Canyon’s latest Neuron:ON CF takes everything we know and love about its bigger travel and mullet-wheeled sibling, the Spectral:ON, and distils it into a more trail-friendly package. While it borrows a lot from that more aggressive bike, it adds a more welcoming platform for climbing and general trail tomfoolery. We travelled to Italy to get a taste of what Canyon’s new trail e-mountain bike is all about.

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Hailed as Canyon’s most adventure-ready e-mountain bike, the latest Neuron:ON CF has been completely reworked and, as its name suggests, it’s now an all-carbon affair that rolls exclusively on 29-inch hoops. With the move to carbon, the brand claims to have lopped off a whole load of weight which results in snappy handling and also counteracts any additional mass that’s come with upping the platform’s capability.

This new carbon frame benefits from a special carbon lay-up and frame architecture which has allowed the designers to increase strength and stiffness while reducing weight. Now, the bike exceeds Canyon’s Category 3E strength- and impact-resistance standards.

The frame gets all of the good stuff we’ve become accustomed to seeing on a Canyon bike. So that includes replaceable threaded inserts on the front triangle pivots and there are double sealed bearings throughout the rocker and swingarm (complete with Canyon’s own grease). The chain guide is integrated into the frame and there’s a mud flap at the main pivot to keep debris from making its way in between the chainstay bridge and the main pivot.

Speaking of pivots, Canyon has left no stone unturned when building the new Neuron:ON CF as it gets the brand’s famed Triple Phase Suspension kinematic. This means the suspension is supple at the beginning of the stroke and supportive at the mid-stroke with a load of end-stroke progression to stave off harsh bottom outs. But this bike has some tweaks to the leverage ratio, too, making it slightly less progressive that the Spectral:ON. This has been done to encourage the Neuron:ON to use its 140mm of travel more effectively. It also gets an increase in anti-squat to improve its pedalling efficiency.

The Neuron:ON CF’s geometry has also been completely revamped, giving it a look that’s not too dissimilar from its bigger range mate, the Spectral:ON. That means that this bike has gotten longer and yes, slacker. With the Neuron:ON CF, Canyon wanted to up its capability both up and downhill, so it now gets 140mm of suspension at both ends and its reach has been extended by 10-45mm depending on the frame size. Its head angle has been slackened by as much as two degrees and the standover has been lowered by 15 to 19mm.

To help the bike climb, the bike’s chainstay has been stretched by up to 15mm and the seat tube has been steepened by 1.5- to 2-degrees, again depending on frame size. The brand has done this in a bid to better centre the rider’s weight for more efficient climbing.

After all of that, the Neuron:ON CF’s geometry isn’t a stone's throw from the Spectral:ON, featuring a 65.5-degree head angle, a 76.5-degree seat tube angle, a 485mm reach on a large and a 450mm chainstay.

With all of those changes, the Neuron:ON has made the move to a Bosch Performance Line CX High Torque motor, choosing to ditch the Shimano EP8 that we saw in the previous generation. With this motor, there’s an option of a 625 or 750Wh battery with the CF 9 and 8 models coming with the bigger battery as standard, whereas the CF 7 can pick between the two. The base level Nueron:ON 6 sticks with the Shimano EP8.

Setting itself apart from the recent Strive:ON and Torque:ON CF, the Neuron:ON CF’s battery isn’t as readily removable. Rather than open up a cover and slide the battery out, you’ll need to remove the motor. So it’s much more of a hands-on job.

Canyon Neuron:ON CF 8 - Specification

For my time with the Neuron:ON CF I was planted on the CF8 build which is the mid-spec carbon build. As such, it gets a Fox 34 Performance fork with a GRIP damper which is paired with a Fox Float DPS Performance shock.

Shifting is provided by a Shimano Deore XT 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano M8100 and M8120 brakes with 203mm rotors. Those brakes slow a pair of DT Swiss HLN350 wheels. Those are wrapped with a Schwalbe Big Betty at the front and a Nobby Nic at the rear. As for the dropper, there’s a Canyon Iridium dropper post with 170mm of travel on this large frame. This model will set you back £5,349.

