Review: Canyon Spectral WMN CF 9.0

Construction and Features


The Spectral WMN has the same distinctly modern aesthetic that other Canyon models do, with the signature "swoosh" in the downtube being even more pronounced on this women's model since it has greater standover height. The redesigned frame comes with 2.6" wide tires, something that wasn't common just a couple years ago.

Impact Protection Unit: The IPU was designed to protect the top tube from being damaged by the handlebar thanks to an integrated limit stop. It's a bit redundant on the size medium bike for that purpose, since the handlebars are so far above the top tube, but it does ensure that the housing doesn't rip off in a crash. You can still turn the handlebar a good 90°.

Integrated Seatpost Clamp: The seamless integration of the seatpost clamp gives the bike a clean, modern look, and Canyon claims it helps reduce the number of parts susceptible to wear and tear.




Fully Sealed Industrial Bearings: To hold up over seasons of riding in wet and dry conditions alike, the frame is equipped with fully sealed industrial bearings. In addition, each pivot has additional X-ring seals to avoid premature wear caused by water and dirt penetration. The main pivot also has two bearings on the drive side to cope with the higher loads due to chain tension and the asymmetric design of the linkage.




Integrated Cable Channel: Instead of true internally routed cables through the frame, all carbon and aluminum models of the Spectral WMN come with their newly developed integrated cable channel. The plastic channel seamlessly merges into the frame for a clean look and provides clear and secure channels for all of the cables. It can easily be removed for servicing with Allen keys and also serves as a bash guard to protect your bike from big hits.




Waterbottle Compatible: On the size medium I tested, a regular bottle fits with no issues. For the XXS and XS frames, Canyon developed a new solution: The Eject System. This is two 400 ml bottles that attach to either side of the frame and is an extra fee at check out.

Storage Box: The storage box that fits on the front end of the main triangle fits a tube and a CO2 cartridge or a sandwich and a bar. It's available for an additional fee on size S and M frames.

Geometry & Sizing


There's a shorter reach on the women's bikes (430mm on the Medium I'm riding compared to a 440mm reach on the men's Spectral), they've increased the amount of standover on the women's model, and the bottom bracket heights are lowered by 0.5cm on the smaller frame sizes to accommodate these differences. There are also different touch points on the women's bikes, including women's grips and saddles, and a narrower 740mm handlebar.

Interestingly, Canyon developed all sizes around the Small size, instead of around the traditional Medium frame. Taller women will have to look elsewhere, though, as the sizing is limited to XS, S, and M in the carbon version (the aluminum versions add XXS). Canyon believes this should fit women who range from 4'8" (148cm) in height to 5'9" (179cm) in height. They found that the range of sizes required for female riders is different to that required for men, with the majority of female riders requiring XS and S bikes.

Suspension Design


As for the suspension, the linkage has the same horizontally-placed shock as the mainline Spectral, which completely readjusts the placement of the pivot points and sets the shock in a more horizontal position compared to the rocker configuration on the previous generation Spectral. Canyon says that this change was inspired by the lessons they'd learned during the development of their Sender DH bike.

On the Spectral WMN, Canyon say they've tuned the kinematics to offer better performance on the trail for lighter female riders. Canyon doesn't collect rider weight in their PPS system, so they don’t have their own data regarding body weight, but the research they did in addition to the feedback from sports scientists and physiotherapists led them to believe that women are, on average, 15% lighter than men at a comparable body height. This is caused by a different constitution and muscle – body fat ratio.

Canyon's goals with the design were to strike a balance between efficient acceleration and pedalling, while keeping the rear end active and in contact with the ground under heavy braking to maintain traction. Shorter shocks than those equipped on the men’s models are used, which Canyon claims provides a different leverage curve that is even more responsive in the first phase, while still using the full potential of the 140 mm rear travel.

The kinematics on the Spectral WMN have been specifically tuned for the lower weights of female riders and have what Canyon calls "Triple Phase Suspension." The graph shows how the kinematics of the Spectral WMN (upper curve) compare with the men's Spectral (lower curve).

Test Bike Setup


I ran the Fox Float DPS Factory shock at 188 psi and 25% sag, and didn't need to run any volume spacers. The shock has three setting for the open mode - I ran it in the middle position. Up front, I ran the Fox 34 Factory with 83 psi, 10 clicks of open mode adjust from fully open and 7 clicks of rebound, and no tokens.

I rode the Canyon Spectral on my home trails in Squamish, BC in late spring, through the summer and into early fall. Conditions were wet and muddy at the beginning of the test period, blown out towards the end of the summer, and there were a fair number of days with perfect hero dirt thrown into the mix as fall arrived.

Climbing

After my front wheel lifted off the ground a few too many times on steep climbs, I moved the saddle forward slightly on the rails to cheat the 74-degree seat tube angle into being a bit steeper. That helped, and once I did that, it was easier to keep the front of the bike on the ground.

In the wet conditions that Squamish is notorious for, the 2.6" Ardent rear tire made climbing near impossible and I would spin out on much more gradual gradations than anticipated. However, as the trails dried out, I was able to find traction on technical climbs and it was nice not to feel any rolling resistance from the 2.6" tires.

