Canyon after-sales making me consider switching

[yarg]

Hi All,

I ordered 2 Neuron:ONs for my wife and I, 1 x AL version and 1 x CF. The AL was delivered on June 14 and has a battery issue; it's been over 3 weeks now and I'm making no progress with their Service Centre via e-mails, and no one answers their support phone number. I go round and round in circles with their Live Chat team and it's really making rather fed up with Canyon tbh (first-time customer).

My Neuron:ON CF7 was delivered today and this whole rigmarole has made me consider other brands that have a local presence where I am in case of issues. I'm travelling to Italy in a couple of weeks and can get a Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 TM 2022 model there for the same price as the Neuron:ON. I'm considering just sending the Canyon back and going with the Cube, as there is a Cube dealer in my village (no 2022 stock here though and the 2023 version is 1200 euro more expensive here)

Being a complete novice to eMTB, is the 2022 140 TM a "better" bike than the new Neuron:ON CF7? Motor and battery are the same if I understand the specs correctly, but forks, brakes, drivetrain etc.....I don't know/understand what I'm reading when looking at the specs.
The Cube has the Kiox 300 which I actually prefer rather than the minimalist Bosch implementation on the Canyon, and has a removable battery which the Canyon doesn't. The Cube is 2kg heavier though, and doesn't have the GPS integration and theft protection of the Canyon.

So I'm a mix of frustrated and confused
My question is which bike would be best for my use case: mainly looking to do long tours exploring the mountains where I live; a mix of tarred road to get from home to the mountain, then forest roads/paths and trails up into the mountains (up to 2000m). No jumping planned, and no great speed planned either (previous broken ribs from a MTB fall has left me a bit too cautious now ) The main idea is just to use the eMTB to get out and explore (and hopefully get more fit while doing so!)

Any and all advice gratefully received...thanks!

 

[Rando_12345]

Your experience will vary wildly and others may offer counter examples, but I would be very cautious about buying a "store" bike abroad. I did this with a regular MTB a few years ago (Giant which claims global warranty) and basically the warranty and aftersales were non-existent once I got back home. Typically, if you didn't buy your bike at the local shop, they will not be too bothered helping you out and certainly not for free.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

The Cube has the Kiox 300 which I actually prefer rather than the minimalist Bosch implementation on the Canyon, and has a removable battery which the Canyon doesn't.

Having a removable battery on an ebike is a must-have in my opinion. I personally wouldn't purchase any ebike if the battery cannot be removed easily and by myself (a key function for battery recharging, storage, upgrade or replacement later on).

 

[yarg]

Your experience will vary wildly and others may offer counter examples, but I would be very cautious about buying a "store" bike abroad. I did this with a regular MTB a few years ago (Giant which claims global warranty) and basically the warranty and aftersales were non-existent once I got back home. Typically, if you didn't buy your bike at the local shop, they will not be too bothered helping you out and certainly not for free.

That's certainly useful feedback to think about; thanks!

 

[BIG-DUKE-6]

How long will they sit on your money before they actually refund it?

 

[yarg]

Having a removable battery on an ebike is a must-have in my opinion. I personally wouldn't purchase any ebike if the battery cannot be removed easily and by myself (a key function for battery recharging, storage, upgrade or replacement later on).

It was also a big downer for me when I saw the specs on the newly-released, re-designed Neuron:ON; I was very surprised that Canyon made the decision to have a non-removable battery. As my bike will live in an un-insulated garage, I was concerned enough to phone Bosch directly and they assured me that it won't be a problem storing and charging in the garage even in winter, and that there are several manufacturers that are going the fixed battery direction (eg Orbea, Mondraker), among other reasons to save on weight if I understood right. I guess it also prevents any chance of a battery being stolen?

I would still far prefer a removable battery but I really wanted a Bosch-driven bike and everything else that matched my needs and/or I liked the look of was wayyyy more expensive. So I thought I'd take a chance on the Canyon despite the battery....and then this whole drama with the other bike has made me rethink things. I still can't afford to pay 1000s more for a different manufacturer, which made me consider buying from abroad. However, @Rando_12345's experience has made me re-consider that option as well!

What to do....what to do....??

 

[yarg]

How long will they sit on your money before they actually refund it?

Sorry, is that directed at me? Not sure I follow the question....?

