After teasing it in the pro peloton for a number of weeks, Canyon has announced the new Aeroad CFR, the latest update to its popular aero road bike.
Said to be both lighter and more aerodynamic than the third-generation version, the 2024 Canyon Aeroad is claimed boldly to be “the fastest bike in the pro peloton”.
Although it retains a similar overall silhouette to the outgoing model, every tube shape has been refined subtly, while Canyon has overhauled the bike’s integrated cockpit, making it more customisable than before.
The German direct-sales brand also focused on making refinements to the Aeroad’s serviceability and durability.
This, Canyon says, makes the new Aeroad as fit for everyday riders as it is for world champions such as Mathieu van der Poel.
The 2024 Canyon Aeorad range consists of six models across two tiers: CFR (standing for Canyon Factory Racing – its flagship sub-brand) and CF SLX.
Prices start at £4,499 / $5,599 / €4,199 for the SRAM Rival AXS-equipped Aeroad CF SLX 7 AXS and rise to £9,749 / $10,499 / €10,499 for the Aeroad CFR AXS with SRAM’s new Red AXS groupset.
Simon von Bromley rode the new 2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 at its launch event in Spain. You can read his first ride review here.
Building on a proven platform
According to Canyon, the design of the 2024 Aeroad was influenced primarily by feedback from its sponsored-professional riders and team mechanics.
Rather than requesting that the platform be overhauled completely, Canyon says the feedback focused on ways to refine the platform – such as making it lighter, more durable and easier to work on.
As a result, the tube shapes have been updated subtly across the bike, with the front section of the frame focusing on aerodynamic improvements and the rear on weight, comfort and practicality.
Tyre clearance has been increased to 32mm, up from 30mm on the old bike, to enable the use of wider tyres.
Canyon has also redesigned the Aeroad’s adjustable integrated cockpit, replacing the CP0018 Aerocockpit with the new CP0048 PACE Bar.
PACE stands for ‘Performance Adaptive Cockpit Ecosystem’ and the new cockpit builds on the previous handlebar (which also features on Canyon’s Ultimate CFR and Endurace CFR) by adding the ‘gear groove’ from the Canyon Grail CFR and increasing the amount of adjustability and customisation on offer.
The CP0048 PACE Bar also has interchangeable drops, which can be swapped without disconnecting the brake hoses (more on this later).
Speed refined
As with any aero road bike, one of the primary development goals with the new Aeroad was to make it faster.
According to Canyon’s testing, which was conducted at the GST wind tunnel in Germany, the 2024 Canyon Aeroad is 1.6 watts more aerodynamically efficient at 45kph than the previous version.
Perhaps importantly, though, the same testing shows it is 2.5 watts more aerodynamic than Cervélo’s S5 and 8 watts more efficient than Specialized’s S-Works Tarmac SL8.
For context, Canyon says all bikes were tested with DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut wheels with 50mm-deep rims and Schwalbe Pro One TLE tyres (25c front and 28c rear). All bikes were tested without water bottles but with Canyon’s 'Ferdie' leg dummy (a set of moving dummy legs that simulate the effect of a rider aboard the bike).
According to Canyon, these gains have been realised via subtle refinements to the Aeroad’s tube shapes.
Up front, the new fork features legs that are deeper and thinner, maximising their chord length in relation to the latest UCI technical regulations.
The head tube and down tube have also been optimised by making them thinner. This reduces their frontal area and increases the effective aerofoil chord length, increasing their aerodynamic efficiency (in theory).
At the rear of the bike, the tube profiles have been made shorter and slimmer, while the top tube has been broadened to increase handling stiffness.
Heavier frame, lighter overall
As well as being more aerodynamic, Canyon claims a complete 2024 Aeroad CFR weighs only 7.07kg in its lightest stock build – with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset and DT Swiss ARC 1100 wheels – in a size medium.
That’s 230g less than the third-generation Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 we reviewed in late 2020.
This is despite the frame’s claimed weight going up by 45g, from 915g to 960g, for a size-medium frame with Canyon’s ‘stealth’ artwork.
Canyon says the frame weight has gone up due to reinforcements to the carbon layup designed to make it more durable – a crucial factor for races such as Paris-Roubaix.
Overall builds are lighter, though, thanks to the improved aerodynamics of the frameset, which enable the use of shallower rims without any loss of overall aerodynamic efficiency.
PACE Bar and interchangeable drops
As noted, the PACE Bar replaces the CP0018 Aerocockpit, with Canyon claiming it offers a more aerodynamic profile and increased adjustability.
The shape of the stem has been redesigned subtly, for example, with a more angular appearance, while there’s now a greater width and height adjustment range available than before.
The range of width adjustment has increased from 40 to 50mm, while stack-height adjustment has increased to 20mm, up from 15mm.
As before, there’s no facility to adjust the stem length of the PACE Bar and Canyon won’t be offering riders the option to spec a different stem length at the point of purchase either.
Canyon has added PACE T-Bar (the stem plus the tops of the handlebar minus the drops) as an aftermarket part on its website, however.
Priced at £199.95 / €199.95 and available in lengths from 70 to 140mm, this effectively enables riders to change the stem length on the new Aeroad.
At launch, two drop shapes will be available – its existing ‘classic drops’, as featured on the CP0018 Aerocockpit, and new ‘aero drops’.
The classic drops feature straight drops, with a compact bend shape and 130mm of drop. These enable the handlebar width to be adjusted between 370, 395 and 420mm.
