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Canyon Strive 2021 – new specs and colours, same race feeling

17.12.2020
by Rudolf Fischer

If you want a top-spec bike at an excellent price, Canyon’s website is a very good place to look for it. The Strive models are no exception and for the 2021 season the German direct-sale brand has pepped up the specs.

The Strive is the enduro-racer in Canyon’s portfolio. In our ”The Best Enduro MTB of 2020” group test, the Canyon Strive CFR 9.0 LTD 2020 impressed our test-team with outstanding allround-capabilities and a superb spec (to the test). Over the past months, the Canyon development team has worked hard to get even more out of their race-bike for the 2021 season.

Jack Moir ripping the trails on his Canyon Strive CFR. In our race-bike test, the Canyon Strive CFR Jack Moir Edition (to the test) was really fast.

From 2021, all Strive models will have 170 mm front-travel – a treatment that until now was reserved to the CFR models. We’re glad to see that Canyon followed our advice, upgrading the FOX fork of the CF 8 and CFR models with a more sensitive GRIP2 cartridge, which allows you to adjust the high- and low-speed compression and rebound settings independently. The high-end CF 9 and CFR models will roll exclusively on DT-Swiss carbon wheels – the CF 9 on the EXC 1501 wheelset and the CFR on the top-of-the range EXC 1200 model. On top of that, both bikes will be delivered with a OneUp V2 Dropper Post (to the test) from next year on. And while there’s no dropper upgrade for the more affordable CF 7 and CF 8 models, the travel of the dropper has been increased across the entire Strive lineup. The rear-tire is still the same MAXXIS Minion DHR II found on this year’s model, but comes in the (slightly) more robust Exo+ casing. The MAXXIS Minion DHR II at the front was replaced by a MAXXIS ASSEGAI.

The top-of-the-range Canyon Strive CFR model will be available in this elegant white-grey finish for € 5,999.

For the upcoming season Canyon have also revised the colour range. The Strive CF 7 and CF 8 will still be available in classic black and in a new X-Ray green finish, which some of you might have seen on one of Tahnee or Kaos Seagrave’s social media posts. The CF 9 is available either in the classic black or red/white finish, while the high-end Canyon Strive CFR comes in a white/grey colour combo. The entry-level Canyon Strive CF 7 retails at € 2,999, the top-of-the-range Canyon Strive CFR at €5,999.

The Canyon Strive CF 7 will be available in this new X-Ray green finish and cost € 2,999.
The Canyon Strive CF 8 with FOX suspension is available in both black and X-Ray green.
The Canyon Strive CF 9 comes in black and in this red/white finish.
In good company – we’ve already compared the Canyon Strive CFR with the best bikes of 2021 in our big ENDURO group test. Read our next ENDURO issue to find out how it fared against the fierce competition.

If you want to know how the updated Canyon Strive rides, soon you’ll be able to read all about it. We’ve already tested the new Strive in our big ENDURO group test. Can the Strive with its updated spec still keep up with the best bikes on the market? Find out in the next ENDURO issue, which is due in the next few days.

More information at canyon.com.

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Words: Rudolf Fischer Photos: Canyon, Valentin Rühl, Christoph Bayer

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About the author

Rudolf Fischer

In his previous life Rudolf was a dab hand at promoting innovation, putting his brain behind big-ticket patent assessments that easily ran into six-or-seven-plus figures. These days, the self-confessed data nerd’s role as editor at DOWNTOWN and E-MOUNTAINBIKE is no less exciting. Given his specialism in connectivity, Rudolf’s often placed on the front line of future mobility conversations, but he’s also big into testing new bikes–both on the daily as a committed commuter and intensively for our group tests. The business economist graduate is as versatile as a Swiss penknife, and that’s no hyperbole. Away from two wheels, his background in parkour means he’s a master of front, side and backflips, plus he speaks German, English, French, Russian and a touch of Esperanto. Japanese remains woefully unmastered, despite his best home-learning attempts. Good to know: Rudolf’s sharp tongue has made him a figure of fear in the office, where he’s got a reputation for flexing a dry wittiness à la Ricky Gervais... interestingly, he's usually the one laughing hardest.

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