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

What to do....what to do....??

With the money spent on these bikes, I'm sure you want to be satisfied with your purchase.

I would give a chance to the dealer to address the issues at hand (repair to new condition) but if the issues are not resolved quickly and to your satisfaction, I would return the bike for a full refund, provided you're still able to do that. Then take your time and pick another bike...

 

[Nicho]

no 2022 stock here though and the 2023 version is 1200 euro more expensive here

If you buy a bike in another country you will have to pay 20% VAT plus Customs Duty when you bring it to the UK.
You might find that it is actually cheaper to buy it here.

 

[yarg]

If you buy a bike in another country you will have to pay 20% VAT plus Customs Duty when you bring it to the UK.
You might find that it is actually cheaper to buy it here.

Just to clarify, I live in France, so there would be not VAT or Customs when buying from elsewhere in the EU. However, as was previously noted, apparently there's a good chance I would have trouble getting support in my LBS if I did not buy the bike from them (even if they are a registered dealer/partner of Cube bikes for example)

 

[MountainBoy]

Hi All,

I ordered 2 Neuron:ONs for my wife and I, 1 x AL version and 1 x CF. The AL was delivered on June 14 and has a battery issue; it's been over 3 weeks now and I'm making no progress with their Service Centre via e-mails, and no one answers their support phone number. I go round and round in circles with their Live Chat team and it's really making rather fed up with Canyon tbh (first-time customer).

My Neuron:ON CF7 was delivered today and this whole rigmarole has made me consider other brands that have a local presence where I am in case of issues. I'm travelling to Italy in a couple of weeks and can get a Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 TM 2022 model there for the same price as the Neuron:ON. I'm considering just sending the Canyon back and going with the Cube, as there is a Cube dealer in my village (no 2022 stock here though and the 2023 version is 1200 euro more expensive here)

Being a complete novice to eMTB, is the 2022 140 TM a "better" bike than the new Neuron:ON CF7? Motor and battery are the same if I understand the specs correctly, but forks, brakes, drivetrain etc.....I don't know/understand what I'm reading when looking at the specs.
The Cube has the Kiox 300 which I actually prefer rather than the minimalist Bosch implementation on the Canyon, and has a removable battery which the Canyon doesn't. The Cube is 2kg heavier though, and doesn't have the GPS integration and theft protection of the Canyon.

So I'm a mix of frustrated and confused
My question is which bike would be best for my use case: mainly looking to do long tours exploring the mountains where I live; a mix of tarred road to get from home to the mountain, then forest roads/paths and trails up into the mountains (up to 2000m). No jumping planned, and no great speed planned either (previous broken ribs from a MTB fall has left me a bit too cautious now ) The main idea is just to use the eMTB to get out and explore (and hopefully get more fit while doing so!)

Any and all advice gratefully received...thanks!

I can't answer your model specific questions, but I bought a $7K Canyon gravel ebike, got it in January and experienced atrociously slow and bad customer service, I couldn't believe how bad it was, it would have been comical had I not actually needed the help, but it would regularly take weeks just to respond to a simple question and the response would often later found to be 100% wrong or misleading.

I had assumed the problem was just with their California-based US Customer Service, but it looks like they have the same problem in Europe. All I was trying to do was figure out which adapter I needed to upgrade to bigger rotors as they advertised was possible on this model for better stopping power. Many months later, and after keeping on top of them through multiple e-mails that would take weeks for any response, I found out via their experts in Europe that the fork was actually not compatible with a larger rotor. But then the U.S. Customer Service Rep said his boss, contrary to what the experts in Europe told him, thought it was possible. Argh! And that point took months to achieve.

I think the Canyon organization is really messed up to the point that they cannot effectively support their products. Which is a shame because I like the bike quite a bit.

 

[Suns_PSD]

Canyon & YT consistently shaft their customers.
Quit buying these things people!

 

[a.ndy]

I had some poor pre sales experiences with both Whyte & Haibike from local stores, (wouldn’t risk buying online). If you ask too many questions, some stores just ignore you, dont return emails, calls etc. if your spending 000s on an ebike, I expect good customer service or I go somewhere else. In my case, somewhere else was the local Trek & Specialized stores which both went the extra mile & I ended up with an ebike from one of those. Find a good local shop & stick with them.

