We got a great look at the all-new Canyon Sender CFR downhill bike as a prototype on the DH race scene last season. The biggest design news – a major shift to an all-new high single pivot design with an idler pulley and even integrated K.I.S. steering stabilization – was clear. We only really knew that Canyon was hunting for speed, racing down the mountain. We didn’t yet know much more, or how deeply race-tune adjustability was being baked into the new design.
Now we have the full details…
2025 Canyon Sender CFR high single pivot carbon DH bike
Canyon says the development of the all-new downhill race bike platform is centered around two key performance demands – ultimate traction and maximum acceleration. While DH racing is all about getting down the mountain the fastest, they couldn’t simply focus on speed. What they feel really sets the best bikes apart is the ability to maintain grip in the corners so riders can brake less, and then find more speed coming out of the turns to get back up to max cruising speed.
That’s where they settled on the new high-pivot design.
How’d they do it?
With a full 200mm of rearward-arcing single pivot travel, the bike could be made to stay planted to the ground. Then, combined with an idler pulley that limits upper chain growth to a fraction of a millimeter – and virtually eliminates pedal kickback – the suspension could remain active whether the racer was hammering on the pedals or hanging on for dear life. Plus, the resulting high 130% anti-rise meant they could smash on the brakes later in turns without losing grip.
At first a simple high single pivot in theory, the all-new design also enabled the Canyon suspension engineers to create a complex set of nested lower linkages to drive the shock, giving them more control on the kinematics, especially delivering early suppleness and at the other extreme more support as the rear wheel sunk deep into its full travel. The resulting progressive shock linkages delivered a more consistent feel late in the bike’s travel, enabling racers to push the bike harder than ever through the corners and down the sketchiest sections of DH track.
DH World Cup-winning geometry, plus more adjustability!
The new Canyon Sender CFR sticks to the proven mullet setup for the perfect blend of speed and agility on technical racecourses. The new bike is incrementally longer (+8mm Reach) and taller (+4-9mm Stack) than its predecessor. Plus, Reach-adjust headset cups meant you still get +/- 8mm of adjustment to go back to the old fit or even longer for more stability, depending on race conditions.
Its headtube angle is effectively unchanged in the new bike’s High position at 63°. A new BB flip-chip adjustability gives a 5mm lower bottom bracket setting (from 352 down to 347mm) and slackens the bike to just 62.7° for even steeper tracks, or where less ground clearance is needed.
The bike also already gets custom RockShox or Fox shock tunes, but the adjustable upper shock mount gives racers further control over shock leverage rates, “32.7% for a more linear, plush suspension, or 37% for more ramp to soak up the biggest hits on smasher courses.”
Keep it stable, too
This all-new Canyon Sender CFR also gets the KIS steering stabilizer built in as standard tech. We saw some racers using it last season, where it promises high-speed stability that we can attest to on the chunkiest tracks, even at sub-World Cup speeds. But for those racers who haven’t yet adapted to the KIS benefits, it is adjustable to a very subtle effect, or easily removable (with a blank cover plate provided with the new DH bike.
“This bike is the result of our decade-long obsession with downhill racing. Canyon spent hours and hours researching and building prototypes and testing them with us. Going through this rigorous process – including the development of our mule testing rig – was key in discovering the clear directions of our needs, and to ultimately developing the fastest bike down any hill.”
– Fabien Barel, Canyon CLLCTV team mentor
Tech details
- Top-tier CFR full carbon frame construction
- Polymer-reinforced HIT carbon for additional impact protection in the downtube
- Polymer rear fenders protect the complex linkages from rear wheel spray
- Downtube protector and rocker arm skid plates protect the frame from rock strikes
- Silent-running rubber chainstay & seatstay protectors
- Low center of gravity with multiple shock driving linkages around the BB
- Maximum DH racetrack adjustability: BB height, headtube angle, frame Reach, shock linkage rate, and…
- Adjustable KIS steering stabilization
- Fully-guided (and silent) internal cable routing
- User serviceable pivot hardware & extra bearing seals, with easily reached bolt heads
- Replaceable threaded inserts for long frame service life, even for ham-fisted privateers
- Traditional Boost 12x148mm rear spacing for less heel rub or frame snags
- Works with special DH Boost-spaced hubs, but also can swap in an enduro wheel in a pre-race pinch
2025 Canyon Sender CFR – Pricing, options & availability
Just two complete versions of the new Canyon Sender CFR carbon DH race are on offer – each sharing the same premium carbon frameset in pale blue or all-black. Pick from the privateer’s special Underdog on a budget or the same top-spec Team build of the CLLCTV pro racers.
The simpler Canyon Sender CFR Underdog sells for 4500€. For that, you still get CFR carbon, plus a Fox 40 fork, DHX2 Performance shock, SRAM Maven Bronze brakes & GX DH 7-speed drivetrain.
Then, the Canyon Sender CFR Team goes all out for 6000€, with a RockShox Boxxer Ultimate fork, Vivid Coil Ultimate shock, SRAM Maven Silver brakes, and a complete SRAM X01 DH drivetrain, but the same alloy DT FR1500 wheels & G5 finishing kit.
The Team edition build is available now globally, while the Underdog is available in all markets except the US.
