Honestly, there weren’t too many things at this year’s Eurobike that got me excited. Apart from the Carbonsports Challenge700- and Clincher-wheels, the new Walser bars, Zipp cranks and the painted
Kelly’s girls, the new Canyon F10 carbon-fibre frameset was one of the novelties, that really caught my eye.
Nowadays, a big number of companies offer frames in the 900grams range. Some of them are stiff, some of them aren’t. Some of them are good-looking, well proportioned and nicely painted.They are
more or less expensive; pricing varies between 1600 and 7000 Euro.
Customers often have to make certain compromises: light, stiff, beautiful and cheap. Pick three! … sure?
Well, before Canyon introduced the new F10 chasis, I’d have answered that question with a simple “Yes!”. All the more I was impressed, when I saw the new kid on the block.
To name a few facts:
- – 920 grams
- – superb stiffness and STW-ratio
- – Price likely to be around 1300 Euro for frame, fork, headset, seatpost-collar and stem
- – Aproximately 20% cheaper for owners of a racing license
- – 8 sizes available
- – individual designing possibilities
The frame-set has been given a completely new face. All the tubes have been re-shaped, the frame comes now with a 27.2mm seatpost (31.6mm so far), the fork looks beefier and the infamous weak-point
of the previous F10 – the transition from headtube to the fork’s crown – has been swept off. The headtube of the 2008 model does not have a conical external appearance, but still bears a huge
oversized, conical fork-steerer inside. Also, the previous, skinny and non-matching legs of the Flex SL fork have been beefed up and now go very well together with the frame. There’s just one thing
that bothers me: The weight went up, just because some people were complaining about the appearance. The previous model was a perfect example for “form follows function”, which I, personally, liked
very much.
Anyway, back to the new F10. The frame-set will be shipped with a custom headset made by Acros, specially for Canyon. The lower bearing will have a huge 1 ½” diameter, while the top one will be
reduced to 1 ¼”. Canyon don’t use any spacers whatsoever to make a normal steerer-tube fit an oversized headset, so you may have alright noticed, that you will have to use a stem with an 1 ¼ “
clamp. So far, Syntace and FSA provide Canyon with this still exotic measurement, but negotiations with Thomson are running and I bet Ritchey won’t let you wait too long either.
The adjustment of the headset if done by a little bolt underneath the stem, in the top cap of the headset, which makes the heavy expanders for carbon-forks unnecessary and thus saves weight. Also,
the lower bearing will be placed deeper in the head-tube, which results in a better protection against dirt and mud.
Massive chainstays and the patented maximus seat-tube provide perfect power transfer, while the minimalist seat-stays (even thinner than last year!) and the 27.2mm seatpost offer the desired
comfort. The top-tube has been flattened a bit, while beeing slightly wider than before, resulting in better handling and better damping.
There will be approximately 13 models, available in 8 different sizes and various color-schemes. Plus, you now have the option to add your name and team-logo on the top-tube as well.
