Canyon Spectral and Torque | Editor’s Choice 2019 | Mountain Bike Rider

Описание: Canyon Spectral AL 6.0
Canyon uses a unique numbering system to classify its bikes: 1 is for road racing, 2 covers commuter bikes, 3 is for hardtails and XC full-sus, 4 indicates trail riding but no bike park action, that’s reserved for the gravity and DH models in category 5. There are even small graphics next to the numbers on the bikes to highlight the gradient of the intended terrain. It’s all very structured and practical even if a little, well...German. 
So imagine our surprise when the 2019 Spectral broke ranks. By adding a longer-stroke shock, Canyon upped the travel by 10mm to 150mm. It also increased fork travel by the same amount, adding a burly 160mm Fox 36 to slacken the head angle by one degree. 
To maintain the ground-hugging BB height needed for railing turns, Canyon also bucked the trend for fatter tyres by downsizing from 2.6in to 2.4in. 
These updates to the Spectral AL 6.0 made it more capable than ever before, but where did it sit in Canyon’s classification system? Canyon initially billed it squarely as enduro, but that’s probably because it couldn’t bear the thought of half numbers on the scale.
Yes, the extra travel makes the Spectral more capable than before, but it’s more of a hopped-up trail bike than full-blown enduro rig, and it’s all the better for it. Which is why it won the 27.5in class of our 2019 Trail bike of the Year test.

Canyon Torque CF 8.0
The lure of a big-hit bike is incredibly appealing — all of that travel acting as a buffer that does more work than you. The catch, however, is that you need a high-end model just so the bike is light enough to muscle up the climbs, which often means they can be prohibitively expensive. 
One way to keep the price in check is to go with a direct-sales brand, so in the September issue we took delivery of the best 27.5 in enduro bikes from Canyon, YT, Radon and Vitus. It quickly became apparent that the Canyon Torque CF 8.0 offered the best bang for your buck. 
We were won over by its composed, lackadaisical approach to even the roughest downhill tracks. The winning combination of the 180mm-travel Fox 36 fork and X2 rear shock gave the 175mm-travel Torque the necessary grip, control and pace to really let you open up the taps on the descents. 

All of that travel wasn’t at the expense of agility though. The Torque steers light and neutral, the stiff, carbon front end making it every bit a precise as it is capable.
And it’s this split-personality that challenges ideas of what a bike with this much travel can do. Sure, the Torque is never going to be the fastest uphill, but with a neutral riding position and a climb switch on the shock, we were happy to plug away to get to the goods. You’ll be shocked at how quickly the Torque dispenses with your hard-earned elevation though, but that’s what makes it such a fun bike. And if you can’t stretch to the carbon frame, there’s also an alloy version with models starting at £2,149.

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