Canyon free not-so-festive Delivery

[RLBiker]

The bike had arrived at the Europa depot at about 4am but missed the morning delivery run - annoying that they called me the day before to arrange delivery making me take the day off!
DHL apparently use the 'arrived at Greenford' terminal to indicate it has arrived in the UK - there is no DHL depot at Greenford anymore.
I went and got it from the depot. Attached to the outside of the bike box was a smaller box which I figured to be the battery. Actually it just contained some extras I bought, bottle cage and mudguard. There was no battery with the bike at all.
Canyon managed to find a spare battery at their UK office which isn't far away from me so I swung by and picked it up. Hats off to them, they sorted me right out.The prospect of waiting for a battery to be shipped from Germany wasn't so appealing!
Bike back home and assembled and it looks fantastic, rides great just around the road, certainly seems worth the wait so far.
Shame I was a couple of hours too late to take it out today but its the weekend now so will get to give it a thrash and review.

I have no doubt all will be forgiven after a few rides, worth the wait etc.

 

[Wayne Barker]

The bike had arrived at the Europa depot at about 4am but missed the morning delivery run - annoying that they called me the day before to arrange delivery making me take the day off!
DHL apparently use the 'arrived at Greenford' terminal to indicate it has arrived in the UK - there is no DHL depot at Greenford anymore.
I went and got it from the depot. Attached to the outside of the bike box was a smaller box which I figured to be the battery. Actually it just contained some extras I bought, bottle cage and mudguard. There was no battery with the bike at all.
Canyon managed to find a spare battery at their UK office which isn't far away from me so I swung by and picked it up. Hats off to them, they sorted me right out.The prospect of waiting for a battery to be shipped from Germany wasn't so appealing!
Bike back home and assembled and it looks fantastic, rides great just around the road, certainly seems worth the wait so far.
Shame I was a couple of hours too late to take it out today but its the weekend now so will get to give it a thrash and review.

I have no doubt all will be forgiven after a few rides, worth the wait etc.

Nice one. I'm glad your sorted ?

 

[RLBiker]

Well here she is.
First ride was actually last night in the dark - still smashed a lot of my downhill PBs even in the dark! that is vs my Norco Range C7.3 which I've never really felt at ease on.
The good - This bike is a blinder. Feels incredibly planted, well balanced, grip and traction by the bucket - the 27.5 / 29" wheel arrangement works great, you can roll over everything. Geometry is spot on for me, I'm 6'1 and got a size L. Plenty of room in the reach but a nice short rear end keeps it playful. I read some criticism about the short rear end making it tricky to climb really steep sections and keep the front wheel down - this has not been a problem for me so far. I did move the saddle forward a little in preparation for this. It flies nicely and has great manners in the air - really hides the added weight somehow.
The no so good - very little indeed. It's taking me a while to get used to the increased size - wheels, wheelbase, and large reachy front end - I've completely messed up some tight technical corners and had meetings with a couple of trees. It does take a slightly more aggressive approach to move the bike around. I would put this down to the added weight, but it doesn't feel like the weight has much bearing on the trail. I also have a bit of work to get the suspension dialled and need to get the heavy inner tubes removed asap, that might help make the bike easier to handle on the tight stuff. Only other negative - my shiny new DMR Vault pedals have hit the floor more times than I care to mention and I even took a swift trip over the bars from what I'm sure must have been a pedal strike. Will check rear shock pressure and try the high geometry setting to see if that helps.
I went out this morning for the first ride in the light and just went for an explore to find new trails around Redlands woods - found a lot of mud as you can see but this for me is where the e bike really comes into its own - mud is not an obstacle, you can just power through it, as long as you keep the weight back and the front end light, you can just crank away through even the boggiest unexpectedly deep mudbath and will almost certainly come out the other end smiling.

