Canyon’s all-new aggressive trail Stoic mountain bike hardtails take their affordable mountain bikes to new levels, beyond the reach of the cross-country focused Exceed & Grand Canyons. Having geeked out on next-gen suspension layouts & optimized shock leverage ratios, Canyon’s MTB engineers have returned to the basics – a simple alloy hardtail mountain bike that builds on all the best modern trail geometry refinements to build a bike that’s fun to shred without having to overthink it…
Updated: Corrected fork travel & EU pricing
2021 Canyon Stoic all-mountain trail bike hardtails
Canyon’s new Stoic hardtail is described as a “rowdy hardtail”. An affordable alloy mountain bike with aggressive trail tendencies, this is a technical trail bike for riders that think full-squish enduro bikes are overkill, and for those of us without bottomless bike budgets.
With a bit of happy medium geometry somewhere between modern XC & full-on progressive enduro, you should be able to have plenty of fun riding the new Stoic on flowy singletrack, technical descents, or honing your skills in the pumptrack and over local dirt jumps.
Canyon’s goal with the Stoic was to build a “bombproof alloy hardtail” that could equally suit young riders as it could seasoned mountain bikers looking for a more technically capable trail bike. And with a wide size range and low-sloping toptubes, size-specific fork travel & wheelsize, there’s A Stoic to fit most all trail riders.
Technical Trail hardtail – Tech details
The all-new alloy Stoic is welded from formed 6061-T6 aluminum tubing for simplicity & durability, getting certified to Canyon’s EWS-rated category 4 of trail abuse. Routing on the bike is a bit of everything – external brake cable routing for ease of service (& upgrade?), semi-internal derailleur routing exiting the open bottom of the downtube, and full internal dropper routing.
The short-chainstay Stoic features a wide, curved chainstay yoke with big tire clearances and room for up to a max 30T chainring. It sticks with a standard 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell, gets a 30.9mm seatpost, a single set of water bottle bosses, and Boost 148 rear end spacing with a bolt on thru-axle.
All-mountain-ready, size-specific Trail Geometry
The new Stoic is available in a wide six size range (XXS-XL) to fit riders from just 149cm (4′-10″) up to 2m (6′-6″) tall. To make that work, the three smallest sizes get 27.5″ wheels, while the three largest get 29″ wheels.
More than just two different wheelsizes, those smaller bikes all get 150mm 140mm travel forks, 165mm cranks and could fit massive plus-sized 2.8″ wide tires, plus size-specific dropper post travel (XXS 125mm, XS & S 150mm.) The larger 29ers get 140mm forks, 170mm cranks, and room for up to 2.5″ tires, plus 170mm travel dropper posts.
Geometry itself is said to “strike a balance between new school progressive trail bike geometry while keeping the Stoic agile and playful enough for the pump track and the jumps.” Canyon wanted to create a hardtail capable of technical trail riding, but realized that this isn’t an enduro bike.
Riders looking for an affordable & capable hardtail are likely still trying to find a bike that will make a good all-rounder – comfortable pedaling uphill as well as it does down. With a short & stiff rear end paired to a steep 75° seat angle (and no rear suspension sag), climbing efficiency shouldn’t be a problem for the Stoic.
2021 Canyon Stoic – Pricing, options & availability
For 2021 Canyon is offering three complete builds of their new affordable alloy hardtail. The cheapest way in is this 800€ Stoic 2, with a SR Suntour XCR34 fork, older generation Deore 1×11 drivetrain, Shimano MT200 brakes, but no dropper post for a weight claim of 14.89kg.
All Stoic builds share the same 30mm internal tubeless-ready Alex DP30 rims on Shimano MT400 hubs, wrapped in 2.35″ wide Schwalbe Magic Mary front, Hans Dampf rear Super Trail casing tires with Addix Soft grippy rubber.
Curiously, in the US this entry model is actually rebranded as the Stoic 3, selling for $1100.
Next up, the true Stoic 3 sells for 1200€ in every market EXCEPT the US, with RockShox Recon RL forks, SRAM SX Eagle 1×12, Level T brakes, Canyon’s Iridium dropper, and a weight claim of 14.76kg.
Lastly, the $1800 / 1700€ Stoic 4 tops out the range with a RockShox Pike Select RC fork and NX Eagle drivetrain, plus Guide T brakes, Descendant 6K cranks, the Iridium dropper, and a weight of 14.1kg.
All three new alloy Canyon Stoic trail MTB hardtails are available now. “Maximum fun for minimum price.”
