If long-distance road riding and grand fondos are your jam, listen up! The Canyon Endurace is getting modern with a new VCLS 2.0 suspension seatpost, larger tire clearance, all-new internal frame storage, and a top-tier ultralight CFR version.
Canyon Endurace versatile all-rounder endurance road bike
Though the frame and overall design of the Canyon Endurace have subtly evolved, the ethos has remained constant; a comfortable ride to take on your biggest days on the road bike. The updates to the line further cement the Endurace into the endurance road category and continue to brush up against gravel boundaries…
What’s New — Canyon Endurace
There are quite a few changes to the Endurace, but let’s start with the frame and the most notable additions. First off, the new Canyon Endurace fully embraces the in-frame storage box concept, or as Canyon calls it, the LOAD box.
Differing from the down tube glovebox we’ve seen most often in modern mountain bikes, this all-new new LOAD box is a top tube storage compartment that acts like a saddle bag for tools, tubes, and all the stuff one usually forgets before running out the door for a ride. The LOAD box also frees up space under your seat for additional storage for more tubes and flat repair gear if you’re out for a major ride… or a bikepacking-style saddle bag if you are going on a major adventure like the Transcontinental.
Inside the LOAD box is a neoprene sleeve like a sausage casing that includes pockets for the Canyon 3-in-1 tool, Dyna Plug, and a 16g CO2. The bike will come with the sleeve. But as for the accessories, you’ll need to purchase that aftermarket, or fit in tools you already have at home.
More Room for Fun (Thanks to Bigger Tire Clearance!)
Canyon has embraced another modern trend and has gone fully in with the large volume tire clearance, more so than ever before. The new Endurace now will fit up to 35mm tires, pushing it into the same tire clearance as its cyclocross bike, the Canyon Inflite.
The larger tire clearance can give the Endurace a life beyond the road and turns this once-all-road bike into a fast-gravel-capable machine now, too.
More Aero, Too
This new Endurace also dips into Canyon’s Aerodynamics partnership with Swiss-Side Aero and squeezes some free speed from the updated Endurace design. The aero advantages start with cleaning up the front end with an all-new (for this bike) aero cockpit, tucking all the cables away inside.
The actually 3-piece carbon Canyon CP0018 is the brand’s aero “one-piece” cockpit that utilizes an adjustable width handlebar setup (40, 42 & 44cm widths from one telescoping bar) and a unique zero-top-cap design. The headset stack compression uses a Canyon-specific top-loading tool that acts like a conventional top cap.
From my first experience with the CP0018, I can say confidently the preload adjustment is very easy, though it takes some time to get used to. Our review Endurace came with 30mm of headset spacers, in addition to what it pictured above. After removing those extra spacers, there was no need to cut the fork, only to add additional compression to the stack and re-tighten the single-pitch bolt.
The CP0018 cockpit eliminates any hint of cables or brake lines from the front end. Plus, with the addition of the new cockpit, Canyon also narrowed the headtube, creating a more slippery front end into the wind.
The slimmer headtube fades into the fork, where the design team borrowed inspiration from the Canyon Aeroad. The new Endurace fork is slim, sturdy, compliant, and matches nicely with the newly narrowed headtube.
The frame seems to get a complete aero treatment, even if it’s not taken to aero race bike extremes, with a slimmer but deeper down tube, deeper headtube, and subtle sculpting to the tube set overall — most notably the deeper aero seat tube with its larger rear wheel cutout. With the aforementioned combined, the new Canyon Endurace is claimed to be 7 Watts faster than the previous model. Tested at 45kph*
All New S15 VCLS 2.0 — Seated Compliance
One of the most recognizable features of the Canyon Endurace is the split carbon seatpost, the VCLS 2.0 design is also now on their MVDP Inflite cross bike, too. The seatpost sees its first update; this new S15 VCLS 2.0 boasts 20mm of max travel. The new design uses the same leaf-sprung design and a floating saddle clamp as before, keeping it maintenance-free and reasonably lightweight.
