MountainBoy
Active member
I really wanted to like Canyon's direct to consumer business model and thought I was a good candidate to be a regular customer because I do my own bike work anyway and typically don't need or like the hand-holding of a local bike shop. But my experience with my first (and probably last) Canyon bicycle has been quite an eye-opener.
I bought a Canyon Grail ON: CF 8 with XL frame size at the beginning of the year. I'm a big guy and 6'4" and 215 lbs. and do a lot of mountain riding with long, steep climbs and descents so I was encouraged by Canyon's advertising copy on their model information page that said the 160 mm front rotor was upgradable to 180mm because I absolutely need to ride the brakes down some long. steep grades that would have me quickly over 60 mph without continuous braking through the steeper sections. I tested the brakes the bike came with and, sure enough, they were inadequate for my weight with normal gear (no bike-packing).
So I bought a 180mm rotor and, after hours of research online, including SRAM's brake mounting info for different sized rotors I located the only adapter kit that I thought might work to adapt the front caliper to a 180 mm disc. The disc mountd to the wheel as expected but the caliper mounting adapter was not compatible with front fork and 180mm rotor.
It was at this point I contacted Canyon Customer Service by phone and asked what kind of adapter I needed to run a 180mm rotor as they advertised. The Customer Service Rep was very polite but said he wasn't sure and would have to check with others and get back to me. I gave asked him to contact me via e-mail at the address registered with the company when I purchased the bike.
This is what kicked off a months long struggle to gain this simply information from Canyon. I would wait a week or more without hearing back from them as promised and had to continually re-initiate contact and ask them the same simple question.
Finally, after much hounding they provided a link to an Internet retailer page with caliper mounting adapters. But there were multiple options on the one page and I had to ask which one was appropriate for my bike and a 180mm front rotor. He eventually responded with the information I requested and it looked exactly like the mounting adapter kit I had already purchased for $20 but since it was on sale for only $12 I decided to order it. Well, it was the same adapter kit and it's not compatible with the forks on my Grail.
I then made a detailed e-mail with measurements of the mounting points on my forks and technical information from SRAM that appeared to indicate that my forks are not compatible with 180 mm discs as Canyon marketing material indicated. But I get radio silence until I get more persistent. Usually a week (at a minimum) or two (more common) goes by before I get a response. I generally have given up on getting any support from Canyon when, two weeks later, out of the blue I get a response.
Most recently, the Canyon Customer Support person said he would have to ask the technical experts in Europe (I've been dealing with Canyon USA) to see if they had the answer to my question. But now I've had weeks of radio silence even after re-contacting Canyon USA to inquire why I still didn't have a response to such a basic question, are my forks really compatible with 180 mm rotors and what caliper mounting adapter do I need.
How hard can it be?
I've remained polite and consistently tried to keep the ball moving to get an answer to my very simple question but have been entirely unsuccessful. They have simply stopped responding (but it would not surprise me to get an e-mail two weeks after my last contact out of the blue because that is how this entire process has gone).
My best guess, given my extensive research, is that a caliper mounting solution does not exist for 180mm rotors on my bike, but Canyon has so far refused to say this (because they know they advertised the bike as being compatible with 180mm front rotors). They have also not insisted that the adapter kit they recommended is the correct kit (I can tell it's not). I simply can't get anywhere with them which is disappointing after spending $7K on a bike.
I have been patient over the last 4 months but, if this is the kind of support Canyon gives customers, I fail to see how they get repeat sales. I am certainly re-thinking my plan to buy additional bikes from them. With this kind of lame customer support, how could I ever recommend them to my friends who ride bikes?
It seems like they don't want to take any responsibility for what appears to be false advertising, or even admit it. It seems dishonest and that's no way to treat your customers.
I bought a Canyon Grail ON: CF 8 with XL frame size at the beginning of the year. I'm a big guy and 6'4" and 215 lbs. and do a lot of mountain riding with long, steep climbs and descents so I was encouraged by Canyon's advertising copy on their model information page that said the 160 mm front rotor was upgradable to 180mm because I absolutely need to ride the brakes down some long. steep grades that would have me quickly over 60 mph without continuous braking through the steeper sections. I tested the brakes the bike came with and, sure enough, they were inadequate for my weight with normal gear (no bike-packing).
So I bought a 180mm rotor and, after hours of research online, including SRAM's brake mounting info for different sized rotors I located the only adapter kit that I thought might work to adapt the front caliper to a 180 mm disc. The disc mountd to the wheel as expected but the caliper mounting adapter was not compatible with front fork and 180mm rotor.
It was at this point I contacted Canyon Customer Service by phone and asked what kind of adapter I needed to run a 180mm rotor as they advertised. The Customer Service Rep was very polite but said he wasn't sure and would have to check with others and get back to me. I gave asked him to contact me via e-mail at the address registered with the company when I purchased the bike.
This is what kicked off a months long struggle to gain this simply information from Canyon. I would wait a week or more without hearing back from them as promised and had to continually re-initiate contact and ask them the same simple question.
Finally, after much hounding they provided a link to an Internet retailer page with caliper mounting adapters. But there were multiple options on the one page and I had to ask which one was appropriate for my bike and a 180mm front rotor. He eventually responded with the information I requested and it looked exactly like the mounting adapter kit I had already purchased for $20 but since it was on sale for only $12 I decided to order it. Well, it was the same adapter kit and it's not compatible with the forks on my Grail.
I then made a detailed e-mail with measurements of the mounting points on my forks and technical information from SRAM that appeared to indicate that my forks are not compatible with 180 mm discs as Canyon marketing material indicated. But I get radio silence until I get more persistent. Usually a week (at a minimum) or two (more common) goes by before I get a response. I generally have given up on getting any support from Canyon when, two weeks later, out of the blue I get a response.
Most recently, the Canyon Customer Support person said he would have to ask the technical experts in Europe (I've been dealing with Canyon USA) to see if they had the answer to my question. But now I've had weeks of radio silence even after re-contacting Canyon USA to inquire why I still didn't have a response to such a basic question, are my forks really compatible with 180 mm rotors and what caliper mounting adapter do I need.
How hard can it be?
I've remained polite and consistently tried to keep the ball moving to get an answer to my very simple question but have been entirely unsuccessful. They have simply stopped responding (but it would not surprise me to get an e-mail two weeks after my last contact out of the blue because that is how this entire process has gone).
My best guess, given my extensive research, is that a caliper mounting solution does not exist for 180mm rotors on my bike, but Canyon has so far refused to say this (because they know they advertised the bike as being compatible with 180mm front rotors). They have also not insisted that the adapter kit they recommended is the correct kit (I can tell it's not). I simply can't get anywhere with them which is disappointing after spending $7K on a bike.
I have been patient over the last 4 months but, if this is the kind of support Canyon gives customers, I fail to see how they get repeat sales. I am certainly re-thinking my plan to buy additional bikes from them. With this kind of lame customer support, how could I ever recommend them to my friends who ride bikes?
It seems like they don't want to take any responsibility for what appears to be false advertising, or even admit it. It seems dishonest and that's no way to treat your customers.
