Against all good sense, my old ass has been getting into mountain biking over the last few months.
It’s not just hard on my body.
Being confronted with how out-of-shape I am is hard on mysoul.
So I’m grateful for my personal deliverance: Canyon’s Spectral:ON CF 7.
More details below, but overall, both the beginner and the ringer were impressed.
Overview of the Canyon CF 7 e-Mountain Bike
On the mountain bike continuum.
On one end, there are cross-country bikes designed to be pedaled uphill.
On the other, there are “that’s what ski-lifts are for” downhill bikes.
“But when you get on it, it feels super agile, super nimble, very playful.
It feels so much lighter than it actually is.”
Man, it just, it just ate up the corners.
you’re free to really sit and press into them, especially banked corners.
It really settles in super nicely.
I even hit a big jump, a 20-footer, and it just sent it perfect."
The surprising thing was how much fun I had going down.
The CF 7 seems like a behemoth compared to the lighter mountain bike I’ve been riding.
Even though it’s all fiber, it still weighs over 50 pounds (mostly battery).
I expected that a bike this heavy would feel unwieldy or hard-to-control on the downs.
You realize, “oh, it was designed for this,” and relax into the ride.
Don’t get me wrong: It’s still terrifying, but less so on this bike.
Are you a beginner?
Getting down a trail in one piece is much easier if your suspension can eat your mistakes.
The bike is responsive in turns and holds traction well too, even if your technique is lacking.
Like most beginners, I tend to ride the brakes too hard on downhills.
This is a minor gripe, but I found removing it to be complicated and fiddly.
I did it exactly once, then charged it without removing it.
I’m lazy like that.
Sizes: S, M, L, XL
