Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2

I’ve always found Endurace road bikes efficient to ride, and that hasn’t changed with the latest incarnation. In fact, thanks to the new aero design of the Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2, it’s the most efficient yet. The downside though is that Canyon still hasn’t managed to make the Endurace a fun and captivating bike to ride in the same way as the Ultimate and Aeroad.

Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2: The ride

The Endurace has been around for a lot of years now and I’m pretty sure I’ve ridden nearly every iteration during my time here at road.cc, and I’ve always had the same criticism. I’ve found it a bit on the dull side.

That’s not to say it’s a bad bike. It really isn’t. If you want a machine that can help you cover big mileage efficiently, and without having to cram yourself into a race orientated position, I’d argue that it’s up there with the best on the market.

This new model works in just the same way as the previous ones. Looking at the data on my watch when I got home, it showed that the Endurace SLX will get a lick on, in a stealthy kind of manner too, as it is definitely quicker than it feels.

The aero attributes this version has gained over earlier models no doubt help that by cutting through the air more easily and the frame certainly doesn’t lack stiffness either, so you aren’t losing any watts when mashing the pedals.

If sportives are your thing, or you like to head out for three or four hours or more on your road rides, then this Endurace will certainly fit the bill.

The wheelbase on all of the SLX sizes is over a metre (well okay, the 2XS is 999mm) so we’re talking about a bike designed for stability, especially when you take into account the slacker head angle compared to a race bike.

This keeps the handling neutral and makes the SLX an easy bike to live with day to day and gave me plenty of confidence when I was swooping through wide open corners or carving my way through traffic on my commute through the city.

At high speed, especially on technical descents, the SLX does show some tradeoffs to that endurance-based geometry. The handling lacks precision and speed, which manifests as a delay when you go to bank the bike into the corner.

At times, it felt like I was fighting the handlebar to get the Canyon to turn – then it’d just go through this dead phase, and then everything came back good again. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it was really off putting.

I have a specific, technical descent that I’ve been testing review bikes on for the last 17 years and I’ve ridden all kinds of road machines down it. I can always tell the difference between the race and the endurance bikes through the first chicane, as it’s off camber and I enter it at about 40mph from a left hander.

The race bikes with their sharper handling turn in much quicker and make the transition from the right to left hand corner snappily, with just a flick of bodyweight easily making the change in direction.

The endurance bikes usually require me to scrub off a bit more speed before the chicane to counteract their slightly slower direction change.

It was here that I first noticed this delayed trait in the SLX’s handling. It felt really vague through the transition of the corner direction in the middle of the chicane. We’re talking micro-seconds here, but it was just enough for me to have to think about changing my line or scrubbing some more speed.

I lost a bit of trust in the front end, even though the bike held on through the corner and everything was absolutely fine.

As the rest of the hill opened up, I let the SLX go and hit 50mph, but as the rest of the corners are generally flowing I had no more issues.

This sums up my biggest gripe with nearly all of the Enduraces I’ve ridden, and it’s still evident on this one – they just aren’t very talkative bikes.

If you’ve read the hundreds of bike reviews I’ve written on here, you’ll know I’m the type of rider that likes a lot of feedback from the bike. I want a connection with it. I want to feel every little interaction with the surface, every little detail of the environment, so that I know exactly what is going on.

It’s that old cliché of being at one with the bike – but that’s what I want. This SLX just didn’t give me that.

It’s not completely mute by any means. Obviously, I was still getting general feedback and the Endurace is comfortable to ride. But by making this iteration even more about speed, the way it behaves seems to have been somewhat overlooked.

This is not just a case of me saying that you are better off with a race bike like Canyon’s Aeroad if you want to tackle high speed technical corners. Many endurance bikes manage it brilliantly. Giant’s Defy, Merida’s Scultura Endurance and Scott’s Addict all give a much better rider experience and cope just fine with the roads that get technical.

I’m not being all doom and gloom here. The Endurace is a good bike; one that for at least 95 per cent of the time I was riding it, I enjoyed myself on. I’m just saying, if you’re after an endurance bike that you want to ride very quickly, there are better options out there.

