How Much Faster Are Expensive Road Bikes? Canyon Aeroad Head-to-Head

[@pierrestaub8628]

Personally, I bought the SLX, resold the whole groupset and wheels with tires and reassembled with RED found at a very good price (not the new Red) and put on wheelsfar custom wheels. It's a bomb for half the price and I think more comfortable than the CFR because it's less harsh in absorbing vibrations.

[@anthrax8691]

That’s actually pretty smart dude, I’m actually going to do exactly the same, I purchased the SLX frame today (used), and i got the Red e tap and custom wheels.

[@jamesscoltock4837]

I definitely live in a different world to some cyclists. Spending nearly £4K on a bike is a non-starter. Spending nearly £10k is lottery winning levels of daydreaming. I do worry that the industry puts a lot of would be cyclists off by making it sound like you need to spend thousands if you want to get pedaling ‘properly’

[@Andy_ATB]

The industry, and media are too performance focused - and are trying to convince people they need the latest/ fastest tech/ bikes. And if you don't have it, you're not a 'proper/ serious' cyclist. Which is of course absolute rubbish......

[@colincanyon2519]

It's all about fun right? Well these overpriced bikes just wipe all the fun out! 😢

[@colincanyon2519]

I'm with you brother 👌

[@hisdadjames4876]

Unless you’re racing, or want to be self-indulgent or show off to friends, there’s no point buying a really expensive bike. For $500-1000, second hand, or €1500 new, you can easily own a bike that was good enough to have won the TdF throughout most of your own lifetime. 🤷‍♂️

[@chrisgilligan4968]

It depends on how much a person buys into the hype. You can get out on the road for a fraction of the cost and get the same health benefits - if not the same chache

[@stephencurry8552]

Cycling is the same as stereo equipment. The more you pay, the better you are as a man. Everyone know that the more you spend on the stuff you own. The more of a man you are. Superior man. Alpha man...

[@colincanyon2519]

😂

[@diawestTV]

Unless you are cursed with hearing 🎉 or know how music made. Or know how the equipment made .. for handmade made gear ( no mass production ) 16:24 how expensive is to participate in couple of exhibition show and if you sell 10 units per year - how much that should cost ? Cycling gear only can be good if mass produced .

[@johnwest7324]

If you can afford it and you enjoy it - buy it. Why but a Rolex when a Casio does the same, or a Skoda over an Audi. At the end of the day YOLO

[@diawestTV]

Yeah but what about shoes , any other things people spending money on, like renovations , cars, boats. Literally all things f on Appliances up have functions and brand value and perceived things to the price

[@bcn1996]

Great video Dave! To the point and helpful, one of your best I've watched in a while for sure. I know sponsored content/ads etc pay the bills and in the end we all get to watch your content for free, but videos like this are a breath of fresh air in a space dominated by sponsors, product placement and regurgitated marketing catalogue slop.

[@davidarthur]

I appreciate that!

[@JayLato]

Just swap out the crankset, sell the wheels and get No.6 45/50 with KZbinr discount code and the SLX would be more than you really need.

[@cokebottles6919]

Been looking at doing this myself. Seems like if you did that, the SLX would be within a pound of the CFR at nearly half the price. I'd bet only a few of those watts was from the weight and the remainder was from tires, wheels, and maybe a watt from the drive train.

[@stuartdryer1352]

Get some Elite Carbon 50D wheels. Good. Inexpensive.

[@bingbing3464]

Can even also just sell the rival groupset and get a used dura ace, that should bring the weight down even more.

[@benhardwick1970]

I’ve just had a winspace T1550 gen 2 built up with ultegra di2 and magene db 508 ultradark wheels for €5000 and it’s 8kg with pedals, computer Mount and bottle cages. I’ve got 32mm tyres on as well! I’d say it’s very close to more expensive canyon

[@FliskerX]

lol that's kind what I'm doing, ordered this cheapest CF SLX, will put my Di2 12spd Ultegra on it and some Drive 50's or the new Magenes for about 1000$ and it's going to be same as that top of the line CFR :) for nearly half the price.

