The new Canyon Neuron:ON CF - a Spectral-light?

The old alloy Canyon Neuron:ON was a 130 mm travel bike for lighter trail duty. A relatively lightweight bike with 29er wheels that was comfortable on longer rides.

The new Neuron:ON CF offers 140 mm suspension travel, 10 mm more than the previous model. The letters CF indicate the new bike has a carbon frame. The rear suspension design has been tuned a bit over the old model. It's still pedal efficient, but now the rear suspension is more active and more comfortable over the trail obstacles. After Canyon increased the suspension travel on the Spectral:ON to 155/160 mm, they created room in the line-up for a more capable Neuron:ON.

Canyon Neuron:ON geometry​

The frame geometry reflects this change too. The head tube angle is now 65.5*, there are enduro bikes out there with the same head angle. Chainstays are increased substantially, up from sub 440 to 450 mm length. I must admit, I'm a little bit surprised. Canyon always was the king of short chainstays. 450 mm isn't super long for a 29er bike though. And it ensures a pretty long wheelsbase of 1.256 mm for size L. Another indication of the new Neuron:ON being a more capable bike on the trails.

A tale of two motors​

Canyon have recently introduced bikes with Bosch motors. And the new Neuron:ON gets Bosch too. The Neuron:ON CF 7 can be had with either a 625 or a 750 Wh battery. The Neuron:ON CF 8 is only available with a 750 Wh capacity. The se batteries are fixed inside the frame, they're not detachable.

The entry level alloy Neuron:ON 6 keeps the old 130 mm travel frame and comes fitted with the new Shimano EP6 85 Nm motor. I think that's a great choice for an entry level bike. The Shimano EP6 is like a top-of-the-line motor from 2021/2022, at a better price. Read more about the EP6 here. The Neuron:ON 6 has the Shimano 630 Wh internal detachable battery.


The new Neuron:ON CF gets the Bosch Smart System and the Performance CX 85 Nm motor. The new Smart System motors are nice and powerful, and they've become very easy to control in Turbo mode. Along with the Smart System comes app support with options for motor assistance tweaking, route navigation and anti-theft GPS-tracking.

Available models​

As usual with Canyon, the bikes are ready to order at the time of launch. The Neuron:ON 6 has the same alloy frame as last years model, that keeps the weight up and the price down. The two other models are significantly lighter.

• Neuron:ON 6 630Wh: €3.799
• Neuron:ON CF 7 625Wh: €4.799
• Neuron:ON CF 7 750Wh: €4.999
• Neuron:ON CF 8:750Wh: €5.599

My take​

I found some mid-travel emtbs a bit strange. Many of them were similar to the longer travel models. There was no advantage of going mid-travel, the bike was just as heavy and reducing suspension travel a bit didn't make it noticeably more nimble and playful. Therefore, I think Canyon have taken the Neuron:ON in a good direction. With the slacker geometry and increased travel, the Neuron:ON CF appears to be a more versatile and capable emtb. Almost like a lite-version of the Spectral:ON.