At first glance, the Canyon racing bike with its simple black frame and white design elements doesn't look very spectacular. Its strength is revealed on the scales at the latest, as the name suggests: Canyon promises a total weight of just 8.5 kilos for the "Racing 8.5". Although this only applies to the smallest frame size and without pedals, the scales should remain well below 9 kilos even with the other two sizes and including the supplied XTR clickers. This means that the aluminum bike with disc brakes remains one of the lightest series hardtails on the market.

All add-on parts also made of aluminum
The low weight is made possible by Canyon getting everything out of the classic bike material aluminum. The frame is welded from lightweight and stable Scandium tubes and designed for the 100-millimeter Manitou fork. For the equipment, the bike manufacturer from Pieterlen/BE relies on lightweight but proven metal parts: The complete XTR groupset is included, as well as add-on parts from Ritchey's WCS line. Canyon saves a lot of weight on the wheels, where Shimano's top hubs with Revolution spokes from DT are combined with the 350 gram Equalizer21 rim from Sun-Ringlé. Maxlite tires from Maxxis round off the flyweight package.

Lightweight enthusiasts are sure to find one or two additional grams that can be saved. The price of CHF 5,399 leaves some budget for additional tuning compared to the carbon bikes. The "Racing 8.5" definitely falls far short of the rule of thumb for lightweight builders, according to which tuning makes sense up to a price of one franc per gram on the bike. But even bikers who prefer to get into the saddle straight away will get a hardtail equipped for competition, where the low weight has not been achieved at the expense of usability.