 

[Cosmicchris00]

Hi All,

I ordered 2 Neuron:ONs for my wife and I, 1 x AL version and 1 x CF. The AL was delivered on June 14 and has a battery issue; it's been over 3 weeks now and I'm making no progress with their Service Centre via e-mails, and no one answers their support phone number. I go round and round in circles with their Live Chat team and it's really making rather fed up with Canyon tbh (first-time customer).

My Neuron:ON CF7 was delivered today and this whole rigmarole has made me consider other brands that have a local presence where I am in case of issues. I'm travelling to Italy in a couple of weeks and can get a Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 TM 2022 model there for the same price as the Neuron:ON. I'm considering just sending the Canyon back and going with the Cube, as there is a Cube dealer in my village (no 2022 stock here though and the 2023 version is 1200 euro more expensive here)

Being a complete novice to eMTB, is the 2022 140 TM a "better" bike than the new Neuron:ON CF7? Motor and battery are the same if I understand the specs correctly, but forks, brakes, drivetrain etc.....I don't know/understand what I'm reading when looking at the specs.
The Cube has the Kiox 300 which I actually prefer rather than the minimalist Bosch implementation on the Canyon, and has a removable battery which the Canyon doesn't. The Cube is 2kg heavier though, and doesn't have the GPS integration and theft protection of the Canyon.

So I'm a mix of frustrated and confused
My question is which bike would be best for my use case: mainly looking to do long tours exploring the mountains where I live; a mix of tarred road to get from home to the mountain, then forest roads/paths and trails up into the mountains (up to 2000m). No jumping planned, and no great speed planned either (previous broken ribs from a MTB fall has left me a bit too cautious now ) The main idea is just to use the eMTB to get out and explore (and hopefully get more fit while doing so!)

Any and all advice gratefully received...thanks!

Sorry to hear about your problem's, I too had issues with Canyon.

Sending the bike back could be difficult so you'd need to check the t&c's and which part of the Canyon company is mentioned in the sales literature - mine was .com not .co.uk which made for all kinds of legal shit.

Buying abroad would introduce similar potential legal wriggle room for Cube and others.

Canyon eventually resolved all of the issues with my bike and I'm actually really happy with it now.

 

[yarg]

Thanks to all for your feedback. So far I've come to the conclusion that a major part of my issue comes from trying to avoid phoning their support line as it's a pay number here in France (ie not toll free) and, as I didn't want to have to pay to speak to someone to resolve something they had caused the issue for....I firstly tried using the Live Chat feature on their website and e-mail exchanges with their Service Centre. Those two options got me nowhere and were essentially a waste of time: the people seemed to not even want to understand the situation but just kept sending me responses that seemed like they were copied and pasted from a template, they didn't answer my questions or address my concerns at all.

So eventually I sucked it up and called the pay number and got through to someone really helpful. He arranged for contact with a registered workshop partner and I'm actually sitting at the workshop typing this now while the technician is working on the bike (he confirms there is a real issue with it).

The phone call cost 10 euros to get this appointment set up, and would have saved me a lot of hassle and frustration and days of waiting for e-mail replies that then didn't actually address the issue etc.

Moral of the story for me is to just suck up the cost and phone for help when I need it...

 

[tatane]

Thanks to all for your feedback. So far I've come to the conclusion that a major part of my issue comes from trying to avoid phoning their support line as it's a pay number here in France (ie not toll free) and, as I didn't want to have to pay to speak to someone to resolve something they had caused the issue for....I firstly tried using the Live Chat feature on their website and e-mail exchanges with their Service Centre. Those two options got me nowhere and were essentially a waste of time: the people seemed to not even want to understand the situation but just kept sending me responses that seemed like they were copied and pasted from a template, they didn't answer my questions or address my concerns at all.

So eventually I sucked it up and called the pay number and got through to someone really helpful. He arranged for contact with a registered workshop partner and I'm actually sitting at the workshop typing this now while the technician is working on the bike (he confirms there is a real issue with it).

The phone call cost 10 euros to get this appointment set up, and would have saved me a lot of hassle and frustration and days of waiting for e-mail replies that then didn't actually address the issue etc.

Moral of the story for me is to just suck up the cost and phone for help when I need it...

