Direct-to-consumer bike brand Canyon is working with two new ‘experience partners’ in the UK – which means you can check out and ride its bikes before parting with your cash.
Germany’s Canyon has built a huge following over recent years, but one hurdle for some potential customers is that, as an online business, you can’t just walk into your local bike shop and try out the model you’re interested in. Apart from the odd demo day or expo appearance – in fact, Canyon exhibited at numerous BikeLive events organised by our parent company F-At Digital in the late 2010s – there was no other way for potential Canyon customers in the UK to try before buying.
If you buy a Canyon online you can return it unused within 30 days if you’re not satisfied with the fit – or for any other reason – but some people like a more hands-on experience before parting with their cash, and afterwards too.
> Check out the two Canyon models that featured highly in the road.cc Recommends Money-No-Object Bike of the Year 2024/25
Canyon is working with two new experience partners – so what's one of those? An experience partner provides showrooms and demo and service centres that the buyer can visit.
“The launch and opening of Moloko in south London and Veloroo in Sheffield offer new ways for Canyon riders and cycling fans living in the UK to experience the brand,” says Canyon.
“At these new Canyon partner locations, customers can get up close and personal with the latest Canyon bikes and gear, and take advantage of servicing, repair and bike pick-ups, benefiting from a whole on-brand service and rider experience.”
Canyon says that by the end of 2025, there will be 15 Canyon experience partners in Europe and the USA. The idea is “to support product testing and expert consultations in the buying process”.
Canyon says its research suggests this is important to those who prefer not to buy bikes online, most of these people saying they’d like to test their next bike and/or get expert advice before splashing the cash.
“Both partners will have a curated selection of display bikes, from road to gravel to E-MTBs, plus a fleet of demo bikes on hand ready for customers to try out to get a feel for the ride,” says Canyon. “Team members will also be on hand to offer advice on the bikes as well as guide customers through the Perfect Positioning System, the quick and easy way to find your perfect size bike.”
If you do buy a Canyon bike, you can use the brand’s new Collect and Ride service to have it delivered to the experience partner – or another approved Canyon partner – where it’ll be assembled. Then you can book a handover to go through any set-up options and ask any questions you might have.
As well as bikes, Moloko (no, not that dance duo from back in the day; but you knew that) and Veloroo will have a selection of Canyon clothing for you to browse.
Moloko Cycling, based in Barnes, South London, will open on Saturday, 1st March 2025, while Veloroo will be opening the doors of its new Sheffield Experience Partner location on Saturday, 15th March 2025.
www.canyon.com
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7 comments
All canyons I've seen in the last year had problems out of the box .4 customers had no brakes at all
The new awroad headset is an accident waiting to happen too .Seen them come apart ,failed headset bearings after 4 months ,and when it's 200 to replace its totally unacceptable .I can garentee owners that headset will be non existent within 2 years as its such a poor design .
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Interesting that Canyon is opening physical retail stores when most other brands are going the opposite direction. I'm guessing the location of the two new stores must have a dense population of cyclists to make the cost of opening a store worth while.
Ribble do similar, having a number of small showrooms in shopping centres round the country. The Ribble shop in Bluewater let me look at the bike I wanted (which they had, just not in my size) then fit on a jig then answered my questions on how to complete a C2W order. Can't imagine the tiny little showrooms Ribble run cost that much and they certainly don't try to run a profit in sales, they purely exist to show off the merch and drive internet sales. If these have servicing and significant stock that's going to ramp up the costs a fair bit but it will have very different economics to a traditional bike shop.
I guess they've decided that the time is now.
If you're not happy with the bike, "bring it back to me".
Also, perhaps telling that Canyon isn't opening bricks and mortar itself - they're being delivered by experience partners under their own brand, one of which was only incorporated in October.