Like the road’s superlight Canyon Factory Racing carbon upgrade, the 2021 Canyon Sender CFR downhill race bike sheds a lot of weight in its latest iteration. But more than just a new lightweight layup, the Sender CFR is an all-new carbon DH race bike with retuned suspension, updated geometry, and new wheel sizes that all come together to create a faster, more controlled race bike for the most demanding downhill tracks…
Canyon Sender CFR lightweight carbon DH race mountain bike
Canyon has taken their World Cup proven DH bike and given it a lighter, faster & better handling update in the new Canyon Sender CFR. Pulling more out of the new premium Canyon Factory Racing family carbon tech, the new ~3200g Sender CFR drops 600g off the previous Sender CF. But don’t forget that it’s a race-ready DH bike, so it’s still built to handle the roughest, steepest race tracks and season after season of abuse.
A big part of the weight drop is the move to new carbon chainstays and seatstays, which had been alloy before. Then the new shock mount design simplifies the alloy linkage design and new downtube shock mount, while also lowering center of gravity.
Race-optimized DH suspension kinematics
Canyon has also tweaked suspension kinematics themselves, while retaining the generally four-bar layout overall. The updated design is said to reduce pedal kickback by 60% to smooth suspension action in rough sections and reduce rider fatigue. Canyon actually developed this setup as a result of research they did several years ago with their unique chainless project Disconnect prototype.
At the same time, the Sender CFR becomes a bit more progressive, so there’s always a bit of extra travel at the end of the shock stroke to cover your butt when you case a big landing. Sensitive at initial shock movement, stable platform though mid-travel, and progressive ramp at the end to offer bottom-out protection. Canyon call’s the Sender CFR’s Triple Phase Suspension the ‘holy grail’ in DH design.
Race-proven World Cup DH geometry, updated
The new bike’s geometry build on the race-proven numbers of the current carbon Senders, with a long wheelbase and slack 63° head angle for stability at speed and through the rough stuff. But the biggest shifts in geometry come with the move to 29″ wheels for their increased speed & rollover.
But Canyon recognizes that not everyone fits on a 200mm travel 29er, so of the four available Sender CFR frame sizes, the two smaller get shorter rear ends with 27.5″ rear wheels for a mullet setup and essentially the same standover height as the all 27.5″ previous Senders. In either case, both iterations get the same bottom bracket height, same 200mm rear wheel travel, and same 56mm offset 200mm travel 29er forks.
Pro race level setup adjustability
The bigger front wheels do bring taller stack heights overall, and Canyon adds to that much longer reach, up to 30mm longer on the biggest size. But with longer bikes also comes new adjustability. Each size able to increase frame Reach by 8mm or decrease it by the same amount with adjustable Acros headset cups.
And the 435mm mullet chainstays & 445mm 29er chainstays also can be made 10mm longer with dropout flip chips for even more high-speed stability. That’s intentionally less than the 16mm chainstay adjustment of the previous model, which Canyon feels better preserves a more balanced ride.
Fine tune your bike depending on the race course, or just dial in the feel to best suit your riding style.
Sender CFR – Tech details
Beyond carbon, bigger wheels & updated suspension, the Sender CFR is still just built to survive multiple race seasons. The bikes get double-sealed bearings, replaceable alloy thread inserts in the carbon frame elements, metric shocks, and pivots you can actually get to.
To keep the bike quiet chattering through rock gardens, the CFR gets fully integrated internal cable routing with anti-rattle internal guides and complete wrap chainstay protection with big quieting knobs.
Canyon Sender CFR – Pricing & availability
The new Canyon Factory Racing DH bike is being offered now in two race-ready complete bike builds. The $4700 / 4700€ Sender CFR FMD gets a Fox Performance 40 & DHX2 suspension setup, with a Shimano Saint 1×10 drivetrain & brakes, and DT wheels on 350 hubs (in green or all-black).
The $5800 / 5800€ Sender CFR gets a RockShox Boxxer Ultimate fork & matching SuperDeluxe Ultimate air shock, plus a SRAM X0 DH 1×7, Code RSC brakes, and DT Swiss wheels on 240 hubs at a claimed 15.8kg/35lb weight (in team red & white or all-black.)
No CFR frame-only option is expected. The alloy Sender AL will continue using the 27.5 only design & geo, and the previous heavier carbon Sender CF will not be renewed in the near future.
Both complete bike specs are available from today in all markets except the USA, which will get the new bikes in the very near future.
