Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 Di2 (2017)

This is a review of my experience with buying from Canyon. It is personal opinion.

Summary

I recommend steering clear of Canyon. The bikes might be functionally excellent, as concluded by many professional reviewers, but the reviewers usually assume a bike is delivered without issues. Canyon have provided the worst customer support that I've experienced in decades. Ultimately, if you purchase from Canyon and find yourself unable to resolve a technical issue, you may find that UK consumer law does not serve you well, as the expected performance of a high-end road bike is not  understood by the average lawyer.

Key points

1. Nice bikes, but outweighed by the risk of very poor customer support
2. You may not be protected by UK consumer law, as the bike is bought from Canyon GmbH
3. A Section 75 claim and Financial Ombudsmen service are unlikely to resolve a technical matter and they may find it difficult to understand your point of view as they do not understand that a high-end road bike is more than just an A-to-B object of casual transport.

Ultimate CF SL (2014)

Nice bike. There was insufficient packaging under the front forks, causing their bases to almost poke through the box, but in my case the bike arrived undamaged. The bike rode well. After 'running in', I experienced vibrations of the internally-routed cables against the inside of the frame. Canyon offered to pay for the issue to be remedied if I were to take the bike to my local shop. This seemed reasonable customer support. The bike has given three years' good performance, even though the cables still vibrate.

Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 Di2 (2017)

Out of the box, the bike was ok. As an engineer, I found it reasonably straight forward to assemble the bike using the instructions provided. Through many initial rides, I noticed on climbing out the saddle that the rear wheel suffered 'brake rub'. The problem of brake-rub is well-documented and is due to flex of either the wheel or the frame, or both.

Before contacting Canyon, I did some initial diagnostics. Replacing the rear wheel with my old Ksyrium Elite wheel showed the flex was in the Mavic Ksyrium Pro Exalith wheel. The old Ksyrium Elite wheel ran without brake rub, even with the pads close to the rims. But the Ksyrium Pro Exalith wheel would flex and rub, even with the pads set so far apart that the brake lever could be made to touch the bar. So, I had determined that the flex was in the wheel and not the frame.

The problem at this point was that the UK Canyon Service Centre said I should return the whole bike. But, er, I was using it! We agreed that I could return only the defective wheel. So, four weeks later the wheel was returned to me... damaged. Canyon had placed it loose in a cardboard box with no protection for the axle. So I decided not to accept the wheel. How do you think the Support Centre responded to my request for a replacement wheel? This gives you some clue:

I am writing to you regarding a problem with the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX bike, delivered on 10/03/2017. I am writing as I have had no response for a week to my email dated 9^th June, nor my follow-up email dated 13^th June, nor have you answered my queued telephone call on 16th June at ~10.45am, nor my ‘web chat’ with Michelle which also took place at 10.45am on 16th June.

Canyon Customer Support

So the issue with buying a Canyon bike is not with the machine, but with the support, should you need it. The main concerns are:

• Lack of care: if you provide a detailed description of an issue, you are likely to get standard phrases pasted into an email to you, such as instructing you to take 'photos of the problem'
• They will probably insist you return the whole bike. They don't see it as an problem that you are without your new bike for a quarter of the season.
• Don't bother asking for a temporary component, such as a cheap wheel whilst your wheel is being 'repaired'. Apparently they 'do not offer such a service'.
• The time Canyon choose to take for an inspection or repair is open-ended. You have no idea when you might see your bike again. There is no SLA (Service Level Agreement). 
• Canyon take little care in packaging your bike or components when returning them to you. This is ironic given Canyon they lay out in their Terms what they expect when you package an item.

Consumer Rights

So do you think you are protected by UK Consumer Law? In theory yes, but in practice I found it worthless for a complex issue such as the brake-rub. You need to consider:

• If you make a web purchase from Canyon Germany GmbH, then you are probably not protected by UK Consumer Law. You may need to refer to EU Consumer Law (whilst that remains an option). You may test this, by pointing out Canyon will not sell you a bike in Euros and trade with UK consumers only in Pounds Sterling. If you want to pursue this, then perhaps be prepared to pay for a solicitor. Let me know how you get on and what the points of law are.
• Did you use a credit card for the purchase? Then in theory you can make a 'Section 75 Claim' against the card company instead of Canyon GmbH. But, in my experience, they will side with the retailer.
• You are presently (2018) protected by EU Consumer Law. You can use the EU Small Claims Court. You can apply online just as simply as a UK Small Claim.

You may wish to look at my letter as a template. Despite the letter referring carefully to consumer rights, this ultimately failed to resolve the issue to my satisfaction. Let me know if you have done better.

Experience of a Section 75 Claim

Having failed to resolve the issue directly with Canyon, I attempted a 'Section 75' claim against the credit card company, Post Office Credit Cards (Bank of Ireland) did not understand the issue at all. It is difficult to explain the level of performance one expects from such a bike. I suspect they think a bike is simply an A-to-B mode of transport. In my claim I tried to help by using an analogy of a newly released sports car: would it be acceptable to take the car off the road for more than a month so that the dealer could 'inspect and repair' a wheel? Naturally they took Canyon's side, so I'm not sure they wanted to understand.

Note that if you go done the Section 75 route, you are effectively blocked from using the UK Small  Claims Court until you have used the credit card arbitration process via the Financial Ombudsman. But the ombudsman understands next-to-nothing about performance bikes. The experience was really painful with the arbitrator saying he appreciated there was a problem with the TYRE. The young chap didn't seem to understand the difference between a wheel and a tyre. He certainly didn't understand about brake-rub or Young's Modulus.

Not Just an Unlucky Experience

If you're thinking I just got unlucky, then the following might illustrate that the packing problems are deep-rooted in Canyon. A friend ordered the same model, a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 Di2. The box arrived with the rear axle poking through the Canyon box and with damage to the axle end. So he returned it under Canyon's no quibble guarantee. He placed a new order for a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.0 Di2 and found exactly the same packing problem. The response from the Canyon UK Service Centre was that the damaged axle end was simply 'cosmetic' so they wouldn't replace the wheel.

Review Sites

So am I alone in my experience? Er, no. If you take a look at TrustPilot, you will see many reports of problems with Canyon, and nearly all issues centre around the poor support from the UK Service Centre. Customer experience is 'bi-modal': there is a cohort of customers very pleased with their purchase, and a cohort that are very displeased. You will see the issues centre around the Canyon Service Centre support. This fits well with my own experience of buying the two Canyon bikes.

Canyon Support Contact Details

If you've read this far, are you perhaps having issues with your new Canyon bike? If so, then the following details might help you:

• UK Service Centre (The direct telephone number they hide from customers): 020 8549 6001
• Germany Customer Relationship Management: Michael Matysik, Tel: +49(0)261404000 (German Service Centre)

Other contact details are readily available online.