Which Canyon? Decisions, decisions..!

I have the canyon ultimate cf sl 8 disc di2 and it’s fantastic, in my opinion the vast extra isn’t worth it for the slx, the stock DT Swiss pr1400 wheels are also fantastic, think people are too obsessed with carbon wheels (purely aesthetics?) the wheels are light and stiff, fantastic all rounders, I live in the Yorkshire dales and the bike is a climbers dream in fact it does everything really well and comfortable too on long days,  if I was buying a bike today knowing what I now know, I’d buy exactly the same again, I got mine in the early year sale Feb/March reduced from 3500 to 3000, delivery was about 3 weeks. Watch the sizing, I’m 6’3” and my other bikes are xl/60 but the sizing tool put me on a 58/l and it’s perfect, di2 has been faultless, my lbs charge £15 for diagnostic/problem solving so even if I had a problem it’d be no more expensive to sort than a set of cables, but to date no problems just updated it regularly via pc, I wouldn’t go back to mechanical needless to say or in fact rim brakes, as it stands it requires little maintenance other than tyre pressures, pre ride is seconds these days.

If it's any help:

Bought a Canyon Endurace Ultegra Di2 from the Canyon factory outlet last Jan. Arrived with no problems within 7 days. Everything needed was included.

I reckon if there is the bike you want in the right size, is in the factory outlet, defo go for it.

Re. Di2...brilliant. Spend all winter missing it on my winter bike. I'd actually argue it's less hassle than mechanical given that once indexed (very easy), you don't need to fiddle with them again. Charge lasts ages and the changes are so easy compared to mechanical (even high spec). The example of this for me is when you need to combine braking for a junction at the bottom of a descent with changing up the cassette ready for moving off...just a gentle tap of the  finger. Of course others may disagree..

You don't really give up LBS support; Canyon UK offer excellent support and you can just pay your LBS for help/stuff like a good cyclist.

Re Di2 versus eTap; I very very slightly prefer the feel of the changes of the Dura Ace 9120 Di2 (due to split second eTap boot up time), but I'd definitely get eTap as it's much easier to fix and debug than digging out Di2 cables from the frame and testing them all for issues with specialist equipment. Plus it looks better.

Re sergius' comment about indexing the rear mech on Di2 versus mechanical... I don't agree; I can twist a barrel faster than I can press-and-hold a little button hidden under the stem and tap the levers back and forth. Mechanical rear mechs are in practice identical to Di2 in performance - faster actually due to multiple cog jumps possible with mechanical - and adjusting (once the cable's taught!). Front mech however... That I do miss. Dura Ace 9100 front mech is an absolute arse to set up and you don't get a tired left hand with Di2. I also slightly miss syncro shift.

I've heard Canyons are very good value & quality though not ridden one.

If you're concerned about weight, then discs will not exactly help, so may as well go for the cheaper one if you have to have discs. 

Unless you decide to go rim brakes in which case may as well go whole hog on the weight weenie option - a leftfield suggestion here: Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Di2 for £4999 on sale online in M...6kg all up if it fits! 

LBS support - that's what you're giving up by going Canyon so I don't think it's fair to go trying out. And if that's very important with warranty etc then try another brand e.g. like a Giant dealer, above.

Thank you Wellsprop and rogermerriman for the information.

sorry to the OP for taking thread off  topic . 

Question to all the cyclists with disc road bikes - Is there ant special precaution you take when removing the front wheel for transportation ? I mean i have to take my front wheel off to get my bike in my car and do this frequently. Do you do anything special to stop the pads from moving together while the wheel is out ?

I'm probably buying myself a Aeroad for my 40th birthday soon

Torn between the CF SLX DISC 9.0 SL and the CF SLX DISC 8.0 DI2.  My heart says ETAP, my head says the Ultegra Di2 is sufficient.

I've got already:

Mechanical Ultegra w/ Disks

Electronic Ultegra w/ Disks

As an owner, I can tell you:

- I'm never buying another bike without hydraulic disk brakes

- I spend the whole winter missing my electronic gears on my best bike.  Other than where its not cost appropriate (i.e. my winter bike), I'm not buying mechanical again.  You never have to adjust it (I HATE indexing RDs), you never have to replace cables, you never have to worry about trim - IT JUST WORKS.

Could you just buy two Ultimate CF SL 7.0 mechanicals and give one to me please? I am sure once you get a bit of mud on it you won't tell the difference.

Part Robot makes some very valid points. I suspect the main differences between SLX and SL equate to incremental gains for much bigger bucks. Personally I’d go SLX for no other reason than me being a good salesman’s dream 

As for testing out di2 disc at the LBS, personally I feel this is poor form unless you’re fully upfront about what you’re planning. You might strike lucky and find your LBS is looking at the long game, ie you’ll bring the Canyon in for servicing etc. But I suspect most LBS’ will only let you test ride if they think you’ll buy from them. Or they charge you for the test. 

Best of luck, whichever way you choose your set to have a cracking summer. Weather permitting. 

You have narrowed down correctly; the carbon disk Ultimates are untouchable at their price IMO in terms of weight, design, aero and build quality. To pick apart your questions:

Frameset: SL and SLX framesets differ by 100g and are identical in every other way. SLX is pointless. Even Canyon staff will tell you that.

Wheels: aero wheels are heavier because they are bigger. No surprises here. Aero trumps a packet-of-butter's-worth of weight any day. You'll catch the wind with them though...

Di2: hate it. Never again. Gear changes really are great and you certainly notice the ease during a long ride... but I want gears I can fix for a tenner when I'm away from the only bike shop in town that has a Di2 diagnostic kit, spares and a direct line to Shimano. Besides, Dura Ace 9100 mech is awesome. My Synapse had Di2; my new Ultimate does not. Very personal opinion though. Note: you CANNOT upgrade mech Ultimates to Di2 unless you want to cut your frame apart.

Sacrific disk for rim: you having a laugh?

Here's what I'd do if you want to buy a ready-made bike: CF SL mechanical disk and spend the rest on a holiday, a Kickr or something else. If you must spend it on the bike, get some HED wheels or something. Or an Aeroroad. Or both with the money you save not going Di2 and SLX...

Or ditch the discs, and go with the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 @ 6.5kg's ? Lovely bit of kit.

if your a weight weenie think long and hard about disc vs rim brake:

AEROAD CF SLX 8.0 DI2 (7.2kg) 4,000

ULTIMATE CF SLX 8.0 DI2 3.8k(7.1kg) 3,799

ULTIMATE CF SLX 9.0 (6.5kg) 4,349

Not saying disc is worse, just saying have a good think if it's worth paying the premium for, or if you'd rather have better components/lighter weight.

If I had your money it would be the Aeroad di2

The SLX frame is lighter and comes with the (heavy) but good looking aero Mavics.

The SL is much cheaper and comes with lightweight DT Swiss wheels.

Never ridden Di2, but having upgraded to Ultegra R8000, I don't see the need to go for Di2 - I'd rather have the reliability of mechanical.

Ultegra disc brakes are VERY good, I prefer them to my Ultegra rim brakes. You don't need disc brakes but they offer better performance, particularly in the rain. Disc brakes do have the added of advantage of not wearing away carbon rims too in the long run.​

I think you should go the SLX because an L can easily be changed to an E!
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