Canyon Lux Trail CF7 - Initial Thoughts

 Fedex didn't deliver the package until 8pm, which makes me sad. I was hoping to get a ride in this afternoon.

Man, I've tried quite a few mountain bikes, and I'm rarely all that happy with them. My first "mountain bike" was a Salsa Mukluk, which I really liked. Hardtail, but a 4" or 4.8" tire will make for plenty of rear cushion and traction. Setup as a drop bar bikepacking rig, it was incredible. I sold it for a Salsa Cutthroat.

My first real mountain bike was a Jamis Portal. That thing sucked. I hated it. Felt so damn slow. Sold it and swore off mountain biking entirely. Well, then I got annoyed at the Cutthroat's lack of tire clearance, so I got a Salsa Woodsmoke. That thing was a lot of fun. Then I got an Ibis Ripmo after renting one and demoing a Fezzari La Sal Peak - holy shit, the efficient suspension platform! But, well, 150mm of travel isn't ever going to feel fast on the trails I really like, and I hate the overbiked feeling. I got an Ibis Ripley AF frameset for cheap and built it up, only to find it somewhat disappointing, too. I want to do big rides, and a single water bottle cage and the Modern Trail Geometry didn't really work out for me.

That evidently puts me in the "XC Bike" territory. The Ibis Exie ($4999 for a Deore build), Santa Cruz Blur ($5,499 for a SRAM GX), Orbea Oiz ($3,999 for their XT buid), and then the Canyon Lux Trail CF7 - $3,999 getting you a full XT kit and carbon wheels. 0% financing, free shipping, and a generous 30 day return policy make it a pretty safe choice.

Building up the bike was straightforward. The stem bolts are nearly stripped out, which isn't a great first impression. When I tried to put on my computer mount, I realized that the bars are 35mm in diameter - an odd choice for an XC bike.

The bike weighs in at 27.5lb - 12.5kg - with XT M8020 pedals, which reportedly weigh about 408g. So we're a good bit heavier than the claimed 11.68kg. Hmm.

The Fox suspension has a remote lockout, which is neat, but I'm not sure that it works? I lock the fork out but it still has plenty of bounce, much more than the SID Ultimate on the Ripley AF. The frame shock is very stiff. While I can't tell if the fork canlock out, the frame shock feels locked out all the time. This is made more annoying by Fox not having the sag guides on the stanchions, like RockShox has. Maybe I should have waited and saved up for that version.

I tried it briefly in the neighborhood streets before the rain really got started. It feels very quick, even with tubes still in there. I'm impressed with the feel and efficiency - immediately responsive. The Lux Trail isn't as nice as the Ibis Exie I tried, but the build is half as much money.

Will I return the bike and go in for an Exie? Maybe. I did really love the Ripmo for what it was good for, and the Ripley is pretty damn close. But I'd really prefer to spend $3,999 for an XT bike than $7,999. I suppose I could get the frame only at $4,499 and then take my Ripley's parts and transfer over... but, oof, still, so much cash.

I'm looking forward to giving the bike a solid test over the next few weeks.

Friday, June 16th, 2023

I dressed it up nice last night. Setting up the tires tubeless was super easy. Swapped the stem, handlebar, grips, and saddle for my preference, and put the Canyon's items on the Ripley AF for now. Now it's just at 12kg with pedals. Pretty happy with the weight and the look - the slightly off-white goes great with the tan/brown.


And, hell yeah, two bottles. Those are 24oz Bivo bottles, which tend to be about the same size as 26oz bottles. I'd easily fit a 1L bottle on the front, which is a ton of water.

I did my intervals today on the bike. Averaged 15.3mph on pavement, since it's too wet for any dirt right now. The lockout works great. The bike feels incredibly efficient and fun on the easy flat paved section. It's 11 miles to get to the singletrack here, and I made it in about 45 minutes. I like to minimize my driving time, and being able to get to the singletrack - and have fun doing it - is a big consideration for me. This bike delivers on that really well.

With any luck, I'll get to ride the bike on some good dirt this upcoming week.

Friday, July 7th

OK, I've had the bike for a while, and I love it. I've done a bunch of riding all over, and it's phenomenal. Especially since they raised the price to $5,000 new. I feel like I have an amazing deal on a wonderful bike.

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