Review: Canyon Spectral:On CFR

Like most humans who have passed the half-century mark, I flip between fantasy and reality when it comes to my physical fitness. My fantasy is that I’m as fit and strong as I was when I was 25. The reality: I’m not. And while I like to think that I would never replace my human-powered mountain bike with an electrically powered version, Canyon’s new Spectral:On makes me feel like I’m 25 again. And who wouldn’t indulge that opportunity?

The first generation of e-MTBs I tested years ago were heavy beasts that felt hard to manage on the trail. But like the rest of the ebike multiverse, off-road machines have steadily evolved with lighter and smaller motors, more powerful batteries, and more balanced frame shapes (or a "relaxed geometry," in bike nerd parlance) that makes for an overall better riding experience. These evolutionary steps make e-MTBs increasingly tempting, especially if I want to undertake long-haul hut trips through the Utah backcountry into my eighties.

There are five versions of the 2022 Spectral:On. Compared to the previous Spectral models (the original launched in 2018), all of these new bikes have more range, more power, and a stiffer, stronger, full carbon frame that seats the rider closer to the middle-rear of the bike, an arrangement that provides more stability and balance. All are mullets, meaning that they pair a more stable 29-inch front wheel which can roll over just about anything with a 27.5-inch rear wheel that adds playfulness to the ride.

Canyon also tilted the bike’s motor—a 5.7-pound, magnesium-clad Shimano EP8, which provides 63 foot-pounds of torque, quadruple the pedaling power—to a 30-degree angle. This fix allowed Canyon to tuck the battery lower into the frame, which in turn lowers the bike’s center of gravity, a major reason the bike handles more like a motorless mountain bike.

Canyon then fully carbonized the frame, including the rear triangle, making the whole thing lighter and stronger; grew the reach by 25 millimeters per frame size, slackened the head angle by a degree and added 5 mm to the chain stay, all of which adds stability in the saddle. Then Canyon took 20 mm out of the seat tube, allowing the installation of the longer dropper seat posts preferable on burlier descents.

Then there’s that precise German attention to detail: The battery has a magnetic charger plug, which makes it easier to lock in even in a dark, crowded garage. The wiring is routed through the bar and stem, which reduces cockpit clutter. Best of all, the dashboard is color-coded, so with one easy glance, the rider knows which of three pedal-assist modes they’re in; and with one push of a button, they can scroll through mph, distance, odometer, available range, max speed, average speed, cadence, and time of day.

The only choices the consumer must make in deciding between the five versions are the frame size, the quality of the components, and the battery size. You get to pick between a 720- or 900-watt-hour battery, and the size-small frame comes with only the 720-WH battery option, because the larger 900-WH battery doesn’t fit inside of it. All of these options determine the final price, which ranges from $6,000 to $10,500.

I tested the CFR model with a 900-WH battery, the second highest model that Canyon makes, which gives it a generous 42 percent increase in range over last year’s model. The quoted range for the 900-WH battery is 64.1 miles with an elevation gain of almost 7,000 feet (meaning that if you don’t climb as much, the battery will last longer). The smaller 720-WH battery has a quoted range of 51.2 miles over an elevation gain of 5,500 feet.

Rounding out the bike is a Fox 36 Factory Grip 2 fork with 150 mm of travel combined with a Fox Float X Factory Shock with 155 mm of rear suspension and Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain. This configuration puts the bike at 50.1 pounds for the medium size—which is certainly not lightweight if the battery dies and you have to hike out with the bike. There are other e-MTBs in the 36-pound range, but their batteries are one-third as powerful, so the range-to-weight ratio on the Spectral:On is a fair trade-off.

On paper the bike seemed flawless.

On the trail, its near-flawlessness was confirmed. I immediately noticed the well-tuned calibration of the motor’s three settings—Eco, Trail, and Boost. On other e-MTBs, I’ve come close to hitting a tree while trying to simultaneously adjust a shock or figure out the gearing while toggling with the different levels of jolting power. But the mid-level Trail option provided a consistent level of juice without over- or under-powering the ride in any gear while whipping around on singletrack. The only time I dropped into Eco was on chunky downhills where I didn’t want to kill myself with too much speed. Or I would amp it up to Boost when riding into a stiff headwind or trying to get home in time for dinner.

One potential concern before testing was how close the bottom bracket—the lowest point in a bike’s frame, right between your feet—sits to the ground. My partner Brian, the founder of our local Duluth Devo second through 12th grade mountain bike program, had an issue with the pedals striking the ground on tight turns and in rocky, rough terrain. Another time he was riding in Trail mode and ratcheted his pedals on a downhill to get past a boulder, and the movement made the bike hesitate and then surge forward, causing him to crash into a tree stump. The first issue—the pedal strikes—could be a function of him getting used to the bike’s more relaxed geometry; the second problem—the sudden forward burst of momentum—could be underestimating the power of an ebike. His takeaway was clear: Don’t try anything too gnarly on your maiden voyage.

Because the Spectral:On offers such smooth power and is lightweight enough so that it feels more like a human-powered bike, I was able to power up rock bridges and ledges. Taking advantage of the added juice, I sessioned a few features on the trail that have always given me trouble when I’ve ridden it regularly—like a 10-foot-long boulder bridge—finessing technique that might allow me to finally conquer the trouble spots under my own power.

My daily test rides averaged 15 to 25 miles of singletrack each and included climbs of roughly 1,500 to 2,000 feet. I rarely burned through more than half the battery on these rides. As much fun as the Canyon was on the trail, I still felt pangs of guilt as I blew past riders earning every inch of a climb. I almost longed to feel their post-ride exhaustion.

But the bike was irreplaceable in the early morning, when I’d use it to patch together a ride on gravel, singletrack, and rough city roads so that I could reach a view of the sunrise over Lake Superior on a hilltop about five miles from my house. Without an e-MTB I would have had to have woken up an hour earlier to huff up the hill to catch that expansive scene. The fast, smooth, powerful morning ride—much of which I confess I did in Boost mode—brought, no lie, big joy and a better day ahead every time.