2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 first ride review

Having become one of road cycling’s worst kept secrets, the 2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR has at long last been officially announced.

At a glance, the new Aeroad looks incredibly similar to the outgoing version (the 2021 Canyon Aeroad CFR), and while it's fair to say there aren’t any revolutionary changes to the frameset, it remains an incredibly fast and impressively light bike – especially for the money.

There’s more to get excited about elsewhere, though. The new PACE Bar, with its increased adjustability and interchangeable drops, goes some way to easing my concerns about the proprietary nature of the front end, for example.

The move to a single-fastener design across a majority of the bolts also makes me wonder why no one thought of doing that before.

Click through to my news story on the 2024 Canyon Aeroad for every detail and an overview of the new range.

For now, though, let’s run through my first impressions of the bike claimed boldly to be the new fastest bike in the pro peloton.

2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR first impressions

As BikeRadar’s premier watt-saver, I was blessed with the opportunity to escape the damp British summer and head to Calpe, in south-east Spain, to learn about the new Aeroad and put it through its paces.

Rather than tearing up the formula, Canyon says it wanted to build on a proven platform for this new-generation bike.

The subtle changes are based mainly on feedback from its sponsored-professional athletes, such as Mathieu van der Poel, and the team mechanics who work with the bike every day.

At the front end of the bike, the changes are focused on improving the bike's aerodynamic efficiency – meaning the tube shapes have become narrower and deeper.

At the rear, Canyon has slimmed things down in a bid to save some weight, while also improving comfort.

Beyond that, though, the remaining changes to the frameset come in the form of refinements, such as improved headset sealing, reinforcements to the carbon layup to make it more durable, and a move to a single, Torx 25 fastener head for all bolts the rider would normally interact with.

These aren’t headline-grabbing features, but it’s refreshing to see a brand focus on things that make a bike easier to live with for everyday riders.

I imagine the new PACE Bar, and its increased adjustability, will capture more people’s attention, though.

Where the old Aeroad’s CP0018 Aerocockpit offered adjustable stack height and bar width, the new PACE Bar retains those and goes further with interchangeable drops.

It also adopts the ‘Gear Groove’ from Canyon’s Grail CFR handlebar, to enable compatibility with a range of accessories – from bike computer mounts to triathlon bars.

2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR geometry

In terms of geometry, it’s a case of continuity for the 2024 Canyon Aeroad.

There have been some minor changes here and there, but in terms of stack and reach, a size medium still clocks in at 560 and 393mm, respectively.

The head and seat tube angles also remain racy-steep, at 73.25 and 73.5 degrees each, while the wheelbase is identical at 988mm.

As before, there are seven sizes, from 2XS through to 2XL.

2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 build

As one of the flagship CFR builds (CFR stands for ‘Canyon Factory Racing’ – and is Canyon’s premium sub-brand), my test bike has a WorldTour-worthy spec featuring a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset paired with DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut wheels.

Those wheels feature 50mm-deep rims – shallower than previously to save weight – paired with Continental’s highly-rated GP5000 S TR tyres, with a size 700x25c tyre up front and a 28c at the rear.

Canyon also includes Shimano’s latest dual-sided FC-R9200-P power meter crankset.

A Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D Carbonio 3D-printed saddle finishes off the third-party components, but everything else comes from Canyon’s own stable.

I was able to try both the classic (compact-shape) drops and aero drops on the new PACE Bar, but we’ll discuss that more in the next section.

All things considered, it’s a near-flawless build spec for the money.

While £9,299 / $9,999 / €9,999 is an unquestionably large sum of money, Canyon’s direct-sales model enables it to undercut key rivals.

An equivalently specced Trek Madone SLR Gen 8 or Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 would set you back £12,000 / $12,999 / €13,499 or £12,000 / $14,000 / €14,000, for example.

That said, it’s hard not to look back at the price of the previous version without wincing. Back in 2020, the old, equivalent-spec Aeroad cost £7,699 / $7,599 / €7,499.

2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 ride impressions

Having tested the previous Aeroad CFR Di2 back in 2020, I knew it to be a fast, light and confidence-inspiring aero road bike.

Over the course of two days of mountainous group riding in the blazing Spanish sun, I was pleased to find that hasn’t changed – the 2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR appears to be much the same gloriously fast race bike it ever was.

It’s also a confident-handling bike, which was a relief when doing lots of fast descending on unfamiliar roads.

Like the old bike, the model I rode was specced with a 25c tyre up front. While I didn’t have my vernier calipers at hand to assess their actual width, it felt noticeably narrow compared to the 28c tyres I’m more used to.

In terms of gains versus the old bike, Canyon says it’s 1.6 watts more aerodynamic (at 45kph) and around 200g lighter – neither of which are noticeable while riding.

What is noticeable, though, is the difference between the classic and aero drops.

The aero drops, with their extra reach, narrower hoods position and flared drops, are right up my straße. There’s nothing wrong with the classic drops, but the aero drops feel like the most obvious upgrade on the new Aeroad, based on first impressions.

The only question I have is why they’re an optional, aftermarket upgrade (at a cost of £219.95 / €229.95), rather than something that can be swapped in at the point of purchase.

I’m sure the answer has something to do with business models and money, but it’s hard to see what kind of rider would want an aero race bike, but not also want the fastest handlebars for it.

In welcome news, though, Canyon has added the PACE T-Bar (the stem plus the tops of the handlebar minus the drops) as an aftermarket part on its website.

Priced at £199.95 / €199.95 (plus whatever it costs to have it fitted – either by yourself or a local bike shop) and available in lengths from 70 to 140mm, this part effectively enables riders to change the stem length on the new Aeroad – something which was all but impossible on the previous version.

As with the interchangeable drops, it would be preferable to be able to select your preferred stem size at the point of purchase, but I'm thrilled swapping it is at least now an option.

That aside, my time riding in Calpe left little to complain about (surprise, surprise, riding a pro-spec bike in beautiful weather on great roads is lots of fun).

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), I now have the bike back in the UK, so I’ll be able to see how it handles some less-than-perfect roads and weather.

2024 Canyon Aeroad CFR Di2 initial verdict

Judging by my initial impressions, Canyon looks to have delivered on its promise to build on a race-proven platform.

While the changes and performance gains versus the outdoing model are fairly minimal, it’s hard to think of many bikes that are both as fast and light as the Aeroad CFR.

As before, you appear to get a lot of bike at a relatively good price.

undefinedundefinedundefinedundefined