Canyon Spectral CF7 review | Trail Bike of the Year contender

Trail-ready suspension

Canyon has tweaked the Spectral's rear suspension.

The travel has dropped to 140mm to reflect the diverse needs of trail bike riders.

The characteristics of the previous 150mm Spectral, and the out-going short-travel Spectral 125 have been merged. A more linearly progressive stroke is said to still offer early-stroke sensitivity, mid-stroke support and deep-stroke progression, but in a more controlled way, with no compromised areas of performance.

Anti-squat – the forces that reduce pedal bob – has been lowered to improve traction up and downhill, at the expense of inducing a little more pedal bob.

Has it been kept simple?

Arguably the biggest news is the addition of Canyon’s Keep It Stable system across all Spectral CF models.

This sees a pair of springs connect the top tube and fork steerer. It self-rights the steering in a bid to boost predictability in loose conditions and increase stability at speed.

The level of strength the system has can be adjusted with a bolted slider on the top tube, and the bike arrives with a blanking plate, enabling you to fully remove the KIS system, if you don’t like it.

The system has been softened from the version Canyon originally launched, following feedback, so the maximum stiffness is at a much lower strength than before.

Canyon Spectral CF7 climbing performance

Despite lowering anti-squat values across the cassette, the Spectral is still a focused trail bike on the climbs.

The rear suspension isn’t quite as stable as the previous version of the bike, with a hint more oscillation as you pedal. However, the overall effect is pretty minimal, especially if you keep your legs spinning in circles.

Stand up and put down some power and there's a more pronounced bob, at least until the progression ramps up and the support appears – it’s just that this support comes a touch later in the stroke than previously.

The result, though, is that both comfort and traction are impressive.

Point the nose up rocky, rooty climbs and the rear Minion DHR II is able to dig into the dirt and convey your pedalling power into climbing motion with minimal rear-wheel slippage.

Rattle along rough rocky dual-track climbs and you’re nicely isolated from the ground below.

On smoother drags, I flicked the compression switch on the shock, handily in easy reach, to ensure a more efficient ascent.

Position-wise, the Spectral’s up-to-date geometry suits, with a roomy front half and steep enough seat angle to effectively place your hips over the cranks.

The nicely balanced front-to-rear end proportions work well with the suspension when it comes to providing competency on technical ascents, with easy control over the front wheel’s direction and the back’s traction.

The KIS system plays a part when it comes to climbing.

Though far more noticeable when in its stiffer mode, the system helps prevent the front wheel wandering from side to side on super-steep drags. However, when you’re navigating through rocks and roots, it becomes noticeable as you pull against the springs.

The Shimano SLX drivetrain shifts well under power and I like the shifter’s ergonomics, however when the drivetrain is coated in grime, it’s noticeably less smooth-feeling than SRAM’s equivalents.

Canyon Spectral CF7 descending performance

The Spectral has long impressed when it comes to the descents, and despite dropping down 10mm in travel, this version is no slouch.

The bike retains a poppy and lively feel as you rally through twists and turns, egging you on to pull up over roots, or lay it as flat as you dare as you rail through berms.

The bike feels light on its wheels, encouraging swift direction changes and a playful attitude to line choice.

This is thanks partly to the geometry, which balances nicely the demands of flat-out fast stability with a nod towards nimbleness.

The support offered through the rear suspension gives you the platform required to push through your heels, whether that’s for a lip of a jump or to generate speed through rollers.

Through corners, the Spectral sticks to its line. Over off-camber roots, it seems to stick to the ground, unlike many rival trail bikes – the work the engineers have done on fine-tuning chassis stiffness seems to have paid off.

In steep terrain, the Spectral CF performs nicely, although if I knew I was heading to the steeps I’d add 10psi or so to the fork, to help keep it propped up high when diving into catch berms.

With the longest front-centre (BB to front wheel axle) in this year’s Trail Bike of the Year test, at 850mm, there’s ample bike in front of you to help keep those exits over the bar at bay.

The Performance-level shock does a sterling job of smoothing the way, with a supple feel that soaks up high-speed chatter fairly well, while offering good composure when you go deep off steps and jumps.

Canyon’s kinematics ensure there’s plenty of progression to help keep the shock from banging off its bump stop when you have a hard landing.

The 36 Rhythm fork is popular here at BikeRadar, too, offering good comfort when rattling over rocks and roots.

When you really push the basic version of the 36, you start to feel it’s not quite as supportive in its mid-stroke as the higher-end versions, thanks to the smaller-volume air spring.

As such, the inclusion of two volume spacers in the fork is appreciated when hitting those steeper lines – they help ensure you don’t dive through to the end of the stroke too early.

Likewise, if you’re an absolute charger, you might want to up-spec the EXO-cased front tyre to something a little stouter, such as an EXO+, to reduce tyre ping.

Fortunately, at the back you get an EXO+ casing tyre, which is more puncture-proof, giving you a little more confidence to push hard.

I like the transition from central to shoulder treads that the DHR II offers, with a smooth and predictable transition over the carcass.

While the fork is comfortable, I’m not quite so convinced the cockpit lives up to the performance. The broad stem base plate and skinny grips mean that over rocky chatter, there’s still a hint of hand pain working its way through.

I’m also not sold on Canyon’s solution to gaining access to the in-tube storage. I found the up-and-over hinge mechanism to be a little imprecise in use, often not closing as I’d expect.

However, the Shimano SLX brakes are well up to the task. Powerful, punchy and easy to control, they’re some of my favourite stoppers.

KIS – did I like it?

The big question is how well does the KIS system work? We have a full review of the system in the works, but overall I had generally positive impressions.

This iteration is lighter-sprung than the launch version, which I think helps its case – the stiffest setting on this bike is equivalent to the least stiff setting at launch.

In its strongest setting, it’s great when barrelling through rocky chunder, helping calm the front end and reducing the handlebar's flutter from side to side.

It can also feel good on longer, loose corners. Though hard to describe, it feels as though the two contact points are better connected, helping you carve a turn when you’re leant onto the shoulder treads of the tyre, almost like the front wheel is pulling the rear into the turn.

However, there were times when I felt it hindered initiating a turn – you can feel the resistance to turning the bar. And, on slippery off-cambers, I found myself tripodding more than I’d expect – almost as though the front wheel was pulling the rear wheel off-line.

However, it’s hard to be too critical of Canyon’s addition of the system. In its lightest setting, the above is barely noticeable, and if you really don’t like it, a little time in the garage and a blanking plate will see the whole lot removed – at which point, it’s a totally ‘normal’ mountain bike.