At 8.27kg, the Endurace isn’t in the superlight category, but that doesn’t stop it being a decent climber and it accelerates well too. It certainly has plenty of get-up-and-go.

From a comfort point of view, it has that blend of firmness as a byproduct of a stiff frameset, with any harshness offset by a decent carbon layup process. I found it pleasant enough to ride for quite a few hours without my contact points taking any impact, but I wouldn’t describe it as class leading or anything.

The new aero-styled VCLS seatpost doesn’t offer as much of an effect as the standard round VCLS post that Canyon offers. In fact, it doesn’t really feel like it’s doing anything at all until the surface gets really rough. I rode a cobbled section of road and the 10mm of movement became noticeable then, but other than that it felt just like a rigid post.

So, to sum it all up. From a riding point of view, I like the Endurace CF SLX, but it doesn’t have enough of an edge for me to love it.

Canyon CF SLX 8 Di2: Frame and fork

As you’ve guessed, the big news here is that the Endurace road range has gone aero from front to back. There are angles everywhere, deep section tubing and large, bulky junctions everywhere.

One of the biggest changes is the shape of the down tube which increases in girth dramatically about a quarter of the way down from the head tube. It now accommodates what Canyon describes as LOAD Storage, which is basically an opening hidden under a cover which allows you to stash stuff inside the frame. It’s quite smart – as in, the underside of the cover has mounting points for tools to prevent them rattling.

Ribble has incorporated this style of down tube shape on a lot of their new bikes, like the Allroad and Ultra-Race, and I’ve found the ride quality on each of those to be somewhat sub-par, and maybe that is what is affecting the Endurace too. The jury is still out.

Moving further back, you’ll find a chunky bottom bracket section which is designed to accept a press-fit 86.5 BB, before flowing into some fairly chunky chainstays. The seatstays aren’t as slender as some I’ve seen, but they have been dropped low for aerodynamics.

The CF SLX range will now accept 38mm tyres and both the frame and fork are compatible with their DEFEND Fast Fenders – or mudguards if you are in the UK. The Endurace has bolts positioned to accept them and will accept up to 35mm tyres. The bikes come with 32mm tyres as standard.

Other than that, you get your twin mounting points for bottle cages, and it’s the usual 12mm thru axle standards and flat mount calliper mounting points.

The new Endurace is very much about integration, and you won’t see a single hose, cable or wire anywhere. It achieves this by using Canyon’s PACE Bar which runs the brake hoses from the levers internally through the inside of the bar before they are fed into the head tube from the top. The hoses are then fed through the frame and fork to the callipers.

This bike uses Shimano’s Di2, so the shifters are wireless and the wires going to the front and rear mech also run internally from the hidden battery.

The seatclamp is also inside the frame for a completely clean rear end too.

There are seven sizes in the line up, ranging from 2XS to 2XL, which have top tube lengths of 533mm and 612mm respectively.

The large model pictured here has an effective top tube length of 577mm and a head tube measuring 183mm. It sits at 72.5 degrees, while the seat angle is slightly steeper at 73.5 degrees.

The stack and reach figures are 608mm and 397mm, while the wheelbase is 1,025mm, helped by the quite lengthy 418mm chainstays.

Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2: Finishing kit

There are four builds on offer in the CF SLX range. The entry level options are the SLX 7 with either Shimano 105 Di2 or SRAM’s Rival AXS – both are priced at £3,799.

The range topper is the SLX9, which comes with Dura Ace Di2 and deeper section wheels for £6,649. This SLX 8 model sits a rung below at £4,299.

The three cheaper models are available in Crystal White, Atlantic Blue or Champagne colourways, while the Dura Ace colour options are Crystal White or Colourflow, which looks to be a green/purple flip that should look awesome in the sun.

All the bikes get the same cockpit and seatpost, plus they all come with carbon wheels.

My test model used the Ultegra Di2 groupset with a 50/34T chainset (perfect for endurance style riding) and an 11-34T 12-speed cassette. Canyon has specced slightly shorter crank arms than the norm. The smallest two frames get 160mm, the small and medium get 165mm, and the large, XL and 2XL all get 170mm.

