Canyon's New Exceed Hardtail Frame Uses 'Unicorn Hair' Carbon Fiber & Weighs 835 Grams
There's an arms race going on in XC racing at the moment with brands constantly trying to one-up each other and produce the lightest hardtail frame possible. Unno and Specialized are currently leading the charge, but Canyon has now entered the ring with an update of its Exceed hardtail.
This hardtail, which we assume Pauline Ferrand Prevot and Mathieu Van Der Poel would have considered riding at the Tokyo Olympics, weighs a claimed 835 grams in size medium. Breaking that down, the carbon frame weighs 740 grams, the paint on the top model a further 39 and then the chain suck plate, chainstay protector, SRAM UDH and integrated seat clamp make up the remaining 48 grams. You don't need a math degree to realized that those numbers don't quite add up, but Canyon overstates the weight to allow for variances in the production method.
This hardtail, which we assume Pauline Ferrand Prevot and Mathieu Van Der Poel would have considered riding at the Tokyo Olympics, weighs a claimed 835 grams in size medium. Breaking that down, the carbon frame weighs 740 grams, the paint on the top model a further 39 and then the chain suck plate, chainstay protector, SRAM UDH and integrated seat clamp make up the remaining 48 grams. You don't need a math degree to realized that those numbers don't quite add up, but Canyon overstates the weight to allow for variances in the production method.
Details
Intended use: XC racing
Frame Weight: CFR - 835 grams, CF SLX - 1015 grams, CF - 1,312 grams
Bike Weight: 8.9kg / 19.6 lb (CFR LTD, no pedals)
Wheelsize: 29"
Travel: 100mm fork recommended
Head Angle: 69°
Price: €1,699 - €6,499
More info: canyon.com
Intended use: XC racing
Frame Weight: CFR - 835 grams, CF SLX - 1015 grams, CF - 1,312 grams
Bike Weight: 8.9kg / 19.6 lb (CFR LTD, no pedals)
Wheelsize: 29"
Travel: 100mm fork recommended
Head Angle: 69°
Price: €1,699 - €6,499
More info: canyon.com
For comparison, the Specialized Epic and Unno Aora are both claimed to weigh 790 grams in medium. It's tough to make direct comparisons as different companies measure with different bits of hardware attached but it's fair to say the Exceed is very much in the ballpark with the lightest hardtails money can buy.
So, how did Canyon get this bike so light? It all comes down to the carbon they used. There are three different specs of carbon for the bike with only the top of the range CFR level hitting the claimed weight. This is because it uses what Canyon calls 'Unicorn Hair' and what engineers call Toray M40X. It's very rare to find this fiber on a mountain bike as Toray only supplies it to three manufacturers and its cost also makes it pretty prohibitive too. As well as being super light, the fiber is also apparently strong and stiff so the new Exceed required less reinforcing to pass impact tests. This is the first time Canyon has used this grade of carbon across any of their bikes however they state that they intend to use it more in the future.
Canyon has also revised the geometry of the Exceed following feedback from its racers. The head angle has been slackened by 0.5° down to 69°, reaches have grown by around 10mm and chainstays shrunk by 2mm.
The front end of this bike has also seen some interesting changes including a one-piece bar and stem that will keep riders in a super racy position. The stem has a negative rise of 6° and a length of 80mm, while the bars measure 740mm in width. Just under that cockpit sits redesigned routing that now sees the cables plunge into the frame through the headset. This may seem an unusual decision on a mountain bike but it has been a feature on most road bikes released in the past year and it apparently allows for tighter routing, allowing Canyon to trim weight from the headtube. The final front end update is an Impact Protection Unit that prevents the handlebars from over-rotating and the fork hitting the frame.
One other cool detail to notice is the integrated seat tube clamp that's adopted from Canyon's cyclocross range and prevents the build-up of muck versus a conventional clamp design.
Cables now enter the frame through the headset, underneath the one-piece bar and stem.
High spec models get this inverted D232 seatpost from DT Swiss
Space for 2 water bottles inside the front triangle
Canyon will be releasing 9 models of the Exceed in total across 3 levels of carbon spec. 7 of the builds will be unisex and 2 women specific.
CF Models - frame weight 1,312 grams
Exceed CF 6
Exceed CF 5 - €1,699
Exceed WMN 5 - €1,699
Exceed CF 6 - €2,199
Exceed CF 7 - €2,699
Exceed WMN 7 - €2,699
CF SLX Models - frame weight 1,015 grams
Exceed CF SLX 9
Exceed CF SLX 8 - €3,699
Exceed CF SLX 9 - €4,699
CFR Models - frame weight 835 grams
Exceed CFR Team
Exceed CFR Team - €5,699
Exceed CFR LTD - €6,499
More info on all models, here.
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125 Comments
*nice
Meanwhile, it someone will be rather happy riding it very quickly somewhere in the woods...... blissfully unaware of their headtube being microns out..... simpletons.
I also see he sells ludicrously priced £300- £400 odd replacement bbs that would cost about £10 to machine plus some quality bearings, but sure - he isn’t ripping people off, oh no. He is saint Hambini doing a public service, no clever marketing at all l.
But then, the frames are the same geo between M and W bikes...only the bar, saddle and chain ring change...point me at a bike where those three items haven't been changed straight out of the bike shop doors....soooo....if you really really want that unicorn paint job, you can do so
And sorry, think pink one is naughty
Lots of teams end up just adding weight to the bike to get them up to the 6.8kg weight limit, even after they add bottle cages and pedals and everything else.
Maybe they shouldn't.
I sometimes feel like Canyon's real purpose in life is to make Americans feel like we're missing out on great products that other countries have access to. Like, you know, the rest of the world often feels about us.
Also, could you please just publish a normal size chart instead of your tool that just returns "Unfortunately, we are unable to recommend a frame size based on your measurements. Check your measurements are accurate and entered properly into the form." For any measurements I put in.
Going over 2.4 would be a hard sell for an XC racer.
You'd probably get a 2.6" tyre on to the front wheel if the fork is a 29/27.5+ fork - not sure about on the SIDs though....
2.2" rear and 2.4" front seems to me optimal for most conditions with currently available tires
I feel like XC bikes are going to the opposite end of the spectrum as Enduro bikes, where manufactures are saying "these bikes will always be ridden in a race format as specced and never in any other situations" - and Enduro bikes manufacturers are saying "weight doesn't matter because Enduro bikes need to be reliable so here they are at 40lbs."
It seems like the industry really wants us to adopt the N+1 Bike Stable where we have a specific bike for every specific use case. Tire clearance too easily makes bikes more versatile, can't have that.
There are a lot of hardcore hardtails and trail bikes out there for anyone who isn't a weight weenie XC racer.
These are purpose built race bikes. So I agree with the industry on this one. If you aren't a dedicated racer just get a more suitable bike. More versatility is always going to mean some compromises need to be made.
The Aspen and Rekon Race are good examples of this - they are offered in wider sizes and their tread patterns are sparse in the center but knobby on the outside.
@showmethemountains: Technically 2.4...but they don't measure 2.4.
Do you mean the seat tube instead?
Please ask @mikelevy to add up. Should be easier than gears ratio
AndCanyon as always has veru ugly color schemes
Germans need to learn from Orbea
also, an Oxford comma would have helped your joke, err...attempt at a joke.