"Are you going diving or why are you wearing the wetsuit?" my wife asks me. Impudence! "That's not a wetsuit!" I protest. "It's a racing bike look - totally hip!" Streamlined. Body-hugging. Dynamic. It has to be now, because I'm going graveling, e-graveling! "But it looks like a shrink tube," says my wife, looking at me a little pityingly. Then I'm off.
For decades, I was a committed mountain biker with a convincing mountain biker look: the casual, loose-fitting athlete's twist played around my partially toned body. I was able to easily transfer the problem-zone concealing clothing style into my age-appropriate E-MTB phase. Same style, less bounce in the legs, but more bounce in the bike. All good. But then the Canyon Endurace:ON was parked at the TOUR editorial office. The guys with the shaved legs were clearly unfamiliar with the concept of motor assistance in a road racer. I, on the other hand, am a convinced minimal-assist user and now know how to utilise the potential of this category for myself and my training. A few well-placed, disparaging words later, I was allowed to have the motorised vehicle - to test its usefulness. A racing bike with a Fazua motor. And because the clothes have to match the bike, I now look like a diver in my wife's eyes.
Actually, a wetsuit wouldn't be a bad idea today: it's been pouring with rain for the last few days. Now the ground is soaked with moisture, the trails are dripping and the muddy water is ankle-deep in every dip. I usually leave my e-MTB on days like this and reluctantly go for a run. Alternatively, I can sink into the seat snail and munch on some chocolate to help me cope with the weather. But not today. Today I'm getting on my e-gravel bike in my black lycra skin. Although the Canyon Endurace:ON is sold as an e-road bike, I don't think the manufacturer has positioned it in the best possible way.
The frame can take wide 40 studded tyres and mudguards. The long rear triangle improves traction and ensures a smooth ride. None of this is necessary on the road. The riding position with the fairly high front is also relaxed and therefore ideal for light off-road use. At over 15 kilos, the bike also weighs more than twice as much as a normal road bike - so it's no wonder that fans of road cycling can't get on with it. But I am a fan of the Fazua motor system. The Bavarian drive works quietly and very naturally. Above all, the crank work beyond the 25 km/h limit is completely decoupled from the motor. I set myself two hours of brisk cycling on rain-soaked gravel. Komoot predicts 800 metres of elevation gain over 50 kilometres, with gradients of up to 25 percent. Thanks to the motor, that's nothing to make me break out in a cold sweat. But I still want to see sweat, so I set the Fazua unit to a sporty setting: I want a maximum of 200 watts of help from the motor when I'm pedalling at 350 watts. Here we go.
Find out what test rider Chris Schleker had to say about the Canyon Endurace:ON in the test from EMTB 6/2021. You can download the test report as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.49 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in EMTB. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
Canyon Endurace:ON
Price 2999 Euro / Wheel size 29 inch / Weight 15.2 kilos
Canyon offers the E-Roadbike at a really competitive price. You will hardly find any other bike in the motorised road bike sector for less than 3000 euros. The wheels are therefore supplied in a rather heavy set. Beyond that, however, the Endurace:ON is sensibly and functionally equipped. The Shimano GRX shifting and braking group works very smoothly and decelerates reliably. Thanks to the even more powerful 2022 Fazua Ride 50 motor (now with 300 watts and 58 Newton metres), the gear ratio is perfectly adequate, even for steep ramps. The standard tyres are only suitable for road use. However, we were able to fit tyres up to 42 mm wide in the frame without any problems and still had room for mudguards. All in all, an inexpensive (second) carefree bike for autumn and winter use and also a great, sporty commuter.
Two alternatives
E-gravel bikes with minimal-assist motors are in vogue. In addition to the Fazua motor, more and more manufacturers are installing the fairly lightweight Shimano EP8 with a small battery. And Specialized offers the SL-1.1 motor known from the Levo SL in the Creo SL EVO gravel bike.
