Canyon's long-running cross-country focused hardtail, the Exceed, has had a refresh for 2025, with its focus shifting from pure XC racing to adventure riding.
It's fair to say the days of hardtail XC racing have largely passed, with almost the whole World Cup field now on full-suspension bikes, as are most privateer racers, even in national series.
The onward march of technicality in XC means the humble hardtail mountain bike is now rarely the fastest way up and down an XC race course.
Yes, there'll always be hardcore hardtail fans in XC, who want the stiffest connection from crank to wheel, but those people are in ever-diminishing numbers.
Likewise, the growth of adventure riding and ultra-distance racing seems unabated. The Silk Road Mountain Race, the Tour Divide and other events are pulling in both household names and widespread coverage.
While the rapid growth of gravel riding has seen events such as these becoming a festival of curly bars, the reality is hardtails offer additional comfort over long, rough rides.
In my own experience, I'm now more likely to pull my cross-country bike out of the garage for a local long lap than I am my gravel bike.
I don't lose much on road drags, and the slippery technical ups and downs that litter UK 'gravel' are simply more fun on a mountain bike.
All of the above points have been cited by Canyon as reasons why the new Exceed has lost its sharp, racy edge.
No longer is it a bike built specifically for the race course. It's now designed to tap into the adventure-focused world the best gravel bikes have unlocked, but where broad tyres, suspension forks and less aggressive geometry excel.
Canyon's 2025 Exceed hardtail
So, the new Exceed is a simply effective, efficient off-road machine, then.
Canyon tells us the bike is no longer designed for weight weenies, but for riders looking for a fast and comfortable off-road experience, whether that's speedy local laps or something altogether more adventurous.
Strap a race number on it and it'll still perform, though.
The frame is built from carbon and has a much more modern aesthetic, with a more notably dropped top tube, than the outgoing model for added standover, slacker angles for more relaxed handling, and plenty of carrying capacity.
Despite the lower top tube, Canyon has strived to ensure there's still plenty of space inside the front triangle for load-carrying. There'll be Canyon's own flush-fit frame bags built specifically for the Exceed, for example.
Hardtails might not offer as much comfort as full-suspension mountain bikes, but Canyon has designed the frame to be compliant, adding a hint of comfort to its ride via lateral flex in the rear triangle.
Skinnier sections of chainstay near the bottom bracket are said to add compliance, without compromising power transfer to the rear wheel.
In addition, the frame flex helps the Exceed carve fast corners, according to Canyon.
This comfort is also aided by a new VCLS seatpost, available on the top-spec model, or aftermarket.
Canyon's VCLS seatposts combine two D-shaped sections of post, allowing up to 20mm for forward/back movement, which is intended to increase the seated comfort of the bike.
While the VCLS posts have always been 27.2mm in diameter – designed as they are for Canyon's gravel bikes – there's a 30.9mm option for the Exceed.
This means the seat tube is broad enough to accept a wide range of dropper posts, although none of the models comes with one as stock.
Dropper post cable routing is included in the frame, as is fully sheathed internal routing for gear cables and brake hoses.
Another update is the use of Canyon's LOAD Internal Storage System. Like many brands' bikes, the Exceed has a storage hole in its down tube, with the inside of the port's lid able to carry a CO2 canister for speedy deployment in a race.
Final finishing touches include a threaded BB, three sets of bottle-cage bosses and enough frame protection to ward off chain slap, heel rub and rock strikes.
Canyon Exceed range details
The Exceed has a middle-of-the-road geometry, which should be pretty easy to get on with.
Across the five sizes, reach numbers range from 408mm to 485mm. Head angles sit at 67 degrees, while effective seat angles are 75 degrees. Chainstays grow from 425mm on the XS to Medium bikes to 430mm and 435mm on the Large and X-Large bikes respectively.
Five models will be on offer, ranging from the €1,999 Exceed CF 5 to the Exceed CF 9 at €4,999.
Spec lists feature Shimano drivetrains on the three cheaper builds, with SRAM's Transmission on the two pricier builds.
RockShox's 100mm-travel Recon and SID forks dominate the spec lists, with the appearance of a Fox 32 Step-Cast on the mid-spec CF 7.
