The lightweight Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF is here!

Finally, Canyon is out with their first mid-assist, lightweight emtb, the Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF. I expected Canyon to introduce a completely new superlight model with a 150 mm fork. But that’s not what we’re getting. Check out the bike in this video before reading on.

The “fly”​

Canyon hasn’t created a superlight emtb weighing 16 something kilos. Instead, they wanted to make a bike that combined the power of a full-fat emtb and the natural ride feel of a lightweight emtb. The result is a 140 mm travel 29er bike weighing between 19.1 and 20.4 kg. For size XS, travel is dropped to 130 mm and the wheels are 27.5". As the name suggests, it’s based on the Neuron:ON. The “fly” name makes me wonder, will we se a fly-version of all the other Canyon emtbs too? Like a Spectral:ONfly and a Strive:ONfly?

Same but lighter?​

We tested the heavier Canyon Neuron:ON CF9 last year. The Neuron:ONfly CF9 test bike looks similar. Both bikes have Rockshox Pike 140mm forks and Deluxe shocks, DT Swiss HX1700 29" wheels and Sram Eagle GX Transmission wireless shifting. Even prices are the same as the 750 Wh Neuron:ON, for the most part.

We weighed the Neuron:ON CF to 23.45 kg and the new “fly” to about 20.25 kg, both with pedals. The new lighter Neuron is 3.2 kg less, and that makes sense. The 55 Nm Bosch Performance SX motor is just under a kilo lighter than the full-power Performance CX, and the battery is close to 2.5 kg lighter. That’s perhaps 3.4 kg in total. But the Neuron:ONfly has a heavier Schwalbe Hans Dampf front tyre. So, it adds up, the lower weight of the Neuron:ONfly is mostly due to the smaller motor and battery.

Same but slacker?​

So, is the Neuron:ONfly geometry similar to it’s non-fly sibling? They both have 450 mm chainstays, a 640 mm effective toptube length (size L) and 36 mm bottom bracket drop. Still, the answer has to be “no”. There are some significant differences, as one would expect considering the fly-version is a newer design. Head angle is down by one to 64.5*. The wheelbase of our size L bike is 1.271 mm, that’s 15 mm more than the un-fly. The Canyon Neuron:ONfly geometry is looking very sorted. It’s got the layout of a burlier bike than the 140 mm travel would lead me to believe.

Four Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF models​

In Europe, and possibly elsewhere, the Neuron:ONfly is available in four versions. All of them have the “regular” carbon frame labeled CF. In the US, you can only buy the cheaper CF7 model in the colorless “Space gray” finish. The full-power Neuron doesn't come in an LTD version, for all other models, prices are about same. Getting a weaker bike with less range for the same money might not sound like a great deal. But these mild, lighter emtbs usually are more expensive than the full-power bikes. In that light, prices aren't bad.

• Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF7: €4.849/£4.649, 20.4 kg
• Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF8: €5.599/£5.349, 19.6 kg
• Neuron:ONfly CF9: €6.999/£6.699, 19.9 kg
• Neuron:ONfly CF LTD: €7.999/£7.649, 19.1 kg

Bosch Performance SX 55 Nm motor + batteries​

This compact Bosch-motor was introduced about a year ago, but it took a while for SX powered bikes to hit the market. There is so much to say about the motor, check out our motor review for all the details. The short version is this is a powerful motor, but you have to work a bit to make it deliver the maximum 600W.


Many mild and compact emtb motors will feel stingy when you start pedaling. The Performance SX is a bit more generous. It offers decent help when pedaling slowly, but noticeably less than the full-power motors. The only way to get 600W out of a less torquy 55 Nm motor is to increase the cadence. Pedal above 100 rpm and you get a motor that will rival the full-power competition. This makes the Bosch Performance SX an inspiring ride. It encourages you to make an effort and rewards you with an exhilarating surge of power as your feet spins faster.

The Neuron:ONfly gets the standard Bosch CompactTube 400 Wh battery that is designed for the SX motor. Bosch makes a detachable version of this battery. But I haven’t seen any manufacturers using it yet. Canyon too has opted for the internally fixed, non-detachable version. And I get it, it saves a bit of weight, which is important in this segment. The Bosch PowerMore 250 Wh range extender is of course detachable, if that helps. A total of 650 Wh is nice combined with a lighter bike and a less thirsty motor.

Riding the bike​

Fredrik got to take the bike on several rides over two days in a forest in Koblenz, Germany. He rode on what seemed like great trails for this kind of bike. It wasn’t a lot of highly exposed, gnarly, and rocky terrain. Rather, it was what I’d call fast forest trails. Perfect for a lighter medium-travel bike. Even though there were many sections of nice flow-trails, there was also a lot of starting and stopping thanks to sharp turns.

The light Canyon Neuron:ONfly was so effortless and light-footed over all the small drops and ledges. Riding a heavy emtb and constantly lifting the front wheel over the drops is fun. But it gets exhausting and soon enough we start rolling down the ledges. Not on the fly Neuron though. Fredrik could compress the bike and hold back the handlebars for as long as there were drops to be had.


Not all ledges were small though. There were a few jump lines too in the Koblenz Stadtwald, and Fredrik very much enjoyed flying the fly. The relatively long bike weighing about 20 kg was light enough to pop and stable in the air. And not once did he miss more travel than the 140 mm on offer.

The forest even had a couple of climbs that could be tackled in a couple of ways. Sit back, pedal slowly and you will conquer some pretty steep climbs with a bit of effort. Alternatively, you pick a much taller gear and spin up with maximum motor support. The latter tactic is the most fun and inspiring one, and it will likely get you heart racing. The 450 mm chainstays of the Neuron:ONfly offer a nice balance and help keeping the front wheel planted on the steep inclines.


I mentioned this is a relatively long bike with a nice and slack head angle. Still, it didn’t feel slow and sluggish through the sharp turns. The light bike never felt like a handful, even as the ride was coming to an end and the rider was almost as drained as the batteries.

My thoughts​

The Neuron:ONfly has the geometry of a very capable All Mountain bike. And even though it isn’t super light, it’s still light enough to offer a very different riding experience compared to the heavy full-power emtbs. I'm willing to accept a bit of extra weight for a nicely specc'ed mid-power bike costing €4.999/£4.649. For this bike category, that's a good price.

The Neuron:ONfly is a burlier fork (and shock) away from being a hard hitting emtb. But upgrading it doesn’t necessarily make sense. Forks up to 140 mm usually are lighter, they’re a nice match for this mid-travel bike with relatively light tires. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see more capable fly-models in the future. Who’s excited about a Strive:ONfly?