[@stuartdryer1352]

This may be the best and most useful video you've made in a long time.

[@dominickbrookes5103]

The sneaky secret is that 7 years ago. 1800 to 2500 would have got you the same as the low end bike

[@yarly3180]

Hedgefunds discovered the bike industry during Covid

[@chrisgilligan4968]

The even sneakier secret is that 1800-2500 will still get you that caliber of bike if you don't need it to be brand new.

[@jamesnichols5163]

@@chrisgilligan4968if your happy to compromise for rim brakes and less tyre clearance you can still get an 11speed ultegra/force carbon framed 2020/2021 bike, with carbon wheels and power meter for about 1500, still in warranty for some companies like Giant that will transfer warranties to second owners!

[@JonathanHair]

Why are you quoting normalized power? NP is useful for understanding how the effort was paced and the physiological toll the effort took, but it has no engineering or physics meaning beyond that. It's a made up metric to convey human physiological impact. Average power should be used for this type of comparison.

[@pierremaggi8661]

Yes !

[@SeanMullins1]

Because I bet average power shows even less of a difference.

[@desmoMarco91]

I bought the cheaper one (and still think its more than what a wise person would need to spend on a bike), just arrived last week. I put my garmin powermeter pedals on it and will train the whole winter. I've also ordered some tpu inner tubes to make the wheels lighter. So happy

[@shred3005]

With those tyres and rims you can go tubeless just by getting a bottle of sealant. So much nicer (supple comfort and rolling resistance) than TPU. Just carry a Dynaplug and mini pump in the jersey pocket in case and you’re good.

[@desmoMarco91]

@@shred3005 tubeless is too much of a hassle for me, i really dont see a reason

[@shred3005]

@@desmoMarco91 as cyclist of 40 yrs I used to be that way with tubeless but as road tyres have become wider, pressures lower and I’ve worked it out it’s become the least hassle to live with compared to tubes. But plus they are noticeably nicer to ride on. But it does take a transition

[@dcv9460]

$5,000 to save 1kg? 🤣🤣🤣I will just buy a new bike with that amount of money 😂😂😂

[@FredFox-m9v]

or have a large no 2.

[@fiddleronthebike]

Which bike would I choose… I just bought a Bianchi Oltre XR 4, so - none of them… and I think that’s the point: from a price/performance perspective the cheaper bike is absolutely the better option! But many cycling enthusiasts don’t buy the best performance per buck, they buy what they love. In my case, if I had put a Campagnolo Chorus and cheaper wheels on my bike instead of Super Record and Bora WTO I probably would have payed half the price… but it would not be what I love, and I would upgrade step by step anyways - so I better bought the best package in the first place. And so, if I would buy an Aeroad it would be the top spec version - though I don’t think it will make me noticeably faster

[@manuelwenaud8231]

Could you test again both bikes and switch the wheels ?

[@L7KKE]

I get the test of different complete bikes. But I would much rather see you test theese two bikes, using the same wheelset. /Seeing the difference in the frames and goups only ✌️ consider getting a test wheelset with tyres, that you could use on all your test bikes - that would make comparisons much more fair/valuable, in my opinion ✌️

[@Millicente]

It would be a more fair or valuable test. It would be an entirely different test. This test is showing the difference in 2 complete different tiers and that ALWAYS means different parts. A comparison of just frameset has been done already by GCN and other channels.

[@L7KKE]

@@Millicente I stand by it, David tests alot of bikes. So it would be way more valuable to remove the most import part of how "light and nimble" a bike feels, from the equation. That was the conclusion here as well, but I dont find it that surprising, when comparing a 454nsw, to a arc 1600.

[@jonasmansson7481]

Exactly dt sviss is not a bad wheel but the internal with on 20mm against the 23 on the zipp. Is a Huge difference

[@L7KKE]

@@jonasmansson7481 not my point. 23mm internal is narrow these days. I just wish the test was about the fames (not only canyons), but over time.

