new bike day
July 30, 2021
new bike 2020 Canyon Speedmax CF 8.0 SLX
Ahhhh the Canyon speedmax.
The German-engineered, direct-to-consumer modeled, Kona-winning, Jan Frodenin’ bike.
The bike that turns heads, or actually, keeps the heads looking forward cause it’s probably in front of anyone NOT on one.
old bike 2015 Trek Speed Concept 7.5
About a month ago, a golden opportunity came by to replace the above Speed Concept.
I had this bike a little over a year, (bought used) put about 5,000 miles and 1 triathlon race on it before it got demolished during a training ride on PCH.
It was always one of the most beautiful bike to look at. The design- all the curves and edges- for over about a decade that Trek had this body, not only was it one of the most beautiful, but also proved itself to be one of the fastest bike in the game.
Long flat ride in Death Valley
Anyhoo, since it was no longer safe to ride outdoors with both external and internal frame damages from the crash, I’ve been on the market for a new bike.
Around when I started searching, (October ‘20) Canyon released an update to their triathlon line up with the 2021 Speedmax. (1st model w disc brakes!) They claim it’s 9 watts faster at 45 kph which boggled my mind seeing that it’s a disc brake, the “not-so-aero” companion to rim brakes.
No worries though, it was starting at $8,000 (or the model up being $12,000) both about 110% out of my budget. Meaning no matter how aero or un-aero, it wasn’t applicable to the reality of my financial state.
Little photo session with the speedmax 😎
But as you can obvious see above, I purchased a new bike, well, a new old bike.
The old bike being the most advanced, engineered, tested-to-perfection, most aero model of the rim brake speedmax- the 2020 Canyon speedmax CF 8.0 SLX.
Let’s get this straight. This bike was also NOT applicable to the reality of my wallet, but with the surplus in stock, and the need to sell new and shiny disc brake speedmax’s, Canyon applied a deep discount of $2,000 from its original listed price, making it an incredible deal.
This is a pro-level bike. Some of the more serious triathletes may be caught riding on it, but really, if we’re being honest.. there’s no real need for this level of bike unless qualifying for world or going pro was in the athlete’s checklist.
The speedmax has all the bells and whistles with extra cherry and whip cream on top.
Integrated shift cabling, Di2, (electronic shifting) integrated hydration, aero everything, (brake, bar grip, storage, etc) integrated flat kit storage, and the minute details like nuts and bolts coverages for the marginal aerodynamic gains.
It is one of the most aero bike out there on the market. It wins races.
It is so precious and beautiful, I’m hesitant to take it out on the road.
So far I’ve only had it mounted on the indoor trainer, and it’ll stay that way until I get a professional fit.
Since the accident last year, I’ve been VERY iffy about riding time trial bikes outdoors. If I do take it out, I will have increased every safety measure I could before heading out, and getting a bike fit is one of the things that’s within my control.
I’m very excited to say the least. Excited to build stronger bike legs, enjoy the fast sceneries outdoors, and just in general, developing a relationship with this bike for the years to come.
