A little while ago we reviewed the brand new Canyon Endurace, in the most expensive CF 9.0 SL £2,699 Shimano Dura-Ace guise, but now we’ve got our hands on the cheapest model in the Endurace range, the £1,299 CF 8.0.

The Endurace is Canyon’s new comfort/sportive/endurance model, and offers a slightly more relaxed position than their Ultimate and Aeroad race bikes, but it’s not as extreme as some endurance bikes such as the Specialized Roubaix to pick one example.

The important thing to know is that this bike shares exactly the same frame as the incarnation we tested back in August, but trades in the top-shelf build kit for some more modest parts. Make no mistake though, this bike, in typical Canyon fashion with their direct sale business model, offers exceedingly good value for money. There aren'y many other ways of getting a carbon fibre frame and fork with a full Shimano 105 groupset.

This is a size medium (56) with the Sport geometry (Canyon split their models into three tiers of geometry; Sport, Sport Pro and Pro) and that means a 545mm seat tube, 547mm top tube, 159mm head tube, 415mm chainstays and a 989mm wheelbase. That last figure, the wheelbase, is shorter than the likes of the Cannondale Synapse and Bianchi Infinito which stretch the axles out to over 1,000mm, so you can see Canyon have restrained from make the Endurace too relaxed and rangy.

The Endurace is intended to offer comfort as well. It sets out to achieve this with VCLS (Vertical Comfort Lateral Stiffness) technology, optimised carbon fibre layup essentially, in the seat tube, top tube and seatstay junction. This area forms what they like to call a ‘VCLS Module,' and this area of the frame is designed to provide necessary compliance for smoothing rough roads.

That's the frame, Canyon have also used carefully chosen components to provide more smoothness. There's the VCLS 2.0 seatpost which acts a bit like a leaf spring and can move backwards under heavy impacts. The fork is more slender than on other Canyon bikes as well and features a new tapered steerer tube. The bigger volume tyres on wider rims are another attempt at boosting the smoothness offered of the bike.

Canyon have fitted the bike with a full and complete Shimano 105 5800 11-speed groupset with a compact 50/34 chainset. If you read our review of the latest Shimano groupset recently you'll know that it impressed is hugely, and unless you're really concerned with weight, it is the best groupset they company have probably ever produced.

Wheels are supplied by DT Swiss and they're the new R24 Spline models. The rims feature an 18mm internal width, wider than regular rims, which balloons the tyres out substantially. The wheels have a claimed weight of 1,764g. According to DT Swiss the rims are tubeless-ready as well, offering an easy upgrade option down the road.

Onto the wheels are mounted Continental Grand Prix 4000s II tyres in a 25mm width, but due to that extra wide rims the tyres actually measure closer to a 27mm, providing increased volume for a little extra cushioning on rougher roads.

Finishing kit comes from the Ritchey stable, with a WCS 4-Axis 44 stem and WCS Evo Curve handlebar wrapped with Canyon Ergospeed Gel bar tape and a Fizik Ardea saddle atop the Canyon S14 VCLS 2.0 seatpost.

The Endurace CF 8.0 on our scales, and this is a size medium, weighs in at 7.77kg (17.12lb). Canyon claims a 1,040 frame weight for a size medium along with 340g for the fork.

It’ll be interesting to see how this entry-level model compares to the top-end Endurace we tested earlier this year, and see if it performs as well on the road as it looks to do on paper.

More at www.canyon.com