Thanks for this insight

As a fellow French Canyon bike owner, i'll now make sure to use their phone number first if I face an issue (fingers crossed I don't tho, so far mine have been pretty reliable ) as all the contacts I've had with their Live Chat or mail support (mostly for pre-sales related questions) were indeed quite apalling (as depicted by others : really slow and inaccurate)

 

[yarg]

Thanks for this insight

As a fellow French Canyon bike owner, i'll now make sure to use their phone number first if I face an issue (fingers crossed I don't tho, so far mine have been pretty reliable ) as all the contacts I've had with their Live Chat or mail support (mostly for pre-sales related questions) were indeed quite apalling (as depicted by others : really slow and inaccurate)

No worries!

One of my major doubts for their newly-released Neuron:ON was the fact that the battery is not easily removable (for charging, storage, etc). As soon as I saw that info on their website on the launch day, I contacted their Live Chat to query/confirm. The guy on the chat contradicted what was on their website and insisted the battery was removable. Then I contacted the UK team via phone (not a premium-charging phone number in the UK like it is in France), and they tell me it's not removeable and the info on the website is correct.
I contact the French Chat again to try and update them so they don't share false info if customers query....I happen to fall upon the same guy again and tell him that his colleagues in the UK confirm what's on the website. He tells me that's impossible, they'd never design such a thing and he would be completely shocked if Canyon would release a bike with a battery that could not easily be removed

You can imagine how much faith I put in what the French team are telling me....

 

[Clubby]

Not e-bike related but my Canyon gravel bike is out of warranty and while stripping it to clean up the headset, I found the carbon steerer had split. Emailed Canyon UK for a price for a new fork and they offered my a replacement free of charge. They also paid for the old one to be collected so the new one could be cut to length. Contacted them via the web page last Monday and the new fork is on it's way back tomorrow. Follow ups have been by email and always answered promptly.

All in all very happy with Canyon UK's service.

 

[yarg]

It seems to me like it's really country-specific...for pre-sales advice, I've been able to speak to Canyon UK several times (via various channels) and always had a good experience. Unfortunately, once you've bought something, you're then "stuck" with the Service Centre of the country you bought in...and I think Canyon France is where I came unstuck...or at least certain members of the Canyon France team. As I mentioned, the guy I got on the phone finally was very helpful, sent me to a registered partner workshop this morning, who was able to finally provide me with a working bike at no extra charge to myself. So am happy with the end result; it's just a pity it was such a roundabout route to get here!

 

[KRC96]

Luckily, I went through this issue with Fezzari Bikes here in the US before I bought it. Ship dates were not accurate; they told me they did not have Sram GX and I could upgrade to the XO Transmission for about $1000 more. I agreed to that and did not hear from them for two weeks. I phoned them for an update to be told that the only hold-up was the headset all along. I canceled the order. It took a week to get my $$ back, so not too bad. I decided the e-bike market is not mature/reliable enough to buy online. I bought a Giant Reign from a local shop. So far, so good.

 

[Ribinrobin]

Canyon & YT consistently shaft their customers.
Quit buying these things people!

YT have been super good to me over 5 years of normal bikes, had warranty issues sorted quickly, discounts added after i bought bike (one was discounted three weeks later), they took a bike back i had used for a month which was to big for me. I had a decoy for 2 years 2800 faultless miles.

Can't comment on canyon but wouldn't judge YT based on a few bad comments, not everyone is as quick to leave positive ones!

 

[Another One]

Sorry to hear about the issue you are having if possible get rid and buy a bike from a normal dealer I am sure online dealers are fine but once they have sold you a bike any issue to resolve is a nightmare. I like Canyon but would never touch due to the online issue and they are hardly any cheaper so what's the benefit

 

[Arminius]

Bonjour,
Long time ago I had a Canyon Nerve MR. As long as it has no probs it is great but once I had trouble it was a mess with customer service.
Koblenz is 2hrs drive from me. One of the rear wheel braces fractured within the first months and in the first they wanted me to return the entire bike for replacement of the brace. In the end they accepted to receive the broken part and sent a replacement. When I got that I understood why they probably did not want self-replacement. At the „bearing points“ there was an axial offset of easily 1 cm = installation with tension only. Fractures on rear wheel frame was quite common at that time.
Looking today in Canyon forums it is still full with complaints about poor service and early lack of replacement parts.
That was a reason why I did not go for Canyon again.

