Canyon has announced its lightest ever disc-equipped bike, the Ultimate CF EVO Disc. Claiming to weigh less than 6kg (how much less is not specified), the EVO's build is exotic and expensive without pushing too far into the realms of show-bike weight weenie insanity. It's a machine that you could conceivably ride day-to-day and, while it's expensive, it's some way off being Canyon's highest-priced bike.
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Canyon Ultimate CF EVO Disc spec
- Frame: Canyon Ultimate CF EVO
- Fork: Canyon One One Four EVO Disc
- Groupset: SRAM RED eTap AXS HRD, 48/35t cranks, 10-28t cassette
- Wheels: DT Swiss PRC 1100 Dicut 25Y Edition
- Tyres: Continental Grand Prix TT 25mm
- Cockpit: Canyon CP20 one-piece
- Saddle: Selle Italia SLR C59
- Seatpost: Schmolke 1k Carbon
It's light but it's usable
Canyon has form with weight weenie specials going back to the 2004 Project 3.7, which used heavily modified components to hit a jaw-dropping 3.7kg.
The frame is key to the weight savings, of course. Canyon claims that the EVO's layup is the most advanced it's ever used, with a combination of ultra-high modulus (UHM) and ultra-high tension (UHT) fibres making up a material that's 10 percent lighter per metre squared than that of the rim-brake EVO.
Canyon apparently saved a whole 7g by integrating the front derailleur mount and a further 3.5g (yes, really) by using titanium hardware in place of steel. The graphics are ultra-minimalist and claimed frame weight for a medium is a mere 641g excluding hardware, a full 144g lighter than the everyman Ultimate CF SLX Disc.
Canyon loves to cite stiffness-to-weight numbers, and the EVO Disc comes in at 137 vs. the standard Ultimate CF SLX Disc's 125. Make of that what you will.
Up front, the fork uses a lightened steerer to shave 40g off the standard item, coming in at a claimed 285g — a respectable figure given that it still needs to withstand the rigours of disc braking. Meanwhile, the cockpit is a one-piece carbon affair which Canyon says is its lightest yet at 270g, 50g less than that of the SLX.
The build itself is remarkably ordinary, with no weird custom parts or silly compromises. Shifting and braking is all standard SRAM RED eTAP AXS HRD and even the gearing is sensible, with a 35/28t bottom end.
Rather than fitting super skinny tubulars to hit the weight target, Canyon has opted for relatively sensible DT Swiss carbon clinchers which come in at a claimed 1283g for the set, fitted with 25mm rubber. Granted, the tyres are TT specials, but they still have a Vectran layer for puncture resistance, so they're not a show-only choice.
The Selle Italia saddle and Schmolke seatpost are both proper weight weenie specials, weighing a claimed 61g and 120g respectively.
Canyon Ultimate CF EVO Disc pricing and availability
The Ultimate CF EVO Disc is available now, priced at a mere £9,099. It's a whole lot of cash, but it's also £2,700 less than the astonishing Ultimate CF EVO we wrote about last year. That's enough of a saving to buy yourself a perfectly good car as well as a new carbon bike. Well, probably.