In fact, encouraged by how good I felt climbing on the Spectral WMN, I even took it in one of Squamish's local XC races. The bike is so light that I didn't feel like I had a disadvantage on the climbs compared to the XC whippets on the start line. When climbing in full open mode, however, there was a slight bob in the shock, and I used the lockout for efficiency on the fire roads and smooth climbs. When the bike was in firm mode, there wasn't very much traction on steep, loose climbs, so I found the middle setting on the shock to be a happy medium and ran it at 25% sag to give it a bit more support. There's no lockout lever on the bar, but the setting is relatively easy to adjust while climbing.

On slow, tight switchbacks, the bike felt nimble and I could pick precise lines and easily maneuver the bike around and never found myself hitting the pedals on rocks or roots. While there's minimal pedaling-induced suspension movement, there is some, and for most technical climbs, I used the middle setting.

I'm being a bit persnickety here, but I did find that the water bottle mount, while appreciated, was quite low and could be a bit hard to reach.

Descending

The Spectral WMN loves to pop off of features on the trail and get air. It prefers to launch over obstacles and is not the kind of ultra-plush monster truck that plows through rough terrain. It holds its own on technical terrain, however, including Squamish's black diamond trails - you just have to be careful with line choice. When it's not in the air, the quick and precise handling of the Spectral WMN make cornering with it very fun, and it accelerates out of berms with ease. Even at high speeds, the bike feels stable and smooth.

I did find the bike's limitations on bigger drops and steep terrain. On bigger drops, I would have liked a plusher landing and more support, and on steep, rocky terrain, I felt that I got pushed over the front of the bike. A bigger fork like the Fox 36 instead of the Fox 34 the bike came with could have helped with confidence in technical, steep terrain, but would make the bike heavier.

I wouldn't want to do bike park laps on this bike, or race Enduro World Series races on it. On the other hand, while I rode it in an XC race, that's not really its jam, and it smashed the descents. All in all, the Spectral WMN finds the sweet spot for trail / all-mountain riding, loves long descents from the alpine, and is plenty capable for local enduro races for someone who isn't a die-hard racer.

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How does it compare?

There's no shortage of options in the 140 - 150mm travel segment, but just because two bikes have the same amount of travel and similar geometry doesn't mean that they'll behave the same way on the trail. Take the Canyon Spectral WMN and the Norco Sight 7.1 for example. Both bikes have 140mm of rear travel, 430mm rear centers, 1160mm wheelbases, and very similar head tube angles at 65.9 (Canyon WMN) and 66 (Sight), but they have different strengths out on the trail.

Interestingly, while the Canyon Spectral WMN has a 10mm shorter reach than the mainline Canyon Spectral, it's still 8mm longer than the Sight C 7.1. While I never had any comments about how short the reach on the Sight C 7.1 looked, that was the top comment I got when I was riding the Canyon Spectral WMN. I believe it's the super low standover height on the Canyon Spectral WMN that makes it look shorter than it actually is.

Appearances aside, the Canyon Spectral WMN is lighter, which gives it the advantage on the climbs. On the Sight C 7.1, I often climbed with the suspension in open mode for optimal traction, and there was minimal bobbing in that setting. On the Spectral WMN, there was more movement in the suspension while climbing, and I used the lockout more frequently.

On the descents, the Sight has a plusher, more balanced feel. The Sight isn't well-suited to bike park laps, but it rarely meets its limits in technical terrain, and I raced it during the 2017 Enduro World Series race in Whistler. The Spectral, however, would be my preference for long backcountry days when you want to go fast and far on a light bike.

In sum, when it comes to climbing prowess and efficiency, the Spectral takes the win, but for outright speed and control on gnarly descents, the Sight C 7.1 comes out on top.

Technical Report

Maxxis Minion DHR II / Maxxis Ardent: The Minion DHR II is a sound choice for a 140/150mm bike and had great traction in all conditions. The Ardent, while it may be fast rolling, is seemingly its opposite, and would not be my first choice for an all-rounder rear tire.

DT Swiss XMC 1200 Spline Wheelset: They were light and stiff and I didn't get any flats or have to tighten any spokes during the test period.



Reverb Plunger Remote: Not only was the dropper too long, but it came with the plunger-style Reverb remote. Once you get used to the new shift-lever style remote, it's downright scary to go back to the old one.

SRAM Guide RSC brakes: The Guide RSC brakes worked perfectly for the entire duration of testing, and it's nice to have the added adjustability on the higher-end brakes. I thought it was great choice for Canyon to put a 200mm rotor on the Spectral, and a 180mm rear rotor.

Is this the bike for you?

The Canyon Spectral WMN is a lightweight, but capable trail / all-mountain bike. It's not the ideal bike for bike park laps or big enduro race weekends, but it can definitely hold its own on Squamish's technical black diamond trails and excels when it comes to jumping and situations where quick handling is required. If you want a light bike that is fun and playful on the descent, this is a great choice.

Pinkbike's Take