[@chrisball3412]

Pretty much everybody knows expensive road bikes are not that much faster than moderately priced road bikes, but it feels different and it looks different and if you have the money and that’s important to you, go for it

[@HeadPack]

Dang. Missed that video. It is exactly what I was hoping to see. More of these comparisons, please.

[@JamesEllisPT]

In reality - zero difference between two identical bikes

[@leebamber499]

Totally agree

[@MatteoSione]

are you planning or would you be available to do a small review of the SLX? It would be much appreciated since there is not a single SLX AXS review on the web. Also because in this context, compared to one with double the price, I don't think it was properly done justice... A single and dedicated review would be much appreciated and certainly very viewed!

[@reinholdachleitner2069]

Great video and very informative,obviously rival doesn't look as good as red especially in the crankset department but they do the same thing.💯👌🏻🚴‍♂️

[@steveoc64]

What’s wrong with a nice carbon, dura ace 10 speed, rim brake super bike ? You know - the kind that has race wins in big tours, and is available on the 2nd hand market for around 1000

[@markwright8030]

Hi David Great comparison video as always and well worth watching before you buy a canyon. I’d buy the cheaper model and go for some upgrades over time. The 10k model is super cool thou🚴‍♂️👍👍

[@brxchtbe4871]

In my opinion is spending around 10k good if you are riding as a prof or you have the budget. Canyon is great for people with a lower budget en wants a nice bike with nice components to. Im looking forward to get me an cf slx Thanks for the nice video, nice work😇

[@Millicente]

I can at least respect canyon and other brands that keep the same shape for all the tiers of bikes unlike pinarello who change not only layup but shape and geometry from their dogma tier to everything else.

[@cjohnson3836]

The counter argument is CAN they keep the same shape safely with the different layups. These bikes are getting lighter because they are laying the material ever thinner. At some point that's a trade-off between weight and structural integrity. We really need to ask if these high end frames are even truly able to support the weight of the average, non-pro cyclist.

[@bababaanarama]

​@@cjohnson3836also carbon is not carbon, 800 vs 1000, today release this years 1200 or 1400

[@RohamBroccoli]

General rule of thumb : if you have to pay for it yourself, mostly around 2k is good enough for 98% of us mortals. except for the 1.8% experts and on YT-land and who get most of it for free for telling the "truth"- and the remaining 0.1% who actually compete - and the last 0.1% who are here just to argue😅

[@bobbafett1971]

I see these arguments for not buying a high end bike. Usually the people who can't afford one. I have the oltre rc. I don't race. I just want a really nice bike. No one tells the person don't buy such and such a car....your not racing . Just get a base model Hyundai. That's all you mortals need.

[@angela-onesroman8873]

Great video, those DT Swiss are a narrower wheel set, maybe why the 25mm front tire 🤔.

[@bwarey52]

The Centennial Park cycling podcast are going to love dissecting this one

[@Richarddraper]

Who cares what they say. Anyone can sit and criticise, which is all those two have to offer.

[@michaels.8388]

What do you mean? I dont know this podcast. Id like to understand. thank you

[@bbeeaauu]

​@@michaels.8388the nero show

[@Raisalfiansyah]

@@michaels.8388 i think they are Sydney based podcast

[@pierremaggi8661]

It's from the Nero show . Centennial Park is in Sydney, australia. You have 105 episode to catch up !

[@MrRubberbubber]

Great video as always. I’ll just take the slx even though out my price range. More bike than I ever need and if I need faster then I’ll do more squats and save fortune. Also good to race against u at Pittville cx. U had good result 👍🏼

[@i_just_dont_care_anymore]

I went in between these two with the CLX 8 AXS, which is a slightly better group (Force AXS), zipp 404 and the same Pirelli tyres as the CFR and a nicer saddle than the entry model. My friend who owns a CFR says he struggles to feel the difference except on climbs, where the CFR is slightly lighter.