Advice on buying a Spectral:
Go for it. You will not be disappointed in the bike - believe the hype. Be prepared for the buying process to frustrate you - I'm sure that for every 1 month delay horror story there are 100 other customers who got their bike in under a week, but if you go into the process expecting the worst it may be a little less stressful. Canyon could massively improve their service by adding more transparency, being more proactive in chasing late deliveries with their couriers and supplying actual information like "we've spoken to DHL and your bike is delayed because of x" as opposed to "it will probably be on the move soon, I can't really tell you anything else". The website says delivery takes 7-10 days from dispatch, but it should clearly state that some deliveries may take a lot longer for reasons outside of Canyons control. When I was told on the phone that "even 2 weeks is optimistic" I was just so angry.
The Canyon UK service centre is otherwise full of great, polite people who will do their best to help you but they seem to be at the mercy of the Koblenz HQ when it comes to getting updates which does not help. As for my bike arriving with no battery - again the UK staff pulled a blinder by finding a spare one and letting me pick it up immediately, but I have not forgiven Canyon for shipping my bike without it and I can't help but wonder where my battery got to! I still did the legwork in finally getting hold of the bike and battery and am just lucky to live very close to their HQ. I will be writing to Canyon about this.

 

[pallie]

The bike had arrived at the Europa depot at about 4am but missed the morning delivery run - annoying that they called me the day before to arrange delivery making me take the day off!
DHL apparently use the 'arrived at Greenford' terminal to indicate it has arrived in the UK - there is no DHL depot at Greenford anymore.
I went and got it from the depot. Attached to the outside of the bike box was a smaller box which I figured to be the battery. Actually it just contained some extras I bought, bottle cage and mudguard. There was no battery with the bike at all.
Canyon managed to find a spare battery at their UK office which isn't far away from me so I swung by and picked it up. Hats off to them, they sorted me right out.The prospect of waiting for a battery to be shipped from Germany wasn't so appealing!
Bike back home and assembled and it looks fantastic, rides great just around the road, certainly seems worth the wait so far.
Shame I was a couple of hours too late to take it out today but its the weekend now so will get to give it a thrash and review.

I have no doubt all will be forgiven after a few rides, worth the wait etc.

My bike is in Holland at the service center. Do they make a phone call when it will be delivered ?

 

[Albez]

View attachment 9397
Well here she is.
First ride was actually last night in the dark - still smashed a lot of my downhill PBs even in the dark! that is vs my Norco Range C7.3 which I've never really felt at ease on.
The good - This bike is a blinder. Feels incredibly planted, well balanced, grip and traction by the bucket - the 27.5 / 29" wheel arrangement works great, you can roll over everything. Geometry is spot on for me, I'm 6'1 and got a size L. Plenty of room in the reach but a nice short rear end keeps it playful. I read some criticism about the short rear end making it tricky to climb really steep sections and keep the front wheel down - this has not been a problem for me so far. I did move the saddle forward a little in preparation for this. It flies nicely and has great manners in the air - really hides the added weight somehow.
The no so good - very little indeed. It's taking me a while to get used to the increased size - wheels, wheelbase, and large reachy front end - I've completely messed up some tight technical corners and had meetings with a couple of trees. It does take a slightly more aggressive approach to move the bike around. I would put this down to the added weight, but it doesn't feel like the weight has much bearing on the trail. I also have a bit of work to get the suspension dialled and need to get the heavy inner tubes removed asap, that might help make the bike easier to handle on the tight stuff. Only other negative - my shiny new DMR Vault pedals have hit the floor more times than I care to mention and I even took a swift trip over the bars from what I'm sure must have been a pedal strike. Will check rear shock pressure and try the high geometry setting to see if that helps.
I went out this morning for the first ride in the light and just went for an explore to find new trails around Redlands woods - found a lot of mud as you can see but this for me is where the e bike really comes into its own - mud is not an obstacle, you can just power through it, as long as you keep the weight back and the front end light, you can just crank away through even the boggiest unexpectedly deep mudbath and will almost certainly come out the other end smiling.

