The Canyon Ultimate has made a name for itself as a great pro-level road bike, as well as being a popular choice for performance-minded amateurs.
Building on a legacy of success
In the eighteen years since Canyon launched the Ultimate, it’s always had a reputation as a lightweight climber’s bike. But the new fifth generation Canyon Ultimate is not just a one-trick pony – it has the perfect balance of properties to make it a versatile all-round road bike. It’s available over a price range to suit many riders too, with 11 models across three frame platforms and prices starting at £2,699 for the Ultimate CF SL7.
We’ve been covering the Ultimate here at Cyclingnews ever since the original bike broke cover back in 2005. Back then, we described Canyon as “an up-and-coming player in the mid- to high-end racing bike market”. Our size 56 test Ultimate Pro weighed 6.9kg and cost €2,800.
It’s fair to say that in the intervening 17 years, Canyon has become a powerhouse, aspirational brand, not least thanks to the Ultimate. It’s a bike that has had a spectacular palmarès, with three grand tour wins to its name (Nairo Quintana in 2014 and 2017, Richard Carapaz in 2019), not to mention two World Championships (Cadel Evans in 2009, Alejandro Valverde in 2018) and wins in a slew of big-name races.
It’s also been a trendsetter, over the years adding the features that represent a modern race bike, with Canyon increasingly engineering its own parts including seatpost and cockpit.
The second generation Ultimate was launched in 2007 and looked to increase comfort with a skinnier 27.2mm seatpost. Then in 2012 came the third generation bike, which added internal cable routing.
The fourth generation Ultimate actually went through five iterations. In 2015, it added aero tube profiles to the classic frame design, as well as a new internal seat clamp to add extra comfort and a superlight Evo carbon lay-up, while in 2016 disc brakes arrived.
May 2017 saw the introduction of a women’s-specific Ultimate and tweaks to the bike’s geometry, while by 2019 the Evo version was first offered with disc brakes, but still came in at under 6kg. In August 2020, Canyon launched its CFR branding for its premium race bikes.
Now there’s a new fifth generation of the Ultimate.
Still lightweight, but stiffer
The new…
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