[@stuart3566]

David any chance you can review the Ribble Allroad Ti want to understand what it’s like in comparison to the Moots?

[@thewattlife]

Dual sided power meter is essential… Pogi: Hold my beer IYKYK

[@aldrinclementina4297]

If you had more time. You should've swap the wheels and do the run again. To see if it's in only in the wheels

[@pierrestaub8628]

400g and aero better for the Zipp : change the wheels and results will be the same

[@unlimitedcosmicspeed]

Riding bikes like these are not about practicality. Its about passion, joy and the details, imo......give me the CFR! :)

[@Flashback_Jack]

I have a 2024 SLX in silver and black. Nobody short of a sponsored rider with an unlimited budget at his disposal needs a CFR.

[@williamdaniel6143]

Love that Silver and Black combo.

[@evanjohn503]

you could buy 2 CR SLX and spend the 2k left to go on a cycling hol with a mate/better half - and it certainly isn't 6k better than the SLK. Good vid

[@aniutiube2011]

David, would be nice if you make a video comparing the Aeroad SLX with the new Maddone SL6, Specialized Tarmac Sport, Giant Propel etc, meaning mid range off the peg bikes, for all of us cyclists that do not want to expend top of the line money, thank you

[@hammerridecycling7630]

hello,can you make a video of canyon ultimate sram vs canyon ultimate cfr.thanks

[@JayLato]

On second thought. For the same price just buy a Scott Foil RC 20 and get dealer support. I bought mine cash to, well, just pay cash.

[@joeryanisaocelot]

Absolutely no way is the extra money worth it for the CFR, but if I had the money I would definitely spend it. We need to see a comparison video with the 454s on the cheaper aeroad!

[@bwarey52]

The Rival canyon is great value but if you have the money in hand I'm sure your local shops would be grateful of a visit. Some amazing deals around on mid range Aero bikes at the moment/Propels/Reactos/Madones

[@Domlazarus]

Surely you’d do a few extra runs with a consistent wheelset to see if the difference in weight and performance was just wheels and front tyre width?

[@nycyclist4154]

Both bikes are nice indeed. My budget makes the decision not me, lol. I would upgrade parts down the road if wanted to. Still n budget you don't loose but if u got it flaunt it, lol.

[@jamesnichols5163]

If you’re a weight weenie you’d get an ultimate, unless you’re just racing crits in which case weight doesn’t matter much even with all the accelerations, so unless you’re doing mountainous races (i.e. are a pro), you probably wont get much benefit from the cfr, as amazing as I’m sure it feels to ride

[@simply-tom]

What I got out of this video, the more expensive the bike, the less energy you use to get to the same performance/speed.

[@BulletGaming012]

Wowsers, both of them need a set of farsports wheels

[@fentuz]

@davidarthur so, would it make more sense to get the slx and get the clr wheelset which is ~400g lighter which is likely to give that faster accelerator feeling?

[@davidarthur]

Maybe - I'm going to put the Zipp wheels in the CF SLX for that standalone review of that bike and do the timed testing again. If money was no object I'd rather have the new Red hoods over Rival though because time to one side they are much more pleasant to use

[@Bike4Coffee-Cake]

@davidarthur - please do try with the Zipp Wheels in the SLX - my guess is that this is most of the feel difference (weight, wider rims/front tyre giving more comfort and more speed over bad roads). But be good to see what you find.

[@АнтониоРодригес-ф4т]

I love my slx on ultegra di2, but it does feel a bit chubby on the climbs! My old wilier rim b with campa groupset including 60mm bora wheels feels way faster on climbs.

[@therider4909]

Can you do a back-to-back? I'd be surprisd if there is much difference. Though unless it's the difference between winning and losing races then I'd choose the bike that you subjectively prefer to ride.

[@АнтониоРодригес-ф4т]

@therider4909 that's a good question... Probably it won't be a big difference, I'll try it next year and see what happens. But in all honesty, my old rb bike feels faster)

[@Morten6842]

Ahh bargain is not the right Word for a 4000 pound bike. What could be interesting is taking an end of season sale giant propel in the cheapest iteration put on some decent carbon wheels and compare this with the "cheap" canyon aeroad.

