I'm usually far too long. At least for the test bikes that are tested by the BIKE editorial team. I need a bike in XL - preferably for every area of use. Whether trail, extended tour, marathon or alpine descent, my bike should be able to do it all without bending at the knees. As an accessory tester, my wishes are very different. After all, I'm 195 centimetres tall and weigh 90 kilos and like to modify or add things. So I looked around for a bike with robust equipment, decent suspension travel and a wide range of use.
My choice fell on the Canyon Nerve ES 9.0: Shimano components, stable DT Swiss wheels, 200 millimetre discs front and rear, and 140 millimetres of travel were convincing. I browsed through the Perfect Positioning System on the Canyon website and ordered a bike in size XL. But after the first hundred kilometres, my right knee said it didn't fit. So off to the measurement specialists at Specialized. The ergonomics expert's verdict: stem too long, seat post too straight and too short, wrong saddle. Aha!
No more pain on the next test lap, great riding position and total control. Apart from the miserable centre of gravity, which I always have on bikes with a high bottom bracket - fate. Over the next few months, I thrashed the bike through the marathon on Lake Garda, over countless trails on the Isar, in NRW and over a few mountain pastures in the Alps. I wore out everything you can wear out: Tyres, brake pads, chains. But there were no nasty defects. At the first sign of malfunction, the fork was sent for a service. The shock absorber would now be in for a similar fate if the test wasn't over.
ConclusionAbsolutely robust bike with manageable maintenance requirements and great riding characteristics.
Change:
- Saddle exchanged for SQ Lab 611
- Stem swapped for a shorter and steeper one
Web: www.canyon.de