The aero drops, however, are much more progressively shaped, with 19 degrees of flare, 10mm of extra reach and 25mm less drop.
They also offer a hoods position 20mm narrower than with the classic drops (350, 375 or 400mm).
Narrow and flared handlebars are an increasingly common sight at the pointy end of the sport, with most riders at this year’s Tour de France using sub-40cm handlebars. So, it's little surprise to see another major brand adopting the trend.
One of Canyon’s lead design engineers, Lukas Birr, says wind tunnel and track testing with multiple riders showed the aero bars offer a potential aerodynamic advantage of “up to 14 watts”, compared to the classic drops.
He notes, though, that the magnitude of the saving is dependent on the rider and how they hold themselves on the bike – not everyone will see an instant 14-watt gain.
The biggest gains were seen with those who were riding the correct-sized frame and could get tucked down, with their elbows in.
At launch, all 2024 Aeroads will be specced with classic drops, with the aero drops available as an aftermarket upgrade for £219.95 / €229.95.
Birr hinted that more options and drop geometries may follow post-launch, but declined to offer any details on what we might see or when.
As on the Grail handlebar, the Gear Groove enables accessories such as a bike computer mount or Canyon’s proprietary aero extensions (£479.95 / €499.95) to be mounted to the Aeroad.
One fastener to rule them all
Beyond changes that make the 2024 Aeroad lighter and faster, Canyon has also incorporated a number of alterations to ensure it's easier to service.
Perhaps the biggest change is the move to speccing Torx 25 heads on every bolt a rider is likely to interact with, across the frameset, cockpit and seatpost.
Helpfully, a T25 bit is integrated into the head of the thru-axle lever – meaning if you keep that on the bike, you’ll always have access to a tool to adjust the key components during the ride.
Canyon says the bolts are made in Germany, ensuring “high strength, precision bolts” that are less likely to round out or corrode.
The running change made to the seatpost on the previous-generation Aeroad has also been retained, with the 2024 Aeroad moving to a more conventional seatpost and clamp arrangement on top of the top tube (the previous Aeroad featured a seatpost clamp on the rear of the seat tube).
In part, this came from feedback from Canyon’s star athlete, Mathieu van der Poel, who said he felt the rear end of the old Aeroad was too compliant.
According to Birr, van der Poel wanted more road feedback through the rear end, which prompted the German brand to create an updated version for him (which he duly won Milan-San Remo on).
Canyon has also updated the headset, moving to a stainless steel-ceramic hybrid bearing co-developed with Acros.
According to Canyon, these should dramatically improve their longevity, while the headset seals have also been updated, with a titanium bearing seat, to make the headset 'pressure-washer proof' (although Canyon would still recommend avoiding a pressure washer if possible).
2024 Canyon Aeroad range, specification and pricing
The 2024 Canyon Aeorad range consists of six models across two tiers – CFR and CF SLX.
At launch, Canyon isn't offering a cheaper CF SL option because it says it has taken its “performance engineering approach to a whole new level” with the new Aeroad, and that this can only be achieved at the CF SLX and CFR tiers.
Canyon says every bike in the 2024 Aeroad range will feature electronic groupsets, deep-section carbon rims and high-quality road tubeless tyres.
Prices start at £4,499 / $5,599 / €4,199 for the Aeroad CF SLX 7 AXS and rise to £9,749 / $10,499 / €10,499 for the Aeroad CFR AXS.
Canyon Aeroad CFR AXS
- Price: £9,749 / $10,499 / €10,499
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CFR R108
- Wheelset: Zipp 454 NSW
- Drivetrain: SRAM RED AXS, with SRAM Red AXS power meter
- Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race TLR, 700x28c
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Carbonio
- Claimed weight: 7.15kg
Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2
- Price: £9,299 / $9,999 / €9,999
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CFR R108
- Wheelset: DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut 50
- Drivetrain: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200, with FC-R9200-P power meter
- Tyres: Continental GP 5000S TR, 700x25c front / 28c rear
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Carbonio
- Claimed weight: 7.07kg
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 8 AXS
- Price: £6,499 / $6,999 / €6,999
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CF SLX R107
- Wheelset: Zipp 404 Firecrest
- Drivetrain: SRAM Force AXS, with SRAM Force AXS power meter
- Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race TLR, 700x28c
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Carbonio
- Claimed weight: 7.86kg
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 8 Di2
- Price: £5,999 / $5,999 / €6,499
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CF SLX R107
- Wheelset: DT Swiss ARC 1400 Dicut 50
- Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8100, with 4iiii Precision Slim power meter
- Tyres: Continental GP 5000S TR, 700x25c front / 28c rear
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Carbonio
- Claimed weight: 7.45kg
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 Di2
- Price: £4,499 / $5,599 / €4,799
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CF SLX R107
- Wheelset: DT Swiss ARC 1600 Spline 50
- Drivetrain: Shimano 105 Di2 R7100, with 4iiii Precision Slim power meter
- Tyres: Continental GP 5000S TR, 700x25c front / 28c rear
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow Manganese
- Claimed weight: 7.91kg
Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 AXS
- Price: £3,949 / $5,599 / €4,199
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CF SLX R107
- Wheelset: DT Swiss ARC 1600 Spline 50
- Drivetrain: SRAM Rival AXS
- Tyres: Continental GP 5000S TR, 700x25c front / 28c rear
- Seatpost: Canyon SP0077 Aeropost
- Handlebar: Canyon CP0048 PACE Bar
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow Manganese
- Claimed weight: 8.06kg