[@Alejandrokimbmx]

Wheels can make differences but it also would be more precise using the same powermeter.

[@davidarthur]

The same power meter was used, Wahoo's power meter pedals

[@cloak057]

You should do a test with the same component to see if there is a difference

[@Philatlondon1]

£4k and doesn't handle like a cheap bike. I should bloody well hope not!

[@Neilz911]

Would you like to share the avg power for each run, i dont think the normalized power is the right tool for this test.

[@freebird61885]

David, please for the love of god, get an aero sensor. Then we could at least understand the effect of the environment on the time differences. Stop with the bro science.

[@dominickbrookes5103]

Bet ya the tires are 100% of the difference

[@andreemurray7039]

Cheap one as it's still the rider that makes the bike go slow or fast just enjoy

[@AK-ContentCreatIon]

the level that you need, that 5000€ make sense, is for someone like Pog or similar! Every rider that is not competing more than 1 a year could possible justify...except if he wants it... just because hie wants it... then price is never AN ISSUE1

[@ericgoescycling]

Thank you for the comparison. However, next time don't bring a filled bidon only on one of the rides, makes the comparison fairer.

[@danstenis660]

How does the Aeroad CF SLX compare to the aluminum version? Oh wow, no aluminum version. Lol.

[@marcopaganotto9125]

Bank balance?

[@Lander76]

I'd be interested to see if the CFR accelerates any faster

[@ashleyhouse9690]

I'm convinced that groupset manfacturers could make their lower range products to a closer standard to the higher for very similar cost. They just don't to space the individual products apart to justify the increasing price to customers.

[@davekashuba4730]

The CFR's "Cutting edge carbon layup" means that when it explodes after you try sitting on the top tube, well....

[@AndresDiazChencho]

Sram Rival is absolutely horrendous 😊

[@stevek4382]

Just ride if you’re not getting paid to ride, it doesn’t matter

[@tomeriksen7916]

With only one test. No avarage power. More likley the difference is different windspeed. No way 900 gram saves 14 watts.

[@ARGMTNT]

I thought the four grand bike was the expensive one . Ha ha. Capitalism rocks . ✌🏻

[@hisdadjames4876]

Sounds like a 10-20% better bike, that costs 100-150% more. If you’re racing or chasing Stava times and/or mates bragging rights, maybe. Otherwise, no way!

[@leonehardt2378]

You really can’t compare NP for a test like this, you need to take the Average

[@kraatshenk7665]

14 watts vs 227 watt?

[@high1458]

So conclusion, bigger rims are faster?

[@JanBo-m1i]

Definitely the SLX. Upgrade with another wheelset and a decent color instead of the ugly white and you have a bike which looks nicer and is almost as fast (or as fast) as the CFR for less.

[@edymarkonthego4096]

Don’t buy upgrades. Ride upgrade.

[@AntonSkrobanek]

...faster than what? There was no cheap option in this comparison! :-P

[@ninebanger1585]

Swap out the rival crankset for 2023 sram red

[@ccbanger1414]

Canyon taking piss 😮10k just go for Cube bike they well priced

[@konradkowara3747]

I'm slightly baffled by this - you used two different power meters, then went by speed and compared NP values. Fair enough - the cheaper bike did not come with a PM, but why not install and calibrate that Rival crank arm on both bikes to have a fair comparison?

[@davidarthur]

I used the same Wahoo power meter pedals, sorry if that wasn't clear

[@konradkowara3747]

@@davidarthur Ahh in this case I do apologise for not paying attention and I do take everything back! Still, it would be interesting to know the average power instead of NP if you do have the data?

[@dcv9460]

CFR without water bottle vs CF SLX with water bottle mounted? That will affect the "ride feel". 💯

[@albertkikstra]

Please swap the wheels and do it again!

[@freenational]

1 kg difference matters more for a light rider.

