Endurance road bikes

[Spesh]

I'm looking to buy an endurance focused road bike with more relaxed geometry than an out and out race bike for longer days in the saddle this summer. I have been specifically looking at the Canyon Endurace CF SL 8 Di2, as well as other usual culprits from Scott, Cannondale, BMC etc.

The Canyon seems to fit the bill well, however there seems to be talk among owners that although it is more endurance focussed, it is still quite suitable for road racing. According to Canyons website, I would be a size Large (190cm tall & 91cm inner leg). My only concern is that large sized bikes have previously felt rather drawn out in terms of reach and I don't want to be in a situation where I am trying to reverse engineer the bike to fit once it's purchased, as these can only be bought online.

I'd love to hear comments from any owners of this model, or other bikes in the endurance segment.

Anthony

[RLE]

Used to run an Aeroad and Endurace simultaneously. Di2, semi compact 11-28 with race spec wheels on the Aeroad. All my PR’s on Strava are pretty much exclusively on the Endurace......standard DT Swiss wheelset, ultegra mechanical R8000, compact 11-32. Says it all really although I’m not a racer by any means.

Sold the Aeroad as it simply didn’t get any use. The Endurace was my go to for rides exceeding two hours but do find it a little dull in comparison which in fairness is to be expected.

Canyon sized me as large. 6ft 1, longer legs and arms but shorter torso. I’d agree with others that it feels stretched out and probably on reflection I’d have sized down. No. I would have sized down. Even with a couple of bike fits I’m struggling to dial out some shoulder and neck pain. Narrower bars helped as did flipping the stem. Now experimenting with crank length but that’s another story.

Shame you are not nearer as you would have been more than welcome to try mine to get an idea of the geometry. You are a little taller so the large frame may suit but appreciate it is a lottery. I was lucky to source mine direct via the outlet pre Brexit. Given the price, the risk was mitigated somewhat but don’t think I’ll be buying another bike blind.

Not sure where Canyon sit vfm these days. Quite fancy treating myself to a new bike but may go the custom route.

[Spesh]

Used to run an Aeroad and Endurace simultaneously. Di2, semi compact 11-28 with race spec wheels on the Aeroad. All my PR’s on Strava are pretty much exclusively on the Endurace......standard DT Swiss wheelset, ultegra mechanical R8000, compact 11-32. Says it all really although I’m not a racer by any means.

Sold the Aeroad as it simply didn’t get any use. The Endurace was my go to for rides exceeding two hours but do find it a little dull in comparison which in fairness is to be expected.

Canyon sized me as large. 6ft 1, longer legs and arms but shorter torso. I’d agree with others that it feels stretched out and probably on reflection I’d have sized down. No. I would have sized down. Even with a couple of bike fits I’m struggling to dial out some shoulder and neck pain. Narrower bars helped as did flipping the stem. Now experimenting with crank length but that’s another story.

Shame you are not nearer as you would have been more than welcome to try mine to get an idea of the geometry. You are a little taller so the large frame may suit but appreciate it is a lottery. I was lucky to source mine direct via the outlet pre Brexit. Given the price, the risk was mitigated somewhat but don’t think I’ll be buying another bike blind.

Not sure where Canyon sit vfm these days. Quite fancy treating myself to a new bike but may go the custom route.

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

I'm in a similar situation to you, having longer legs in relation to my torso, so usually find myself on a medium (56cm) frame. However this puts the saddle high and increases the drop to the bars. However I agree with you, that if you are possibly between sizes it is usually better to go smaller.

I'm popping in to see my local bike fitter on Wednesday with my current bike, but obviously I'll be putting myself in a position where I'm obliged to buy from them as he is setting aside an hour for me free of charge. That's the main appeal of the Canyon really. You get a lot more bike for the money being an online retailer.

[Montello]

I have one, wrote a review here. https://www.redvelo.co.uk/cycling/canyon-review/

I’ve now done probably 50,000 miles on it. It’s a great bike.

I’m 180cm tall and have a M.

[Dakar]

Have a BMC and a Enigma
Similar sizing but size up to a 58, and shorten the stem to a 80mm
Overall a better fit, due to the long legs and short torso
For me a Giant Defy is the best endurance bike for the money..

[neillp]

Not sure if you are anywhere near Dorking but it is one of the only places in the UK where you can actually try Canyon bikes

https://just-pedal.com/bikehire/

Also worth checking your current bike versus the canyon on geometry geeks, I always think stack and reach are the best starting point

https://geometrygeeks.bike/

[Spesh]

Not sure if you are anywhere near Dorking but it is one of the only places in the UK where you can actually try Canyon bikes

https://just-pedal.com/bikehire/

Also worth checking your current bike versus the canyon on geometry geeks, I always think stack and reach are the best starting point

https://geometrygeeks.bike/

That's great Neil, thanks! Just what I'm after.

I'm near East Grinstead so it's not a long journey to Dorking at all. I've already checked the geometry against my current bike and the Canyon is more relaxed, but not excessively so.

[SimonH]

When I broke my beloved Dolan (bought from here!), I decided I'd probably go for a Giant Defy as at 58 my days on a racy frame are gone, but when I rode it didn't get on with it, so I rode the TCR and it was perfect so bought that and love it.

