Canyon Inflite CF SLX
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- Posts: 295
- Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:12 pm
- Location: Boston, MA
I disagree. I think they seem to err to smaller sizes. At least for me I ended up twice with Canyon bikes a bit small and requiring fugly long stems but if you're riding an Inflite, already the fugliest bike on earth, you might not care.
I'd buy some other gravel bike, that I coudl actually confirm fits first. Great deals from LBS to be had this time of year. Sure, Canyon offers free returns, but having returned one of their bikes, I can assure you, it's still a PITA to box up the bike, schlep the giant pacakage to UPS, etc.
I won't be buying any more Canyon bikes....
Arky, are you running the stock drivetrain? Thinking that moving to a 44T ring or even 44T with the Sram PG1170 in the back to get a wider range for road riding. What do you think?Arky wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:40 amI am extremely happy with it as a road bike. What I like:
Design
-Industrial, very modern design. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I like how it looks. The appearance will eviscerate your average road bike and eat it alive. It has real presence in the dark color. I wish I did not post pictures of it previously. The pics are awful and do not do it justice. I will try to post more with better lighting, scene, and camera.
Quality
-Canyon quality is apparent everwhere, starting with packaging to the finished product. They seem to think everything through and execute good ideas.
Future proof
-Flat mount brakes, frame good for electric or mechanical, standard axle widths for road disc
Comfort
-The claimed comfort is real. Hiding an extra long seat post is clever. You basically get a very compact frame that does not look compact. I have about a foot of seat post above the low hidden clamp. There is probably comfort built in the frame as well. I have a feeling the kinked top tube and seat stays help somewhat. Bowed frame members obviously can compress and stretch small amounts better than straight ones, helping with comfort.
Little Aero Features
-Although not touted as having them, they did design kamm tails on the seat stays, seat tube, and fork. They are nice touches.
Integrated Bar and Stem
-I cannot fault the integrated bar and stem. It was a big selling point to me. Normally, I size down and go longer on the stem. Canyon has shortish stems on this bike to help with off-road control. To get proper reach, I had to get a larger bike than I am used to. The bigger bike feels surprisingly good to me. I am glad I was forced to go that route. The bar is also a little wider than I normally use. I like it more than expected as well.
While they break tradition, the “off-road” concepts of larger frame, shorter stem, and wide bar absolutely translates to a feeling of greater control on the road. You have to try it if you have not already.
FYI: Be careful with standover height. I am 6’2”/188cm and do not have much clearance when standing over the top tube.
Stiffness
-The frame is stout. It has to be, being built for off-road duty. My 200lb self does not flex it out of the saddle perceivably.
Stock Traditional Selle Italia SLR Saddle!!!!!
-Unbranded (not Canyon) with correct thin traditional padding. Bean counters do not get their way at Canyon. This is a quality piece. Very rare or non-existent on $3300 complete bikes of other brands. This one comes in a shape (concave at the sit bones) that seems to be hard to find these days.
Tubeless ready DT Swiss wheels
-28c tires tubeless on wide rims. They sound a lot like tubulars and ride ride smooth like tubulars. It seems like they are more round/concentric than tubulars, but it could be in my head.
Swiss Army Bike
Honestly, it has no downsides. Why have a road, cross, and gravel bike? This can do it all very well. It seems like it could serve as an occasional cross country mountain bike too.
I just ordered the 8.0 - can’t wait to give a spin.
Does anyone know the max. chainring size for Inflite CF? Thinking of moving to something bigger from the stock 40T ring.
To anyone considering the Inflite CF SL(X), I say go for it! Such a great bike, I love my SL 8.0 Race for cyclocross racing and general gravel riding.
To anyone considering the Inflite CF SL(X), I say go for it! Such a great bike, I love my SL 8.0 Race for cyclocross racing and general gravel riding.
The Inflite is a pretty sweet bike, very playful ride.
My size S is ~7,6kg incl pedals, cages and mounts.
Could easily go lower with lighter rubber but I find the WTB Riddlers in 37c very good for the kind of riding I do.
44t chainring and 11-40 xtr cassette.
Also had a 46t chainring on it too but decided to give myself a break on tough ascents.
![Image](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/42xMhiU1KCnsYuVGNgr8n920vNdKscwXE_Fo1-G8VK4b8XEN-aZ48T8BOYGl2A-WXgSNlJ3z8wzvsoz4YqXBgSJoDsRGrV1KlOBtKpkD37cCtlYASmDsBcgCdhuZE5nfg4IzCTgCtTk=w1080-h1440-no)
My size S is ~7,6kg incl pedals, cages and mounts.
Could easily go lower with lighter rubber but I find the WTB Riddlers in 37c very good for the kind of riding I do.
44t chainring and 11-40 xtr cassette.
Also had a 46t chainring on it too but decided to give myself a break on tough ascents.
Thanks, that's a very useful piece of information. I might go 44t/11-40 one day, too. The standard 40/11t falls just a bit short on those fast group ride sections.
Nice picture, btw. Looks just like my playground in the Nordics.
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After two seasons two seasons, a handful of CX races and a couple thousand gravel kilometres, I'm still loving my Inflite. Sometimes I play with the idea of getting a "proper" gravel bike, but then I fall in love with the playfulness and the awesome handling of the Inflite and enjoy one of my best bike purchases ever.
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- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2019 1:15 pm
Hi everyone.
At the moment I'm riding a road bike, a specialized Allez, but due to the moment I started walking in my countryside ad I fall in love with paths in the woods, and I'd like starting riding also there.
My question is: is possibile to use Canyon inflite also on the road? If I bought a pair of road wheel set to use when I road on the street not off-road should it be like a road bike?
My idea is to buy an hybrid bike, using it depends on what I like to do.
I used to ride for joy, not races, about 100/130 km at least.
Do someone tried this combination?
Thank you
At the moment I'm riding a road bike, a specialized Allez, but due to the moment I started walking in my countryside ad I fall in love with paths in the woods, and I'd like starting riding also there.
My question is: is possibile to use Canyon inflite also on the road? If I bought a pair of road wheel set to use when I road on the street not off-road should it be like a road bike?
My idea is to buy an hybrid bike, using it depends on what I like to do.
I used to ride for joy, not races, about 100/130 km at least.
Do someone tried this combination?
Thank you
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