Name: 2022 Emtb Shootout - Canyon Spectral:ON CFR LTD Review
Uploaded: 2022-05-20T14:00:02+00:00
Duration: 13 min 51 s
Description: The Canyon Spectral:ON was redesigned from the ground-up for 2022. Canyon Bicycles sought to add further capability and range to their ultimate all-rounder eMTB offering. Unfortunately, due to shippin

2 years ago

The Canyon Spectral:ON was redesigned from the ground-up for 2022. Canyon Bicycles sought to add further capability and range to their ultimate all-rounder eMTB offering. Unfortunately, due to shipping delays we weren’t able to include the previous model in our 2021 eMTB shootout, but we did conduct a long term review after many months of riding it last year and really like it. Luckily this year we learned that the 2022 Spectral:ON model would arrive just in time for our 2022 shootout in Knoxville, Tennessee. The crew was excited to see how it would stack up against the rest of the eBikes in the Trail segment. Canyon’s Spectral:ON CFR LTD sports both the biggest battery capacity on test and the most individual batteries on a bike thanks to the interesting Flight Attendant suspension tech, SRAM AXS drivetrain and dropper. There’s plenty of batteries and tech to talk about, so let’s dive in and see how the Canyon Spectral:ON CFR LTD performed.

THE DIRT
We were excited to get on board the new Canyon Spectral:ON for a good head-to-head thrashing with the four other competitors in the Trail category at the 2022 eMTB shootout in Knoxville, Tennessee. Throughout the week of testing, the Canyon was passed between all of our testers to give it a healthy amount of trail time, and the experiences of all eight testers form the basis of the opinions contained in this review.

On first impressions the Spectral:ON CFR LTD is stunning, with the two-tone matte/metallic paint and ultra clean lines and cables. Seven of the eight crew members who got on board the Spectral:ON had the same initial reaction – a dislike for the integrated bar/stem combo. The “roll” of the bar felt too far forward for all but one of us initially, and with no option to change it – neither before buying or once owning the bike – a buyer would be out of luck. Swapping this bar/stem combo would require a considerable expense and effort, so it’s a shame to see a single fixed option for the geometry. Once you’ve ridden the bar for a while you can begin to get used to it, but it’s still far from optimal for most of us.

Getting the RockShox Flight Attendant suspension setup on the Spectral:ON CFR LTD requires a couple of extra steps compared with a “normal” suspension system. After connecting the system to the SRAM AXS app, the set up process is as follows: the air pressures are set as normal in the fully Open mode, with 30% sag out back and the recommended air pressure in the RockShox Lyrik fork. Next you stand on the bike in the neutral position on a level surface, you then hold a combination of buttons on the Flight Attendant control module on top of the fork to enter the calibration mode. You hold the bike still in an upright position until the lights on the module flash, then tilt the bike over to the non-driveside and hold until it flashes again. The system should now be calibrated, and the suspension ready to rip the trails.

Using the app, you can alter the bias of the system (how it favors the open, pedal and lock modes, with five options to tailor it to your preference); change the compression settings for the fork and shock independently; and even set up an AXS shifter or dropper lever to add a function that forces the suspension into your preferred mode on the fly. After some figuring out, both the calibration process and general operation of the Flight Attendant system were rather straightforward, and the difference on the trail is quite interesting.

[ This is just a short snippet of our written review. For the full write-up, visit the site. ]

Weight as Tested: 51.6 lbs
Review: https://theloamwolf.com/2022/05/20/canyon-spectralon-cfr-ltd-2022-emtb-shootout/
Visit Canyon's Website to get yours: https://bit.ly/38q6o0M
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