Well, the first two orders in 2022 for the Cube Stereo Hybrid TM140 came to the dealers with damages on paint (one maybe down to frame) - make sure the dealer in Italy has a proper one. Both dealers showed low interest in compensation or fixing.
Third one was perfect then and I love the bike.

 

[MountainBoy]

Thanks to all for your feedback. So far I've come to the conclusion that a major part of my issue comes from trying to avoid phoning their support line as it's a pay number here in France (ie not toll free) and, as I didn't want to have to pay to speak to someone to resolve something they had caused the issue for....I firstly tried using the Live Chat feature on their website and e-mail exchanges with their Service Centre. Those two options got me nowhere and were essentially a waste of time: the people seemed to not even want to understand the situation but just kept sending me responses that seemed like they were copied and pasted from a template, they didn't answer my questions or address my concerns at all.

So eventually I sucked it up and called the pay number and got through to someone really helpful. He arranged for contact with a registered workshop partner and I'm actually sitting at the workshop typing this now while the technician is working on the bike (he confirms there is a real issue with it).

The phone call cost 10 euros to get this appointment set up, and would have saved me a lot of hassle and frustration and days of waiting for e-mail replies that then didn't actually address the issue etc.

Moral of the story for me is to just suck up the cost and phone for help when I need it...

I didn't know there was still such a thing as a telephone number that wasn't toll-free these days! Unless you are talking about a toll number in the sense of calling up one of those sex phone talk toll lines. Is that what you mean by "pay number"? That Canyon is charging you to talk to them?

 

[MountainBoy]

Sorry to hear about the issue you are having if possible get rid and buy a bike from a normal dealer I am sure online dealers are fine but once they have sold you a bike any issue to resolve is a nightmare. I like Canyon but would never touch due to the online issue and they are hardly any cheaper so what's the benefit

I can't speak for the UK, but here in the U.S. you get a much better bike for the same price. In the case of my Canyon Grail ON CF 8, there was nothing available like it, from any manufacturer, at any price! It's super fast, light and versatile and has a great ride.

I've beat it up at high speed on rocky trails so bumpy I had trouble staying on. And I'm a big guy on an XL frame. When I tried a high-speed descent on a trail this rough on an XL aluminum framed Cannondale mountain bike 30 years ago, the glued joints became all flexy and the frame lost its stiffness, it was no longer fast pedaling, and Cannondale, through the local bike shop, refused to warrantee the frame, saying it was still within spec. But it did not pedal like the bike I had purchased only 3 months previous! So, yeah, while my experience trying to get a little bit of technical information from Canyon was atrocious, I wouldn't be nearly as happy with any other bike.

I would say Canyon is still a reasonable option for more risk-tolerant buyers who just want to get their hands on a great bike at a good price and don't expect a lot of handholding. I do think they are reasonably good at warranting defective bikes in general, judging by what I've read of the few people who have had problems, or simply wanted to return the bike under Canyon's 30-day return period. To be honest, I haven't been that happy with traditional local bike shops the very few times when I have needed more customer service than a friendly smile or something really minor.

 

[yarg]

I didn't know there was still such a thing as a telephone number that wasn't toll-free these days! Unless you are talking about a toll number in the sense of calling up one of those sex phone talk toll lines. Is that what you mean by "pay number"? That Canyon is charging you to talk to them?

Yip, exactly that: 50cents a minute or something, which is why I didn't want to call initially. However their e-mail and live chat support was useless, so eventually I bit the bullet and called and got a really helpful guy who solved my problem. Cost me 10 euros for the call, so not ideal, but by that point I was tired of trying to get someone to speak some sense via e-mail, so the call was the best option....

 

[yarg]

In the end we are going to keep my wife's Neuron:ON which has been fixed via Canyon's partner in the area, and I'm returning my (unopened) Neuron:ON. Most likely gonna get a Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 now, either the ABS or TM version. There are a some reductions from German shops and I have colleagues who have bought online from these shops and had delivered and had good experiences (including when needing to invoke warranty etc). In the end the price difference btw France and Germany for a new 2023 model is 1000 euros, so I'm leaning in the direction of taking a calculated risk (seeing as I am hearing first-hand good experiences of the online shop) and see how it goes...