- Nimble and lively
- Comfortable climber
- Great price
- Dropper post could be longer
- On the heavy side
- Seat angle is a little slack for steeper climbs
The Voodoo Canzo Pro is a 140mm trail bike and is a solid offering to the entry-level of the trail bike market. Aside from a slightly slack seat angle, the geometry is right on the money, providing a lively and nimble ride. Although the dropper is a little short, there's plenty of room for upgrades and weight reduction. At this price point, the Voodoo Canzo Pro deserves credit for making a well-performing trail bike accessible.
- Best mountain bikes 2024 - top options from cross-country to Enduro
- Rockrider Feel 900S mountain bike review
- Best cheap mountain bikes 2024 - budget bikes for all skillsets
Voodoo Canzo Pro - Technical details
The Voodoo Canzo is a budget-friendly trail bike built to blend performance with an accessible price. With 140mm of suspension travel front and rear, it sits squarely in the popular trail bike market as a "do-it-all bike". With modern geometry, up-to-date standards, and clever spec, the Canzo is a well-thought-out offering.
The alloy-framed Canzo is available in two specification levels: the £1,400 Canzo and £1,800 Canzo Pro. Both options are budget-friendly with componentry to get you ripping down the trails.
The frame is built using 6061 butted alloy for the front triangle and rear end which delivers 140mm of rear travel through a four-bar Horst link setup. The seat stays drive a rocker link which compresses a vertically mounted shock. This arrangement leaves plenty of room to fit a water bottle in the front triangle – a 600mm bottle fits with no problem.
The frame uses internal cable routing to keep things clean but has stayed away from the new trend of headset cable routing, so that makes maintenance a little easier. The derailleur is mounted to a Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) which should make getting hold of a spare hanger simple.
The Pro comes in the blue/purple light-shifting colourway which looks smart in the sun. Chain stay protection will be available for the production models.
The Canzo is available in small, medium and large to suit riders from 5’3” (162cm) up to 6’0” (185cm).
I use the reach measurement to understand the sizing of a bike, at 6ft (183cm), my sweet spot is around 485mm. The Large comes in at 478.3mm which is perhaps a little on the short side but, for the trail intentions of this bike, it will result in a more playful bike. The 433mm reach figure on the Small and 455mm on the Medium gives a good range of sizing but, if you’re much over 6ft, I’d suggest looking elsewhere.
There are 435mm chainstays across all sizes, which also suggests this bike is set up to be lively and playful – and the 65-degree head angle is right where it should be.
The 75.5-degree seat angle is a little on the slack side, which puts the rider’s weight towards the rear on climbing. This is handy for traction but does leave the front feeling light on steep climbs.
Voodoo Canzo Pro - Componentry
You can tell whoever picked the components on this bike knew what they were doing, even at this price point some smart decisions help this bike perform more capably than you would expect.
Starting with the suspension, the Pro spec comes with a 140mm Rockshox Pike fork up front in the base spec which has 35mm stanchions with rebound and compression adjustment. The rear suspension is covered with a Rockshox Deluxe Select+ with rebound adjustment and a lock-out lever.
Drivetrain duties are handled by Shimano, the derailleur and shifter are covered with kit from the Deore range that features a clutch to quieten up chain slap and improve chain retention. The 12-speed Deore cassette has a wide range of gears (10-51T) giving plenty of range for climbing and descending. The 170mm long Shimano cranks use a 32T chainring.
Shimano also takes care of braking with the MT420 four-piston brakes sporting 180mm discs front and rear.
The wheels are WTB's ST Light i30 rims with Shimano hubs wrapped in Maxxis rubber. The Dissector rear and DHR II on the front are smart choices, particularly in MaxxTerra compound and appropriate casings (Exo front and a thicker Exo+ rear).
The finishing kit is basic but the numbers are spot on – a 45mm stem and 780mm wide alloy bars are aimed at descending. A 150mm dropper is a little on the short side for my liking, but there is plenty of room to upgrade in the future if you so wish.
