Canyon Neuron:ONfly
Wheel Size: 29’’ front / 29’’ rear
Travel: 140 mm rear / 140 mm front (size XS is 130 mm front and rear)
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: XS, S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 64.5°
- Seat tube angle (effective): 76.5º
- Reach (Size L): 485 mm
- Chainstay length: 450 mm
Drive System Highlights:
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line SX
- Torque: 55 Nm
- Power: 600 W
- Battery: 400 Wh
- Display: Bosch System Controller
- Remote: Bosch Mini Remote
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price: $5499 — €7,900 / £7,900 (CF LTD, not available in the U.S)
Intro
Bosch Performance Line SX-equipped lightweight eMTBs are cropping up left and right at the moment. Canyon has taken a rather inspired approach — and one that feels very on-brand for them — by coming to the table with a lightweight SX-powered bike that is impressively affordable.
Step back and take a look at the lightweight eMTB landscape, and one thing that stands out is that it’s not exactly a category rife with budget options. Turns out that making a light bike with a motor and battery stuffed into it isn’t super cheap. Canyon, already known for bikes that are a good value, recognized that gap in the market and has come to market with a full carbon framed, Bosch SX-powered eMTB, and with damn good parts, for the startlingly low price of $5499.
The Frame
The Neuron:ONfly frame follows familiar design language similar to what we’ve seen from Canyon already. It strikes a very clean and uncluttered silhouette and is in my opinion a good-looking bike.
The Neuron:ONfly incorporates the latest evolution of Canyon’s Triple Phase Suspension design featuring a higher amount of anti-squat than their other eMTBs. This was done to complement the higher cadence necessary for the Bosch SX motor to deliver maximum power, as compared to the full-power drive systems used elsewhere in their lineup.
Canyon also added a bit more progression at the end of the stroke to help resist bottoming out. The leverage ratio starts at about 3:1 and initially follows a mostly straight-ish path before ramping up gradually in the middle of the travel and finishing at 2.4:1.
The frame has Canyon’s Impact Protection Unit (IPU) in the head tube — a steering stop that prevents the handlebars from contacting the frame. They have also added a Downtube Bumper in case a crash compromises the IPU allowing the fork to potentially hit the downtube, as a second line of defense.
Canyon is also sticking with integrated headset cable routing, which is not our favorite, but they have also put a lot of effort into preventing cable rattle once the cables are through the headset. The cables are firmly routed through PU hoses that are laminated into the carbon fiber frame. Cable rattle in eMTBs is an area that a lot of brands can improve upon, and it’s good to see Canyon taking the issue seriously.
Other frame details include an integrated chain guide, a full-length chainstay protector and some seatstay protection, and water bottle mounts that can also be used to mount the Bosch Powermore range extender (more on that in a sec).
Drive System
The Bosch Performance Line SX motor has been getting a fair bit of attention lately. Brands are releasing bikes that feature it at a steady pace. I have quite a bit of time on it now riding the Norco Fluid VLT, as well as this new Neuron:ONfly, and have to say, I might be a bit smitten.
The Bosch SX has a claimed combined weight of 8.8 lbs / 4 kg for the motor and battery. This slots it in between the TQ HPR50 (8.6 lbs / 3.9 kg) and the Fazua Ride 60 (9.2 lbs / 4.2 kg) — Bosch’s main competition for lightweight motors. A lot of the credit here goes to the new 400 Wh battery that has the highest energy density of any Bosch e-bike battery. But not all the credit goes to the battery as the SX motor is considerably lighter than their full-power motor (CX) thanks to a more compact design, magnesium housing, and a pared-down crankshaft.
As with weight, the Bosch SX’s 55 Nm of torque splits the difference between the TQ HPR50 (50 Nm) and the Fazua Ride 60 (60 Nm) in terms of torque output. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, because what really stands out is the 600 watts of peak power the Bosch SX is capable of — the same max power as their full-power motors. There is a caveat though, because the SX motor produces less torque than the full-power CX motor, and thus needs a considerably higher cadence to output that 600 watts. Having spent time on the Bosch SX now, I love the power delivery and the fact that you have to work for it.
Fazua and TQ drive systems claim to have no mechanical resistance when ridden unpowered, and having spent time on both systems they do feel like that is the case. That’s a quality of both systems that I really like. The Bosch SX motor claims a 50% reduction in drag over their full-powered motors, but this means it will still have some mechanical resistance — after spending time on it, the reduction in mechanical drag is noticeable when compared to the Bosch Performance Line CX motor, but still can’t match how well the Fazua and TQ motors pedal unpowered.
