I was particularly looking forward to the Spectral:On because it is so easy to handle and really fun to ride. The bike is even easy to pull into the manual. A rarity with E-MTBs. The bike coped well with continuous use, exclusively off-road. Trail fun took centre stage on every ride, so the bike was not spared. Jumps and rough descents were the order of the day. In five months, we covered a good 1100 kilometres and 30000 metres in altitude.
Any abnormalities in durability? After approx. 720 kilometres, the rear suspension developed play. The bushings that allow the linkage between the rocker arm and the shock to move were slightly worn out, but the shortcoming was not noticeable when riding. According to Canyon, the bushings are a wear part, and replacing them is cheap and unproblematic. Nevertheless, the wobble came early. The classic wear parts such as the chain, cassette and brake pads did not show any increased wear compared to a normal mountain bike. However, there was one significant defect: when shifting through several gears, the chain broke the second largest aluminium sprocket of the cassette. The solution: Never shift over several sprockets at the same time under load. With Sram, this is taken care of by the technology, which only allows one gear to be shifted at a time. With Shimano - an SLX/XT mix is fitted to the bike - the rider is responsible. Discipline and experience are therefore required when climbing steep ramps.
There was a surprise at the last stop of the endurance test. On our roller dynamometer, we measured the reach height in a before/after comparison. The bike lost a whopping 290 metres in altitude. However, the loss is not due to the battery. In the counter-check with a new energy source, the bike only delivered slightly more reach. Even a software update did not bring any improvement.
Conclusion on the Canyon Spectral:On 7.0 by Florentin Vesenbeckh, Deputy Editor-in-Chief EMTB:
The Spectral:On was not spared and was a fun companion on trail and enduro excursions. Even though there were a few minor anomalies, I was surprised by the unproblematic handling. The electronics didn't make a peep in five months and also survived various mud baths and rain battles without complaint.
DEFECTS
- 515 km: The first failure. A rough shift under load bends a sprocket. A new cassette is needed.
- 720 km: The rear triangle has play. The bushings are worn out and will be replaced.
- 750 km: New front brake pads due. Not unusual after approx. 20,000 metres, even on a normal bike.
GETUNT
- 75 km: The grips have to make way for the new SQlab rubbers. The reason: work-related curiosity.
- 105 km: The new Rockshox Lyrik RC2 enduro fork comes to the front for testing purposes.
- 750 km: The rear tyre is toothless, the tread is worn. Schwalbe's Eddy Current tyres are fitted to the bike.
Price / weight 4299 Euro / 22.1 kg
Spring travel 150 mm / 150 mm
Wheel size 29" front / 27.5"+ hi.
Mileage 30,098 hm / 1125 km
Reach height new condition 1263 hm
Reach height end of test 975 hm
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
