bank transfer, meaning no payment protection either.
Fair dos, you pay your money....I paid for my Endurace via my credit card last year...no issues it went straight through.
According to their website.....they still do though....
Edited by wobert on Friday 13th April 19:03
Vorix said:
.... Canyon did come back to me eventually but it all just seemed so painful...
That's the sort of thing that puts me off them. There's no doubting the products are decent. But its the customer service side that's lacking. I don't think it's because they are online only though. It just feels like they feel they don't need to try too hard. They certainly didn't answer too many direct questions on the various social media prior to the event itself.The staff at the event struck me as "events people" Probably had a rudimentary knowledge (maybe even taught by Canyon) but it wasn't what you'd get from a proper shop like Sigma or even the online chat functions with Wiggle
The relative lack of interest makes you wonder if you needed a new drop out at short notice whether you'd be able to get it.
Like I said above, I was pretty close to ordering a SpeedMax at the event. (for the 5% discount) But now, in light of everything, I'm just looking at upgrading my current bike instead.
Ho hum
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