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Downhill duelCanyon Sender CFR vs Pivot Phoenix 29

Dimitri Lehner

 · 30.03.2021

Downhill duel: Canyon Sender CFR vs Pivot Phoenix 29Photo: Wolfgang Watzke
Downhill duel: Canyon Sender CFR vs Pivot Phoenix 29
Two high-calibre World Cup cars: Bernard Kerr's winning bike against the brand new service car of super racer Troy Brosnan. Wow, this is going to be tough!

Here we have the pinnacle of bike evolution: World Cup downhillers. This is the Formula 1 of bike sport. But unlike cars, we can buy and ride these speedsters in series. Great fun! We wanted to pit the signature bikes of Hardline winner Bernard Kerr and super racer Troy Brosnan against each other. Unfortunately, Pivot sent us a model underneath. This is also very close to Bernard's bike, but cheaper. Because the signature bike can only be bought in series from (!) € 10399.

In 2016, direct-to-consumer Canyon launched its first Sender big bike on the market. It was a hit right from the start, because the Koblenz-based company left nothing to chance. They hired world champion Fabien Barel to develop it, entered the World Cup and sent freeride heroes to the Red Bull Rampage. So it's no wonder that we also liked the Sender. The bike was the ideal mix of race and park - and looked deadly chic with the shock nested in the seat tube. Now it would have been easy to turn this Sender into a 29er version, but instead the Koblenz-based company made a huge splash and worked out completely new kinematics, rasped weight out of the frame (650 g lighter), reduced the pedal kickback, stretched the geo and gave the rear triangle more progression and fat ball bearings.

Canyon eye-catcher: Instead of being hidden in the seat dome, the shock of the new Sender is located on the down tube. The engineers still designed it very stylishly, but it no longer looks quite as elegant as its predecessor. However, the kinematics have been improved. Very good!Photo: Wolfgang WatzkeCanyon eye-catcher: Instead of being hidden in the seat dome, the shock of the new Sender is located on the down tube. The engineers still designed it very stylishly, but it no longer looks quite as elegant as its predecessor. However, the kinematics have been improved. Very good!

Pivot from Arizona refurbished its downhiller to a similar extent, ripping out everything: bathroom, shower, toilet. Anyone who remembers the sweetly curved frame of its predecessor will be amazed at the much more angular shape. Suspension mastermind Dave Weagle designed the kinematics of the Phoenix and took the wishes of the racing team into account.

Eye-catcher Pivot: The 29er Phoenix has become more masculine, with angular tubes and clear lines. With its ornate frame, the predecessor was still reminiscent of an ice meringue, but no longer. The lever position has been moved in front of the seat tube. Dave Weagle also devised this kinematics.Photo: Wolfgang WatzkeEye-catcher Pivot: The 29er Phoenix has become more masculine, with angular tubes and clear lines. With its ornate frame, the predecessor was still reminiscent of an ice meringue, but no longer. The lever position has been moved in front of the seat tube. Dave Weagle also devised this kinematics.

The duel between Canyon transmitter CFR & Pivot Phoenix 29 Saint from FREERIDE 4/2020 can be conveniently downloaded as a PDF below the article.

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Duel of the worldcuppers: The premium brand Pivot (right) can't compete with the direct-to-consumer Canyon in terms of price, that's for sure. The entry-level model already costs € 7299.Photo: Wolfgang WatzkeDuel of the worldcuppers: The premium brand Pivot (right) can't compete with the direct-to-consumer Canyon in terms of price, that's for sure. The entry-level model already costs € 7299.

Downloads:

Duel: Canyon Sender CFR vs Pivot Phoenix 29 (pdf)

Dimitri Lehner

Dimitri Lehner is a qualified sports scientist. He studied at the German Sport University Cologne. He is fascinated by almost every discipline of fun sports - besides biking, his favourites are windsurfing, skiing and skydiving. His latest passion: the gravel bike. He recently rode it from Munich to the Baltic Sea - and found it marvellous. And exhausting. Wonderfully exhausting!

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