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The Strive:ON sits almost perfectly between the Spectral:ON and the Torque:ON. Canyon begins with a carbon fiber frame, same as the Spectral:ON and Torque:ON. Like the Spectral:ON, the Strive:ON comes equipped with 160mm-travel rear suspension, but increases fork travel to 170mm. The big difference comes with the motor. Where the Spectral:ON and Torque:ON come spec’d with Shimano’s EP8 motor, the Strive:ON comes equipped with Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor, one of the most powerful mid-drive motors found on Class 1 eMTBs.
In short, the Strive:ON is the Canyon eMTB for riders who want more power than either the Spectral:ON or Torque:ON produce, with a perfect blending of the best handling attributes of each eMTB.
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Canyon has created an intriguing eMTB with the Strive:ON. Rather than try to split the difference between the two bikes, it borrowed attributes from each model. The Strive:ON features the suspension travel and wheel sizes found in the trail-focused Spectral:ON, while the frame features the geometry behind the gravity-dedicated Torque:ON.
The Canyon Strive:ON is ideal for the trail rider who wants more fearless descending than the Spectral:ON can provide. It’s also perfect for the gravity rider who wants a more enduro-oriented design that pedals well uphill and rolls over rocks more easily.
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Canyon Strive:ON CF Review: Specs & Features
Frame and fork
Like the Spectral:ON, the Strive:ON features a mullet setup; that is: The front wheel is 29 in. while the rear wheel is 27.5 in. The Torque:ON because it’s aimed at gravity riders looking for maximum maneuverability and speed went with 27.5-in. wheels front and rear.
Perhaps the simplest way to explain the frame design is to describe it this way: The Strive:ON features the 160mm suspension travel and 29/27.5-in. wheels of the Spectral:ON, but its handling geometry is borrowed lock, stock and both barrels from the Torque:ON, including the ultra-slack 63.5mm head tube angle.
The fork features 170mm of travel, 10mm less than the Torque:ON and 10mm more than the Spectral:ON—right in the middle.
Like the Canyon Spectral:ON CF and Torque:ON CF, the Strive:ON is crafted from carbon fiber. However, the similarities end there. Where the Torque:ON CF weighs 3.35kg (7.4 lbs.) and the Spectral:ON CF weighs 2.9kg (6.3 lbs), the Strive:ON shaves even more weight, coming in at 2.45kg (5.4 lbs.).
Canyon produces the Strive:ON in four different sizes Small through XL.
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Motor and battery
Canyon makes clear who the Strive:ON is meant to satisfy: the e-enduro rider. That is, someone who is reasonably fit, is aggressive on downhills and wants to race. That’s why they chose the Bosch Performance Line CX motor, rather than the EP8 found on both the Spectral:ON and Torque:ON.
At first glance, both motors seem pretty similar. Both produce 250W nominally. And both motors offer a maximum of 85Nm of torque. Where they differ is in maximum wattage and weight.
The Shimano EP8 motor weighs 2.9kg (6.4 lbs.), the Bosch Performance Line CX shaves nearly a pound off, coming in at 2.6kg (5.7 lbs.) and it increases maximum wattage from 500 to 600. Now, 100W may not sound like much; that’s just enough power to light a small room. However, 600W represents 20 percent more wattage than 500W.
To a racer, that’s huge. And here’s the thing: A racer most needs an extra 20 percent when the race is at its hardest. To put it another way, given the way gears develop, that’s enough power to shift up two gears.
The Strive:ON comes equipped with Bosch’s 625Wh PowerTube battery.
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Componentry
Canyon produces the Strive:ON in two different builds at two significantly different price points. The Canyon Strive:ON CFR Underdog goes for a little less than $6000 and includes a 12-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain and SRAM DB8 hydraulic disc brakes with a whopping 220mm rotor front and 200mm rotor rear.
The Canyon Strive:ON CFR LTD comes in a nick below $8000 and includes a slightly upgraded motor, the Bosch Performance Line CX Race, which features different software for even more aggressive performance and it’s built with SRAM’s 12-speed Eagle wireless transmission and Guide RSC brakes with 220/200mm rotors.
Both versions of the Strive:ON feature an aluminum stem and bar; the bar measures 780mm wide. Both come with a dropper post that will offer between 150mm and 200mm of travel, depending on which size frame the rider is on.
Both versions come with high-quality DT Swiss wheels, with a 15x110mm axle front and 12x148mm axle in the rear.
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EBR’s Canyon Strive:ON CF First Look Review:
A common occurrence when a manufacturer releases a new model is for anyone in the market to think, “Ooh, that’s the one I want.” The new stuff is always supposed to be better, right? With the Canyon Strive:ON, it would be easy for trail riders to think this is the better eMTB; same for gravity riders, but that would be a mistake.
The Strive:ON is aimed at a specific audience. This rider is competing in the eMTB category in enduros, a setting where an extra 100W at the right time could mean seconds gained at the finish. This rider isn’t just go-fast competitive, they also enjoy a level of fearlessness on fast descents that would leave most of us with watering eyes and white knuckles, but that mullet-wheel setup means that this eMTB will pedal uphill and roll over rocks in a way that will leave the Torque:ON eating dust.
That Canyon has delivered these two e-bikes at these price points—less than $8000 and less than $6000—demonstrates the remarkable value proposition of Canyon’s consumer-direct approach. Canyon was the first company to offer high-quality bikes and e-bikes without the added markup of a brick-and-mortar bike shop and the Strive:ON shows just how well the buyer makes out.
Some e-bikes are aspirational; that is, when we buy them they can do things that we can’t yet. For most of us, the Canyon Strive:ON CF is such an eMTB. A rider could spend years honing their skills and trying to amputate their fear module in an effort to wring all the performance possible from this thing … and still never get there. A fair comparison is the fighter jet that can pull more Gs than a human body can handle. Seeing someone reach the limits of the Canyon Strive:ON CF would make for a great reel on social media, but it would probably leave the viewer sweaty and out of breath.
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