This road bike season is all about new components: All three major manufacturers are launching new groupsets onto the market. For gravel bikes and road racers, from very affordable to luxurious: we have already tested the new parts from Campagnolo, Shimano and SRAM.
Groundwork
The fact that there is no upper price limit for high-end racing bikes is no longer a new realisation. However, state-of-the-art electronic shifting and disc brakes also set a kind of minimum price below which a modern racing bike can hardly be produced. There are hardly any cheaper components, and racing bike frames for Bowden cable gears are also disappearing. Inexpensive sporty bikes are therefore predominantly gravel bikes these days. Shimano has therefore withdrawn the inexpensive Sora and Tiagra road groupsets from its programme. Due to the lack of favourable components alone, the entry-level price for a modern road racing bike is likely to rise to around 2000 euros. If there is no alternative to electric shifting and carbon frames at some point, which no longer seems far-fetched in view of visible trends, another thousand euros will be added.
Favourable variety
Shimano now wants to cover the resulting component gaps with the Cues parts programme. The name does not refer to a closed groupset, but rather a modular component system that was originally designed for trekking bikes and inexpensive mountain bikes. It can be used to put together drivetrains with nine to eleven sprockets and one or two chainrings. With shift brake levers for racing handlebars and customised gear ratios, it should also be possible to create particularly affordable road racing bikes and gravel bikes in the future. The Canyon Endurace Allroad for 999 euros is an example of this (see below).
The components do not offer much new technology, rather they present themselves as a remixed collection of tried and tested Shimano parts. The crank arms look similar to those of the mountain bike groupsets; the brake levers are reminiscent of special versions for small hands, which Shimano once offered for the Elffach-105 and -Ultegra. The components look modern and do their job as expected. However, it is also noticeable that Shimano has cut many details. The brakes are less powerful than modern road bike discs, but better than rim brakes. The lever travel when shifting is very long and the levers give little feedback, but the shifting is smooth. The grip bodies are a little chunky, the brake lever has a very wide contact surface and sits comparatively close to the handlebar arch. The crank spacing is slightly wider than on a road bike and corresponds to that of gravel bikes. Last but not least, the parts are likely to be heavy; at just under eleven kilograms, the Canyon should still be one of the lighter Cues bikes.
The Endurace is fitted with the sportiest gear ratio variant, with a 50/34 gradation and an 11-39 ten-speed cassette. With the mountain-compatible, but also quite coarsely graded sprocket set, we see the bike more for touring, in the city and when travelling. Due to the high weight, there are hardly any sporting ambitions. All other gear configurations are geared more towards off-road or off-road riding. You will therefore see the Cues parts more on affordable, comfortably tuned gravel bikes and hardly ever on sporty road racing bikes. We will probably have to get used to the idea that off-road gravel and all-road bikes like the Canyon will be the cheapest way to get into cycling in the future.
Canyon Endurace AllRoad
The Endurace AllRoad is based on a different aluminium frame to the well-known Endurace AL and is positioned by Canyon as an all-rounder for group rides, commuting, granfondos or bikepacking tours. Tyres up to 40 millimetres wide fit inside, which means that even light terrain is possible; 35 mm Schwalbe tyres with a light tread are fitted as standard. The frame is very simply finished, but the Silver Arrow paintwork skilfully conceals this. Overall, the bike looks much more expensive than it is. However, despite the carbon fork and modern look, the bike is heavy: our scales read just under eleven kilograms, which is the same weight as cheaper gravel bikes. It is correspondingly sluggish when setting off. Apart from that, the handling is impeccable. The riding position is very comfortable, the contact points of the handlebars and saddle are even very comfortable. You notice that the frame and fork offer little suspension comfort when you pump up the tyres a little harder. Then the simple Schwalbe tyres roll well, but impacts hit the body almost unfiltered and the bike tends to bounce on bumps. It also rides better on the road with a slightly lower pressure; a tuning tip are smoother tyres. The Canyon is definitely suitable as a robust road bike with inexpensive wear parts, for example for daily commutes, especially as mudguards and pannier rack can be attached. The mounted gear ratio also allows for longer tours or travelling.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Canyon Endurace AllRoad
- Advantage: very inexpensive, good contact points
- Disadvantage: heavy, not very comfortable
Jens Klötzer
Editor