I am the least flexible person on the planet which is why I went down that path, in terms of endurance, well I don't know what sort of distance you are thinking but I did 90 miles on the TCR this weekend in perfect comfort and have done plenty of 100 mile plus rides on it with no issues.

The problem with Canyons for me has always been whilst they are great bikes you need to try first, but if that is an option for you then you should definitely give them a go.

In short, keep an open mind, test ride some bikes and choose the one that works for you.

[deepreddave]

I'm a low mileage road cyclist but similar proportions to you and I bought a 60cm SLR Domane without riding it as it sized up very similar to my 58cm Equilibrium that fit me well. It was a great price second hand, having only covered 500 miles with Di2 and carbon wheels, so not a financial gamble.

I compared stack/reach etc beforehand but the key factor was it having a seatmast that comes in just 2 sizes and only the longer one allowed for my required saddle height.

My main takeaway would be to book a test ride if you can but otherwise use geometrygeeks to get an idea of fit to ensure it can be tweaked within your comfort range as needs be. For larger bikes that often means swapping out the handlebars for something narrower unless you're a prop forward .

That said, I'm not monitoring bike prices but we seem to be back to pre pandemic VFM second hand but with new prices having risen significantly for the higher specs at least.

[xxnick1975]

When I broke my beloved Dolan (bought from here!), I decided I'd probably go for a Giant Defy as at 58 my days on a racy frame are gone, but when I rode it didn't get on with it, so I rode the TCR and it was perfect so bought that and love it.

I am the least flexible person on the planet which is why I went down that path, in terms of endurance, well I don't know what sort of distance you are thinking but I did 90 miles on the TCR this weekend in perfect comfort and have done plenty of 100 mile plus rides on it with no issues.

The problem with Canyons for me has always been whilst they are great bikes you need to try first, but if that is an option for you then you should definitely give them a go.

In short, keep an open mind, test ride some bikes and choose the one that works for you.

Totally agree with this. Loads of marketing behind all these categories, and this bike fit stuff.

You need to try a few I think if you are not sure of fit

Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk

[Bravo73]

That's great Neil, thanks! Just what I'm after.

I'm near East Grinstead so it's not a long journey to Dorking at all.

I’ve got my eye on a new Aeroad and I’m booked into Just Pedal at the end of April for a 2hr hire. The largest frame that they have in stock is a Large Ultimate but I understand that the geometry between the Aeroad & Ultimate is pretty similar, if not identical. I’m between an L & an XL but they don’t stock any XLs in their hire fleet.

I’ve also got to come a lot further than East Grinstead, unfortunately. (I’m in Oxfordshire).

Also, you might not be aware already but if you do hire from Just Pedal (which costs £35ish) then you get a voucher for free delivery & box from Canyon. That is normally an additional £70 charge when you buy a bike.

[Bravo73]

I have been specifically looking at the Canyon Endurace CF SL 8 Di2

You have probably already seen it but Just Pedal have got exactly the bike that you are interested in on their hire fleet.

Happy testing! 👌

[trident-7]

Canyon have a 30 day money back guarantee so you could order, receive, try for size, reject, return if needs be

[trident-7]

I’ve got a Medium Aeroad with a longer 130mm stem, a setback seat post and it has the Race Pro geometry. The Canyon size calculator, however, has me down as an L.

I’m 6’1” but with relatively long torso relative to leg length.

I was getting a lot of neck, thoracic back pain & shoulder pain. As such I had adjusted my existing road bike higher at the front end, & with a shorter stem. i then had a brilliant bike fit where the fitting guy had me go longer & lower at the front i.e. the opposite of what I had been doing. It completely got rid of all my pains in a very short time.

I’m in the market for a new road bike & really wanted another Aeroad. However the geometry has been relaxed slightly, I’m told that I can’t have a longer stemmed cockpit than in the advertised spec, & they don’t do the setback seat post at the moment.

[Spesh]

I went down to Just Pedal today to test the Endurace CF SL 8 Di2, size large. I was pleasantly surprised, the bike is very comfortable and the reach does not feel drawn out in any way. I was able to fully reach the hoods with reasonable forward adjustment left in the saddle. The bike still felt like it had a racey edge to it, but the increased stack height to what I am used to put me in a much more comfortable position, with much less reaching down for the bars.

I've actually placed an order for that exact bike this evening off the back of the demo using the discount code they gave me.

[neillp]

I went down to Just Pedal today to test the Endurace CF SL 8 Di2, size large. I was pleasantly surprised, the bike is very comfortable and the reach does not feel drawn out in any way. I was able to fully reach the hoods with reasonable forward adjustment left in the saddle. The bike still felt like it had a racey edge to it, but the increased stack height to what I am used to put me in a much more comfortable position, with much less reaching down for the bars.

I've actually placed an order for that exact bike this evening off the back of the demo using the discount code they gave me.

Pleased it worked out for you 👍

[Montello]

I went down to Just Pedal today to test the Endurace CF SL 8 Di2, size large. I was pleasantly surprised, the bike is very comfortable and the reach does not feel drawn out in any way. I was able to fully reach the hoods with reasonable forward adjustment left in the saddle. The bike still felt like it had a racey edge to it, but the increased stack height to what I am used to put me in a much more comfortable position, with much less reaching down for the bars.

I've actually placed an order for that exact bike this evening off the back of the demo using the discount code they gave me.

You won’t be dissatisfied, it’s a great bike. Very happy with mine.