Light, fast, and capable. That’s the Canyon Lux Trail in a nutshell, at least according to Canyon themselves. Modern XC mountain bikes are certainly capable, especially when compared to older machines, but downcountry bikes? Those are in another league when it comes to capability. One that Canyon is joining with their new Lux Trail.
New Front Triangle
It would have been easy for Canyon to simply slap a longer fork and some different components on the existing Lux XC bike and call it a day (they did that a bit with the lower-spec 100/110mm CF SL bikes anyway). Instead, Canyon went back to the drawing board and came up with an all-new front triangle. Mostly, this was done to enable a longer reach across frame sizes, but it also allowed them to dial in the geometry to adapt to the longer suspension travel, while keeping rider weight low.
The result is a bike that is longer and slacker than the original, with reach numbers increased by about 20mm per size, and now runs a 67.5° head tube angle with a 74.5° seat tube angle. That geometry is paired with a shorter 60mm stem and 760mm wide bars for a fit that is more aggressive, but still XC-able.
Suspension travel has been increased front and rear, with a 120mm travel suspension fork and 110mm of travel out back. The Lux Trail also gets burlier suspension forks, though still of the light weight variety with either RockShox SID 35mm or Fox StepCast 34mm platforms. Rear suspension duties are handled by either the RockShox Deluxe Ultimate RMT, or Fox Float DPS Factory RMT, both with dual remote lockouts that stiffen the suspension with one click or twist.
At the back of the bike, the Lux Trail uses the same rear triangle as the current Lux SL. That means a pivot-less flex stay at the chainstay/seat tube junction keeps things light. The bikes still use Canyon’s Triple Phase suspension concept which is named for its three areas of focus – small bump compliance, a stable mid-stroke, and a ramp up at the end of the stroke to help control big hits. How big? The Lux Trail is rated to the same Category 3 standard as their longer travel trail bikes.
IPU Steering
No one likes a broken top tube after a crash causes your shifter or brake levers to spin back and impact the frame. So the Canyon IPU (Impact Protection Unit) prevents that from happening. The steering stop is clamped to the steerer and prevents over rotation of the bars from damaging the frame — just remember that you have to loosen the IPU in order to tighten the headset.
World’s Lightest Chainguide?
At just 3.7g, does the Lux Trail include the world’s lightest chainguide? We’re not sure, but it’s certainly not much additional weight for some added assurance that the chain will stay on the ring. Technically, it’s 8.7g if you include the 5g screw…
Real Room for Bottles!
While we’re on the topic of excellent features, let’s give Canyon credit for their excellent water bottle configuration. Apparently, all sizes have room for two bottles inside the front triangle, with room for fairly large bottles. (Those are Canyon’s small 600ml Fuel bottles above, but Cory is carrying two full-sized 750ml bottles on his test bike with plenty of room to spare.) And even with two bottles in the frame, there’s still room up front to strap a tube, jacket, or flat pack.
What’s it weigh?
One of the ways ‘downcountry’ bikes differ from trail bikes is that there is still a big emphasis on it being extremely light. Compared to the Lux, the Lux Trail has about a 30g weight penalty on the frame due to the longer front end, at a claimed 1,905g for a medium frame. Canyon even goes to lengths to break that down to the gram for all the various parts that make up the frame.
As for the actual complete weight, Cory’s dusty Lux Trail CF 7 test bike in a size large set up tubeless came in at 11.99kg/22.43lb (factoring out a pair of 340g Crankbrothers Candy 3 pedals, 100g of Canyon Sideloader bottle cages). Canyon’s claimed weight on this build is listed as 11.7kg. The lightest build is the Lux Trail CF 9 Emily Batty Edition which is claimed as 10.9kg.
Frame Details
To keep the internal cable routing simple, you’ll find internal tubes the length of the frame allowing cables and hoses to pop out the other side. You’ll still find a Quixle, quick release thru-axle out back, and Boost spacing front and rear. Tire clearance is recommended as 2.4″ up front and 2.35″ out back on a 30mm rim. Additional details include a ZS44/IS52 headset and a pressfit bottom bracket.
Models, Pricing, and Availability
The Lux Trail will be offered in four different builds, and all of them will be available in all markets. Pricing starts at $3,999 for the Shimano SLX and Fox equipped Lux Trail CF 6, and tops out at $6,999 for the Shimano XTR equipped Emily Batty Edition. One of the only changes for the U.S. market will be longer dropper posts with 150mm travel droppers on everything except the CF 8 which will still feature a 125mm Reverb AXS post. U.S. bikes also get RaceFace cockpits.
- Lux Trail CF 6 $3,999 / 3300€
- Lux Trail CF 7 $5,299 / 4300€
- Lux Trail CF 8 $6,299 / 5300€
- Lux Trail CF 9 EB Edition $6,999 / 5800€
In Europe, bikes will be available for purchase this week. For those of us in America, we’ll have to wait a bit longer with no date specified other than they are coming.
How does the Canyon Lux Trail perform on the… trail? Hit up Cory’s review here to find out.
