Canyon’s Spectral CF 8.0 EX has been crowned Trail Bike of the Year.
- Canyon Spectral CF 8.0 EX review
- Bike of the Year 2017: Radon Swoop 170 8.0 wins Enduro Bike of the Year
For 2017, BikeRadar teamed up with its colleagues on What Mountain Bike magazine to pitch 20 trail bikes head to head in a gruelling test.
The criteria for this test was as follows: contenders had to have a UK retail price of between £2,800 and £3,200, with suspension travel limited at the 140mm mark.
The search is over… The Canyon Spectral CF 8.0 EX wins Trail Bike of the Year
The travel and price was enough to distinguish this test from sister publication Mountain Biking UK’s Enduro Bike of the Year award, where longer travel 150mm – 170mm bikes were tested — and the Radon’s Swoop 170 8.0 took the win.
You can read more about the awards in the latest issue of What Mountain Bike (May 2017), which is on sale now.
The Spectral CF was found to offer outstanding value and a ride that combined a lightweight, stiff frame with impeccably balanced suspension and enviable components for the cash.
As chief tester Guy Kesteven put it: “We simply can’t think of a better example of a modern, state-of-the-art trail bike — certainly not one at such an excellent value price”.
The best of the rest
The Spectral’s victory was not an easy one. Here are some of its toughest competitors.
WMB/BikeRadar would like to thank Black Town Trails for their help and guiding for our photoshoot in Spain – the range of trails they guide on is as varied as they are fun. Thanks also to Brittany Ferries - they sail from the UK to Bilbao and Santander, a mere four hours from Black Town Trails.
