Using a complicated four-bar suspension linkage, an all-new carbon fiber frame and two years of development, the Canyon Sender is a serious new rig for gravity fueled fun.
Called the MX Link, the kinematics are designed around modern air shocks rather than coil-overs. It’s designed to offer a perfect balance of anti-squat and anti-rise while also minimizing pedal kickback. You know, just the kind of neutral suspension you want when you need to both hammer the smoother sections and let the bike tackle monstrous drops and boulder gardens. All that combines with adjustable chainstay length and head angle to create a bike that’s dialed no matter what the course.
Drop in for all the details plus video…
Canyon says they chose carbon not for weight savings, but because they could make the bike stiffer, use its natural vibration damping, and still make the bike incredibly strong and durable. They also built in an impressive number of features to make overall ownership much more enjoyable. First, the basics: It’s got 27.5″ wheels and 200mm travel front and rear.
Starting at the front, the shock bumpers protect the frame, and the non-drive one doubles as the cable/hose entry port. Once inside, those lines run through a foam tube to prevent them from rattling against the frame.
An adjustable upper headset cup lets you change geometry between 62º, 63º or 64º.
Out back, a flip-flop dropout insert lets you change the chainstay length from 430mm to 465mm. The call these adjustments Geo Tune, and the idea is that you can make the bike long and low, or short and steep, to suit terrain and riding style.
The dropout section is made of 6066 T6 alloy to improve crash resistance, and there’s a heel guard pad wrapped around the chainstay just in front of the rear pivot.
Underneath you’ll see three things: ISCG05 tabs for a bash guard, their bolt-on downtube protection plate, and the rear brake/shift lines running smoothly out of the downtube and onto the stays. They exit just above the bottom bracket, giving them a straight path rearward so there are no tight bends that could mess with shifting or cause excessive wear over time.
Shown partially below, the driveside chainstay has a custom protective wrap that’s dual layer – firm all around to protect against impacts, plus a softer layer on the top side to quiet chain slap.
The suspension is called MX-link, perhaps because they were inspired by motocross. Rather than drive the shock off the main linkage, they created a complete secondary linkage system to better control shock rate. A sag guide is etched on the top of the orange linkage and matches up with a line on the rocker for easy one-person shock setup.
Since air shocks have a higher initial resistance to movement, they gave it a bit more leverage at the beginning to help get it going and ensure small bump sensitivity. It firms up a bit in the mid-stroke to give you a more stable riding platform, then gets slightly progressive at the end to complement the air can’s natural progressivity and prevent bottom out.
Industrial grade bearings are used throughout, with the main pivots on the frame using oversized bearings to better handle the lateral and torsional loads. An integrated fender on the seatstay bridge helps keep the links and shock clean.
Their Sender landing page has some killer animations showing the suspension cycling and other tech bits.
The top level Sender CF 9.0 complete bike retails for €4,799 and includes a Fox 40 Factory RC2 Kashima fork and X2 Factory shock, DT Swiss FR 1950 wheels, SRAM X01 DH, Race Face Atlas cranks and Maxxis Minion DHR II tires.
They also offer a €4,299 Sender 8.0 (Rockshox, SRAM X01 DH, e-Thirteen LG1 wheels) and €3,599 (Fox Performance level, Shimano Zee, DT FR2020 wheels), plus a frameset for €2,699.