[@JamesCanavan-wl5ev]

Prices are insane, these bikes are a rip-off...time for riders to make a stand!

[@clas683]

’Cheapest’ means linguistically that the CRF is cheap to begin with. Less insanely expensive is a better term.

[@marty197666]

10k on a bike is madness. I do ride a propel with Ultegra d12. But even that is hmm. I’m sure I wouldn’t know any difference with 105. We all probably only need a basic carbon or Ali frame with mechanical di2. Anything more is just because we want it.

[@davidgoon1978]

buy a second hand bike for 3000 and spend 7000 on a dirtbike😂😂

[@kraatshenk7665]

And the extra danger of going faster and the hookless wheels?

[@davidcarino6500]

Cheaper bike just replace the wheels with Hunt 1,400 grams! Similar in weight.

[@adriansmith5446]

That's so worth the extra 6 grand for that level of incremental improvement.... Not! You could have 2 of the incrementally less 'good' bikes and still have almost 2 grand left to reduce the incremental lessness of 1 of your incrementally less 'good' bikes, and use that one for Summer best. Bonkers!

[@ΣκιστειςβάρβαροςαποτηνΣκωτία]

Like wtf the differences are nothing

[@pellme]

you should do the same tests on a track removing the wind randomness outside. especially since you mentioned that its quite windy. needless to say that this has a huge impact which will easily overrule any difference coming from th bike or the components.

[@davidarthur]

True but then how relatable and real-world would such a test be? How these bikes handle wind and other conditions are important I reckon

[@ossiebacchus7110]

Yep, in my world both are expensive

[@ericpmoss]

Do four tests -- the low end frame with each group set, and again for the high end frame. Then we'll know which matters, if any.

[@audriusleleika4963]

cheep bike and elite wheels😉

[@Louis_Delgres]

14 Watts --> + 5000€

[@andrew8200m]

Ill just go to the loo and find the kilo on the way out for £5k thanks!

[@dmlopezleon]

No me la compraría por el sistema de dirección que tienen

[@KeesZoutzeling-fv5us]

You buy the top version because is cooler, look at Pinarello… 😂

[@jimboukis9023]

Lesson learned: Better to buy a cheaper frame/bike and spend some money on wheels. If you’re not a pro, weight means nothing for you. Just lose a few pounds and you’re golden.

[@Simon-yl5jd]

Wow 😳 exactly why buy a Ferrari for £250 thousand when you can buy a Lamborghini for £150 thousand 🙄 worlds of bike HAS GONE MAD!!!!!!! The best of the best bike should be top end £6000 end of.

[@doublejumpvideogames....]

That thumbnail ...

[@matejburian3191]

If it was measured with shimano powermeters then good luck with the results lol

[@davidarthur]

Nope, Wahoo power meter pedals :)

[@thenoclue90]

This test is pretty poorly done. That’s a big power difference between the two. Hard to really compare with such a difference and unfair to say the CFR saves 14 watts

[@eliotto9995]

Agree but to be fair he did the same time with 14w less so fair to say that the cfr is faster but that is thanks to the equipment most likely as the aero on those frame is the same

[@thenoclue90]

It either needs to be the same time to compare ways required or the same watts to compare time difference. You can’t have a difference in both for a valid test.

[@eq4ever]

Power was measured with two different power meters, right? From my experience this alone can result in 14 watt difference in readings. So tbh this test is rather far from relevant. And it's also funny that the conclusion is 'you really get a faster machine if you buy CFR' when test result presented shows the opposite.

[@thenoclue90]

@@eq4ever This is a great point

[@angela-onesroman8873]

I think it’s fine, you go the same speed and see which one took more effort🤔.

[@LaBestiaHumanaMX]

The 4K bike should only cost $1500USD, while the CFR be around $2500

[@mateusz3162]

you made this 4k pounds bike look cheap

[@66mikkim]

Switch over the wheels and then see if you can tell a differance, i bet you wont.

[@davidarthur]

Yup did that in the following CF SLX review , worth watching