Weighing just 665 grams for the frame, and a further 270 grams for the fork, the Canyon Ultimate CF Evo is obnoxiously light.
There are two new models. The lightest, at just 4.96kg is the Canyon Ultimate CF Evo 10.0 SL which will set you back £8,999. While the heavier but higher spec Canyon Ultimate CF Evo 10.0 LTD comes with SRAM Red eTap, costs £11,599 and weighs slightly more at 5.8kg.
Examined from the outside the new frame looks much like the brand’s standard Ultimate CF SLX. That’s because rather than strip back the bike to its bare bones Canyon has kept all of the standard characteristics and functionality of the regular model.
‘Each part of the bike, from its fork to its seatpost to its integrated cockpit, has been subjected to the same tests and standards as the rest of the Ultimate range, to create a bike that is meant for the roads, not just display,’ Canyon explained.
The aim being to produce a bike, that although one of the world’s lightest, is still usable. At least to those that can afford it.
Despite its almost conventional looks, beneath the frame’s surface lurk a new layup and materials which have helped bring its overall mass down to almost gravity defying levels.
Canyon claims the secrets behind the Evo’s outstanding figures 'lie within an extensively optimised layup, consisting of ultra-high modulus pitch-based fibres that required special permission from the Japanese Ministry of Defence to access.’
Once you’ve plundered state secrets to make your frame as light as possible it’d be rude to stick anything other than the the world's best components on it.
To this end the spec list of the top model includes Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer wheels, THM Clavicula cranks and Fibula brakes along with a custom one-piece bar tem combo.
Considering that the wheels alone retail for five thousand pounds the somewhat chunky £11,599 cost of the higher spec complete bike isn’t really that surprising. Slightly more temperate is the frameset, which retails at a comparatively modest £2,949.