The theory is that shorter cranks allow a higher cadence and put less strain on your legs, so are therefore more efficient. Personally, I’ve ridden all lengths of cranks on different bikes and never really found any noticeable difference in changes of +/-5mm, but for some of you it might – especially on those smaller-framed bikes where toe overlap can be an issue.

The cranks also include a 4iiii P3+ power meter, which is a bonus.

We’ve got a full review of the latest Ultegra Di2 groupset.

The PACE cockpit is an integrated carbon fibre handlebar/stem setup which I found very comfortable to use. The large model comes with a 110mm stem and a 440mm wide bar.
The bar width is customisable thanks to the drops being separate parts to the main cockpit. You can undo the bolts underneath and slide the drop sections in or out by 25mm per side. There are three location holes on each side which allow you to set your bar width from that 440mm width down to 390mm. You can also swap them out for gravel style sections with a flare at the drops should you want.

You can adjust everything without having to remove the brake hoses too. It’s a clever solution.

As I mentioned earlier, the seatpost is an aero version of Canyon’s VCLS which allows for 10mm of compliance. The saddle is a Fizik Aliante R5 which I always consider to be a good all-rounder.

The wheels are DT Swiss’ ERC 1600 Dicuts, which have a 35mm deep carbon fibre rim that is 22mm wide internally. I’ve used these a lot on various bikes and found them to be durable do-a-bit-of-everything wheels. At just over 1,600g they are middling in weight, but in no way do they ever feel sluggish or like they are hampering the SLX anywhere.

Schwalbe provides the tyres with their Pro One Evos in a 32mm width. These are brilliant tyres in terms of speed and grip. I really rate them highly, and for speed focused tyres I also find them to be durable too.

Canyon Endurace CF SLX 8 Di2: Conclusion

First of all, let’s take a look at how the SLX 8 compares price wise.

I mentioned a couple of bikes earlier. So, let’s kick off with those.

I was massively impressed with Scott’s Addict 20 when I reviewed it a few months back, describing it as, “One of those rare bikes that shows it is possible to have a road machine that feels incredibly light and fast – and I mean properly fast – while also offering an endurance style position paired with the highest level of comfort, all without making any real sacrifice anywhere.”

I was so impressed, I scored it 9/10. That was because the ride quality was brilliant, it handled amazingly well – especially for a bike with endurance geo – and the seatpost did a better job of dealing with surface vibration than the Canyon’s does.

The build was similar to this SLX 8 with Ultegra Di2, a carbon handlebar and some very lovely Fulcrum Wind 42 wheels. The only thing it lacks in comparison is a power meter and the ability to run fixed mudguards. It’ll take 38mm tyres like the Canyon, and the price is the same at £4,299.

The CF SLX is the mid-range of the three frameset options in the Endurace line up with the CFR sitting at the top and the CF sitting below. Giant does something similar with its Defy with the Advanced Pro being the middle ground. The Advanced SL sits at the top, and the Advanced at the bottom, if you’re interested.

The Advanced Pro 1 comes in at £100 cheaper than this Canyon, but has a SRAM Rival AXS groupset instead with a Quark power meter and Giant’s own SLR 1 40 carbon wheelset. The Advanced Pro 0 has an Ultegra groupset and power meter, but comes with a higher spec wheelset which pushes the price up to £5,499.

The Defy takes 40mm tyres maximum and will take mudguards too. It also has an exceptional ride quality, plus the performance is only just shy of Giant’s race machine, the TCR.

Merida’s Scultura Endurance is getting a little left behind in the tyre width stakes, maxing out a 35mm, but it will also take mudguards. It has an excellent ride quality though and I’ve always felt that the geometry works really well indeed.

Pricing is a bit steeper than the Canyon’s with the Endurance 9000 costing £4,500 for an Ultegra Di2 build with Vision’s SC45 carbon wheelset.

Overall, the Canyon can be seen as impressive in terms of pricing, but for me I don’t know if that is enough to stop me spending a bit more on the Giant or the Merida to get the better ride quality and rider involvement.

Anyway, I’d go for the Scott, as it’s a better bike than the Canyon for the same money.

As I’ve said earlier in the review, the Canyon is a good bike. It’s just that there are others out there that are a better all round package if, like me, you want to feel proper engagement with the bike beneath you.