At first, this picture doing the rounds on Instagram looks like it could be Canyon’s much-anticipated new Aeroad, a long-overdue replacement for the company’s second-generation aero road bike launched in 2014 at the Tour de France.
Except it’s not. It’s a hoax. It appears a Canyon super fan based in Brazil has bought an aero frame off the internet and got it painted and stickered up to look like a Canyon Aeroad, a bit like people turning cheap sports cars into Ferrari replicas.
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The frame under the fake Canyon stickers is actually a Costelo Aeromachine Monocoque. Nope, we’ve never heard of it before either. It’s sold for between $1,650 to $2,850 depending on the choice of Shimano groupset, from entry-level 3500 up to Ultegra Di2.
Still, as fake as it is, it got us (well me) thinking about what the next Aeroad could look like. And the integrated stem isn’t a million miles away from where Canyon could go. It’s something we more usually see on time trial bikes but the new Cervelo S5 Disc took the approach of smoothing the stem into the top tube.
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We might see more influence from the company’s Speedmax time trial bike as well. That bike is big on integration with the stem pushed down into the head tube, but it’s also big on adjustable fit and we’d hope to see that on the Aeroad.
The one-piece handlebar and stem are undoubtedly aerodynamic but it’s not so easy to adjust for fit, and as we’ve seen with the new Venue, Systemsix and S5, providing an easily adjustable handlebar and stem for reach and stack is a key focus.
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The current Aeroad is available with disc brakes and we don’t imagine that to change, but will there still be a rim brake version or will it be disc brakes only as the latest crop of high-end aero bikes are now? We’ll have to wait and see.
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What do you expect or want to see on the next generation Aeroad? Let us know below.
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.