There is no online help with setting up the suspension so there was some guess work involved. The fork has a pressure chart on the leg which helps as a good base setting to get rolling. The rear shock air pressure was tuned to achieve 30% sag and then the rebound was set to be springy without being uncontrolled.
If you buy the Voodoo through a shop, obviously they’ll be able to advise on getting the suspension set up for your weight and riding style.
As a personal preference I swapped out the grips for something thicker, the standard grips are too thin and hard for my liking.
Voodoo Canzo Pro - Performance
My first impressions of the Canzo Pro were positive. The spec is lower-end but are good quality parts which makes for a reliable build.
As a trail bike, it needs to be a balanced climber and descender, a 140mm trail bike should be happy to rip around a trail centre but also comfortable riding chunky trails and happy getting some air time.
While descending, I was impressed by how quickly I felt comfortable on the bike. It has a lively and playful feel where changing direction and picking lines is no bother. The 65-degree head angle gives enough stability to carry plenty of speed whilst the short chainstays help dispatch corners quickly. With the reach numbers being right on the money there is enough room to move around on the bike whilst it remains settled at speed, this gives the confidence to push your comfort zone a little. The RockShox suspension has a good platform to pump the trails and does a good job providing controllable travel when things get a little rougher. On the flatter sections of the trail, the 29-inch wheels carry speed well and pumping trail features are rewarded with efficient speed.
The tyres are a standout spec choice. The tried and tested Maxxis DHR II and Dissector with good compounds are impressive on a bike at this price point. They help the bike to grip, brake and corner in a predictable and manageable way, which only adds to the fun. When it comes to braking, the Shimano four-piston brakes have enough bite, so you know they’ll be there when you need them and enough power to manage the steep sections. The 150mm dropper post (on the size large) is a little conservative for descending; it would be great to have a longer option to help get the seat out of the way on the downs.
While climbing, the 12-speed Shimano gearing gives plenty of range to find the right gear, the 51T rear and 32T front gears should allow you to climb all but the steepest hills. The seated position is a little outstretched for my liking. This is down to the seat angle which is a touch on the slack side. This puts the rider’s weight over the rear which is good for traction but does result in the front end lifting on steep climbs. The suspension remains efficient during climbing with very little pedal bob – and the climb switch helps stiffen up the rear end for more efficiency. The Shimano shifting was flawless throughout testing. At the Deore level, it’s on the heavy side, but functionally, there are no issues. These parts are consumable items that can be upgraded in the future.
One observation was the weight of the bike. It's certainly not light but that's expected at this price point. It’s the weight distribution that surprised me. The rear end is disproportionally heavy compared to the front, which I suspect stems from the drivetrain. I haven’t felt this on the trail, and it doesn’t affect the bike's handling.
Voodoo Canzo Pro - Verdict
Retailing at £1,800, the Voodoo Canzo Pro represents great value. It has a clever spec that leaves room for future upgrades without compromising the ride.
The entry-level trail bike market has other offerings worth considering, such as the Marin Rift Zone 1. The Marin retails at £1,700 and has a 140mm fork with 130mm of rear-end travel and a much more climbing-friendly seat angle but also a slightly steeper head angle. The spec on the Marin features own-branded parts, and the suspension is by X-Fusion. From a performance standpoint, at least on paper, there is very little to tell the two apart.
The Voodoo Canzo Pro is positioned towards the entry-level side of the trail bike market. However, the smartly chosen spec and performance on offer means it punches above its weight. Aside from a slightly slack seat angle, the geometry is right where it needs to be, providing a lively and nimble trail bike. The bike gets up to speed easily and has no problem maintaining this across flatter sections of trail and rough terrain. The Canzo Pro does a great job as an all-rounder and, at this price point, makes a convincing case for those looking to enter the trail bike scene.
Add comment