The remote and display, as well as the app, are a familiar Bosch affair, and the same as what you get on other Bosch Performance Line drive systems. For a more detailed overview of the Bosch Smart System check out the Orbea Wild review.
Also worth noting is that with the purchase of a Neuron:ONfly you get a year subscription to Bosch Flow+, which unlocks more functions within the eBike Flow app, including GPS tracking should your new bike get stolen.
Fit & Geometry
The Neuron:ONfly is available in five sizes, XS through XL. First of all, well done to Canyon for offering the Neuron:ONfly in the XS size — it’s not common to see eMTBs this small.
Focusing on the size Large, the Neuron:ONfly paints a very familiar picture for current Trail bikes. A 485 mm reach is on trend for what we’re currently seeing, and so are the 76.5 seat tube angle, 64.5 head angle, and 450 mm chainstays (though if anything, the chainstays are hair on the long side). But there are no big outliers in the geometry chart overall.
I like that Canyon has gone with a little higher stack heights across the size range — 644 mm in the size Large is spot on for me, and I think very appropriate for the travel and all-around Trail focus.
There are no flip chips, adjustable headset cups, or chainstays — what you see is what you get, geometry-wise. As much as I see value in incorporating as much versatility as possible, there is something to be said for simplification, too.
The Builds
Canyon will offer the Neuron:ONfly in four builds, and initially, only the CF7 build will be available in the U.S. All builds will have the same carbon frame, drive system, battery, display, and remote.
The CF7 build has an impressive build for the price ($5499). It has a full aarbon frame, Bosch Performance Line SX drive system, RockShox Pike fork with Deluxe Select+ shock, and Sram Code brakes. Granted, I’ve never heard of the wheel brand before, nor do I have any experience with the Canyon dropper post, but at that price, there is room for upgrades should any of the components not meet expectations.
Here’s an overview of the four builds, and it should be noted that the size XS has a 130 mm fork on all the builds, as well as a shorter stroke shock for 130 mm of rear travel.
- Frame: Carbon
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 12 Speed
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line SX
- Battery: 400 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Pike Base
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select+
- Brakes: SRAM Code R with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: Rodi TRYP30 EVO (SHM TC600 Hub)
- Dropper Post: SP0070-01 (Size XS: 150 mm; S: 170 mm; M-L: 200 mm; XL: 230 mm)
- Frame: Carbon
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore XT 12 speed
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line SX
- Battery: 400 Wh
- Fork: Fox 34 Performance
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Brakes: Shimano MT 8120 4 piston with 203 mm rotors
- Wheels: SunRingle 329 Expert
- Dropper Post: SP0070-01 (Size XS: 150 mm; S: 170 mm; M-L: 200 mm; XL: 230 mm)
- Frame: Carbon
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle AXS Transmission
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line SX
- Battery: 400 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select+
- Brakes: SRAM Code Silver Stealth with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: DT Swiss HX1700 LS
- Dropper Post: SP0070-01 (Size XS: 150 mm; S: 170 mm; M-L: 200 mm; XL: 230 mm)
- Frame: Carbon
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX SL Eagle AXS Transmission
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line SX
- Battery: 400 Wh
- Fork: Fox 34 Factory
- Shock: Fox Float Factory
- Brakes: SRAM Code Ultimate Stealth with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: Reynolds Trail 329 Blacklabel Expert
- Dropper Post: SP0070-01 (Size XS: 150 mm; S: 170 mm; M-L: 200 mm; XL: 230 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) At a claimed 45 lbs / 20.4 kg, the Neuron:ONfly CF7 is not that light. How will that affect the performance of the drive system, and how will the parts manage that weight (specifically the Pike fork)?
(2) The Neuron:ONfly matches up very closely on paper to the recently released Norco Fluid VLT we just got in for review. How will they compare on the trail?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Thanks in large part to the new(ish) Bosch SX motor, the lightweight eMTB category is on fire, and Canyon is the latest brand to release a new bike featuring this popular new motor. I’m a fan of their approach to combining a light(ish) weight and budget-friendly build in a category not particularly known for it, and it doesn’t look like they cut any corners to get there.
The Neuron:ONfly looks positioned to be very competitive in this fast-growing category, and we look forward to spending more time on it.