Introducing the first Canyon Endurace CFR
If you’re looking for the tip-top of the new Canyon Endurace line, it’s the CFR. Just like the Aeroad CFR and Ultimate CFR, the new Endurace CFR brings all the ultralight carbon bells and whistles, and it’s only available with suitably top-tier Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, SRAM Red eTap AXS, or Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupsets.
Only the Di2 model is coming to the US market for the time being.
It’s not just the spec that makes this bike lighter — though it helps. The frame is 100g lighter than the CF SLX version of the Endurace. A weight reduction was achieved using a higher-mod carbon layup compared to the standard frames, yielding a higher strength-to-weight ratio.
Plus, it gets lighter paint schemes, too.
The only real notable difference between the higher-end build options is that the Campagnolo build comes in slightly lighter at 7.2kg vs. 7.3kg for the others. A few grams of that weight loss could be attributed to those narrower 19mm internal x 45mm deep Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO wheels, which are a tap lighter than the much wider 22mm internal x 45mm seep DT Swiss ERC 1100 wheels. The other being that the Campy groupset does NOT include a power meter crankset, making it incrementally lighter than D-A or Red.
Canyon Endurace — Fit and Geometry
The new Canyon Endurace family has preserved its well-established sport road geometry, with a comfortable fit designed for riders of all abilities featuring a slightly upright position on the bike relative to Canyon’s road racing geo.
The head tube angle is only incrementally slackened, while the effective seat angle is almost a degree slacker across the board.
didn’t change, but the stack and reach saw a makeover. In a size medium (our demo size), for example, the new Canyon Endurace has the exact same Stack & Reach compared to the previous version, with the same chainstay length and a 3mm longer wheelbase.
This conservative, laid-back geometry gives the rider a relatively more upright position and could take more pressure off their lower back and shoulders. If you’re going out on a long day on the bike, this balanced but comfortable geometry could be the difference between making it a century or a double metric.
As for sizing, Canyon should have an Endurace that will fit everyone — with 8 frame sizes. Sizes again range from 3XL to 2XL, with the smallest two (2XL and 3XL) utilizing 650b wheels to keep steering & handling characteristics constant across the line without compromising on toe overlap.
Canyon Endurace CF SLX — Specs and Pricing
The new Canyon CF SLX is available worldwide in five different models starting at 3700€ — just three for the USA, starting from $4200. All CF SLX models share the same base frame (Endurace CF SLX R077) and fork (FK0129 CF Disc), the adjustable carbon CP0018 Aerocockpit, and the updated Canyon S15 VCLS 2.0 CF seatpost.
The CF SLX line also shares the same Fizik Argo Tempo R3 saddle and Continental GP 5000 S TR tubeless-ready tires — spec’d 30mm tire in the front and 32mm in the rear.
The different groupsets drive the price differences, but all are electronic and arrive in either Shimano or SRAM configuration. Most bikes come power meter equipped; Shimano bikes arrive with a non-drive side 4iiii power meter and SRAM bikes with Quarq Spider powermeters. As for wheels, there are two configurations; DT Swiss Endurance LN as a boxy, low profile alloy (22mm deep/22mm wide internal) do-it-all wheelset, and the more premium carbon DT Swiss ERC 1400 (35mm/22mm wide internal) wheels as the Aero option.
The existing previous generation entry-level carbon Endurace CF and aluminum Endurace AL continue on unchanged.
New Canyon Endurace — Pricing & Availability
- Canyon Endurace CFR WRL – 10,000€
- Canyon Endurace CFR Di2 – $9000 / 9500€
- Canyon Endurace CFR AXS – 9500€
- Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 AXS Aero – $5500 / 5500€
- Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2 Aero – $5500 / 5200€
- Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2 – $4200 / 4200€
- Canyon Endurace CF SLX 7 AXS – 4000€
- Canyon Endurace CF SLX 7 Di2 – 3700€
The new Canyon Endurace line is available now for purchase online direct from Canyon.com for most of the world, with the US market getting the new bikes starting next week. Although that one CFR is already available in the states, too.
Look for our full review of this Ultegra Di2-spec’d Canyon Endurace CL SLX 8 coming shortly.