Advice on buying a Spectral:
Go for it. You will not be disappointed in the bike - believe the hype. Be prepared for the buying process to frustrate you - I'm sure that for every 1 month delay horror story there are 100 other customers who got their bike in under a week, but if you go into the process expecting the worst it may be a little less stressful. Canyon could massively improve their service by adding more transparency, being more proactive in chasing late deliveries with their couriers and supplying actual information like "we've spoken to DHL and your bike is delayed because of x" as opposed to "it will probably be on the move soon, I can't really tell you anything else". The website says delivery takes 7-10 days from dispatch, but it should clearly state that some deliveries may take a lot longer for reasons outside of Canyons control. When I was told on the phone that "even 2 weeks is optimistic" I was just so angry.
The Canyon UK service centre is otherwise full of great, polite people who will do their best to help you but they seem to be at the mercy of the Koblenz HQ when it comes to getting updates which does not help. As for my bike arriving with no battery - again the UK staff pulled a blinder by finding a spare one and letting me pick it up immediately, but I have not forgiven Canyon for shipping my bike without it and I can't help but wonder where my battery got to! I still did the legwork in finally getting hold of the bike and battery and am just lucky to live very close to their HQ. I will be writing to Canyon about this.

And tell them you'll be letting a forum full of potential customers know about your problems too.

 

[Jonah]

Hi really interesting thread and unfortunately bad experience for me, ordered on last Saturday, no order confirmation or email, looked at my credit card online, pending transaction for cost of bike there. Raised through the week through contact forms and live chat and although they responded, were completely ineffectual in linking my order and credit card, until today where the transaction has been removed by my card company. Highly frustrating. I still think it looks a great bike especially for the cash but feels a real risk with the service. Bought a canyon few years ago and was flawless, so really disappointed. Sleeping on what do for a few days

 

[G-Bru]

Thats enough to put most people off buying a Canyon.... A bit of lottery really... Conversely, my experience has been ok. Having ordered a Nerve AL+ from Canyon in 2013, I was aware of their availability and delivery time short falls.

Nevertheless, I ordered my Spectral:ON January 7th and received a phone call the following day from Canyon UK thanking me for my order, but to also notify me that is was delayed and will probably only ship 21-25th January. I was fine with that.

Much to my surprise, I received e-mail notification today from Canyon that my bike has been shipped! Fingers crossed my bike arrives with no drama's.....

 

[pallie]

I've got my Neuron within one working week.

 

[G-Bru]

I've got my Neuron within one working week.

Nice pallie! Like I said, a bit of a lottery.... In the OP's case, he was really unfortunate, as the festive season generally puts a strain on most manufacturers to fulfill orders, not to mention logistics companies suffering with the massive increase in demand for deliveries, I guess things go wrong.

How are you liking the Neuron?

 

[pallie]

Nice pallie! Like I said, a bit of a lottery.... In the OP's case, he was really unfortunate, as the festive season generally puts a strain on most manufacturers to fulfill orders, not to mention logistics companies suffering with the massive increase in demand for deliveries, I guess things go wrong.

How are you liking the Neuron?

Bike is great, i've just tested it on the road for some 10 kilometers. I was too busy to take it on a trail. It's my first MTB so i'm excited. I've always rode on a road bike, Specialized.
Exciting times ?

 

[Jonah]

Just as an update, I reordered a spectral on 6 and immediately had orderemails through and being dispatched wc 28th so see how it goes this time

 

[G-Bru]

Just as an update, I reordered a spectral on 6 and immediately had orderemails through and being dispatched wc 28th so see how it goes this time

Thats a positive result Jonah. Was odd you never got all the usual communication when placing your original order.... perhaps some complication with your card issuer not being recognised by their system or blocked as a fraudulent transaction????

 

[Jonah]

Spoke to credit card company and wasn’t anything their end. I’ve thought about it and think it was the basket onl8ne that I held open too long but it still allowed a transaction, canyon said they couldn’t find the order, but then did say they could see an order but couldn’t link them. Fingers crossed for better luck this time, I’ll post my thoughts when I get it if it helps others decide, cheers

 

[Albez]

Hmm.. the delivery of my Neuron, in the size and colour I want, has been put back to mid march, so I might cancel now and look elsewhere. Can't decide on anything else out there that I like though. Too many pros and cons with all of them. If only my lbs had them all in stock so I could get a good look and test them all. The Focus Jam looks quite good but not available till march and the Norco looks good as well and available in lbs but too expensive and too much travel for me. Maybe I will wait it out till March and see what happens.