Along with this build, there’s the CF 7 which comes with RockShox suspension, a Shimano Deore drivetrain, Canyon wheels and Shimano brakes. The Neuron:ON 6 gets an alloy frame and a Fox 34 Rythm fork with up to 130mm of travel. There’s a Shimano Deore drivetrain with Shimano MT4100 and MT4120 brakes and a finishing kit from Canyon. The former is priced at £4,600 with a 625Wh battery while the 750Wh unit will cost £4,800. As for the Neuron:ON 6, with a 504Wh battery it'll cost £3,649 or £3,849 with a 630Wh battery.

Canyon Neuron:ON CF 8 - Ride impressions

I was invited out to a beautifully sunny Massa Marittima in Italy, where I also rode the Strive:ON and Torque:ON CF. I was also able to take the new Neuron:ON CF 8 for a spin for a reasonably lengthy but incredibly trail focussed ride. Canyon’s trail-going e-bike proved to be right at home in this varied habitat that consisted of a huge variety of riding, from serious flow through to some fairly lumpy sections.

Having tested the Spectral:ON, it’s tough not to draw comparisons, given the Spectral-flavoured inspiration that’s clearly present on the Neuron:ON CF. In fact, they look almost identical. But taking all of the goodness from the longer travelled bike has paid back in dividends because the Neuron blends some serious downhill capability with a much more welcoming and climb-focussed platform.

My main issue with the Spectral:ON is, that while it was tonnes of fun, its climbing ability let the bike down somewhat. Thanks to the Neuron:ON’s lengthier chainstay and steeper seat tube, it’s totally unshakeable during uphill efforts. Each wheel remained firmly planted, even when attempting looser technical climbs. The bike’s lower stack helps too, as it’s super easy to weight the front when needed.

And just like the Spectral:ON, the Neuron:ON is a bit of a ripper on the descents. Because the geometry is very similar the Neuron is much more capable than it lets off. That’s partly due to the extra wheelbase length coming from the longer chainstay but also because of that slightly less progressive suspension kinematic, despite coming with 10mm less travel than its bigger sibling.

This results in a massively useful level of stability. So in a straight line, the Neuron:ON does nothing but inspire confidence, even when the trail got fairly lumpy. Though, as the suspension is more linear, there’s a clear lack of pop in that kinematic but that’s a sure trade-off for the bike’s all-out composure given its travel figures. But this more linear platform swallows bumps with ease, keeping fatigue at bay and keeping the bike composed when blasting through the trails at Mach 10. It’s a sacrifice but it’s definitely a welcome one that throws in heaps of versatility.

But that lengthy chainstay does impact its agility downhill. When negotiating tight Italian switchbacks, the Neuron:ON wasn’t super eager to whip its rear wheel around. Again, this is another compromise a potential customer will have to account for before dropping the cash. Chainstay aside, this bike was still an awful lot of fun to haul downhill aboard.

But these two ‘compromises’ help the bike lean into its all-rounder, big-distance trail bike vibe and that’s where this bike really shines. It’s fun and capable of a bit of everything which is the real jewel in its crown. 

Canyon Neuron:ON CF 8 - Early verdict

However, one aspect of the bike that can’t be forgiven is the Fox 34 fork. It's by no means bad but it’s noticeably flexy, and it’s fairly generous with its travel - it has no place on an e-mountain bike that can be ridden as hard as the Neuron:ON CF. Though, I was told that this bike would happily run a Fox 36 or other fatter stanchioned forks with up to 150mm of travel. I reckon bolting a 36 onto the front of this bike would make it absolutely unstoppable, and I imagine that this will be the first upgrade a lot of more aggressive riders will make. Though with so many similarities with the Spectral:ON that also runs a Fox 36, I understand why Canyon made this decision.

In every essence, the Neuron:ON CF 8 is a very solid trail bike with a Bosch motor bolted on. In a fairly crowded range of e-bikes, the Neuron:ON truly stands out because of its unwavering versatility. It's an e-MTB that's eager to take on big distances and hauls the rider up climbs without so much as a slip in traction. It's absolutely no slouch on the downs while offering a welcoming and familiar platform that'll be appreciated by new and experienced riders alike.

• www.canyon.com

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