 

[Jonah]

For me I want to see how I get on with an ebike, so don’t want to over commit, so looking at the cheapest but best bike in my budget so will have to live with e supply issues. I’m keeping my existing trail bike. If I was fully committing there seems currently a number of decent Ebikes now in the 4500 to 5500 range, so it’s down to use and travel to choose. Not rushing may be best approac and not regret later,

 

[Munchingmolar]

Playing devil’s advocate here. Ordered Neuron:ON 6.0 8/1/19. Order acknowledged 9/1/19. Shipped 14/1/19 with tracking details - arrived Greenford GB 16/1/19. Phone call from nice lady at Europa 17/1/19 to arrange delivery 21/1/19 (Aberdeen, Scotland - so ”Arctic” deliveries take an extra day here in the wilderness !!). She left her name and mobile phone no in case of any problem, so I’m impressed so far. Roll on Monday.

 

[G-Bru]

Playing devil’s advocate here. Ordered Neuron:ON 6.0 8/1/19. Order acknowledged 9/1/19. Shipped 14/1/19 with tracking details - arrived Greenford GB 16/1/19. Phone call from nice lady at Europa 17/1/19 to arrange delivery 21/1/19 (Aberdeen, Scotland - so ”Arctic” deliveries take an extra day here in the wilderness !!). She left her name and mobile phone no in case of any problem, so I’m impressed so far. Roll on Monday.

We both ordered our bikes the same time pal! Got the same phone call today for delivery. I am away on business and can only take delivery Monday, which totally sucks as I was hoping to have a play this weekend.

 

[pallie]

It seems that the problems with Canyon only concerned for delivery to the UK isn't it?

 

[G-Bru]

It seems that the problems with Canyon only concerned for delivery to the UK isn't it?

Well in my case, I am satisfied with the 2 week turnaround. I could've taken delivery of it today but was away on business and the wife was also working. Nevermind, I have taken the day off Monday and will enjoy the build and setup.

 

[G-Bru]

I got a call from Europa last week Thursday to arrange delivery of my Spectral and advised them to deliver Monday, as I had already taken the day off work to have my Van serviced. 2 Birds one stone I thought.

The representative on phone advised the driver would call 1 hour before his arrival, however, the whole day went by and still no phone call. Fearing the worst, I rang Europa at 16H50 to confirm the driver was still on route, yes, he will be there about 17H30... well he did not ring me a hour before then did he...

The truck did finally turn up at 17H23, however my heart sunk after noticing there was no battery strapped to the box as suggested by Canyon UK.
I signed for the delivery and put a note in the comments that a box was missing containing the battery.

I got the bike box in the garage and started unpacking the contents in the hope of finding it in a separate box, but still no battery. At this point I was about to get an e-mail sent to Canyon but thought I may as well get the bike removed to check for any damage. Well... i found the battery... it was on the bike wrapped in bubble wrap.....

In conclusion.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with the service. It took 2 weeks from ordering to receiving my bike. Canyon do need to be more specific as to how the battery will be delivered though, to avoid any confusion on our part.

G.

 

[Munchingmolar]

Yep, mine arrived on schedule and same as you, p-ssed off no separate battery box. Spent half an hour looking for uk phone number, then checked one more time. Attached to bike ?. Excellent service and communication really, so maybe their attitude is improving ?Let’s see what the bike’s like when I unpack on a Thursday !!

 

[Albez]

Yep, mine arrived on schedule and same as you, p-ssed off no separate battery box. Spent half an hour looking for uk phone number, then checked one more time. Attached to bike ?. Excellent service and communication really, so maybe their attitude is improving ?Let’s see what the bike’s like when I unpack on a Thursday !!

Good to know, my canyon should be arriving early February so will check the bike for the battery before panicking lol

 

[MattyB]

A cynic might suggest that attaching the battery to the bike may be an effective way to avoid some of the hazardous item shipping paperwork...