2021 Canyon Spectral CF 9 – Specs, Comparisons, Reviews – 99 Spokes (2024)

The Canyon Spectral 125 CF 9 combines little travel and a progressive geometry. How did it fare in our 2022 trail bike group test?

Read Review

Take a cursory glance at the new Spectral 125 and you could easily mistake it for the full-blown 150mm Spectral. Make no mistake though, the Spectral 125 is a unique bike in its own right. And not just unique; the performance is impressive to count it among some of the best mountain bikes we’ve tested this year. Need to know: A 125mm travel 29er designed to tackle big terrain CF models use a full carbon frame with tube-in-tube internal cable routing All models use 140mm travel forks with a 64º head angle in slack/low setting G5 dropper post can be adjusted internally in 5mm increments, with a 25mm adjustment range Alloy Spectral 125 bikes available from £2,449 Canyon Spectral 125 frame and geometry The most telling difference is that the head tube is 15mm taller on the 125, it also has a 20mm shorter seat tube and the seat stay assembly is longer too. Other than that, the geometry is nigh on identical. In fact, the 125 CF carbon frame is only 100g lighter and meets the exact same safety standards, so you know it is designed for hard charging. Canyon offers three carbon versions, where the Spectral 125 CF 9 tested here is the top-end bike. There are also two alloy bikes, the entry-level AL 5 costing £2,399. The carbon bike gets a hi/low flip-chip that adjusts the BB by 8mm and the head angle by 0.5º. The alloy version forgoes the geometry adjustment and combines the slacker head angle with the steeper seat angle for a best of both worlds approach. Other neat features on the CF 9 include tube-in-tube cable routing and extra seals on the pivot bearings to ensure that the bike spends the minimum amount of time in the workstand. It also has mounts under the top tube for attaching tools or Canyon’s Load frame bag. Canyon has missed a trick with its chainstay protector though, because chips in the carbon swingarm right beside the chain ring indicate that the rubber protection falls just short. Canyon Spectral 125 suspension With 125mm of rear travel but geometry fitting of a 150mm bike, it makes sense that the shorter travel Spectral has more progressive suspension than its big brother. It also has more anti-squat, which combined with the reduced travel makes the bike feel tighter and more reactive when you get on the gas. Yes, the rear suspension can feel a little too progressive at times, so we found that running the bike in the high geometry setting, with a lower spring pressure gave us the best response. Another option would be to remove the biggest of the two volume spacers from the Fox Float X shock and keep it in the low setting. To balance vertical wheel travel front and rear, Canyon fits a 140mm Fox 36 Factory fork. The Grip 2 damper provides plenty of support, and riding the Spectral 125 back-to-back with the longer travel version really highlighted just how stable the geometry is …Continue reading »

Read Review

The Spectral 125 is Canyon’s newest offering in the busy, short-travel category. It’s a trail bike with 125mm of rear wheel travel matched to a 140mm travel fork, with geometry matching the newly updated Spectral 150 long-travel line.

Read Review

When just releasing an aluminum version simply won't do.

Read Review

Joining the 2022 Canyon Spectral lineup is this brand new mixed wheelsize option. Featuring a 29in front end that's paired to a 27.5in rear, the Spectral mullet promises the perfect balance between the two. But is it really the best of both worlds? Read on for our Canyon Spectral CF 8 CLLCTV review.

Read Review

At 150mm of travel front and rear, coupled with relatively modest geometry numbers, the Spectral:ON slots itself into the all-rounder/playful trail bike category. Reviewer // Blake Nielsen Photos // Matt Staggs Given the Spectral:ON’s geometry package and its amount of travel which category does the bike slot into and what type of rider is it aimed at? While the suspension package is very capable, it’s not put together to be a self shuttle’able downhill bike. It’s very nimble in the […]

Read Review

A one bike quiver is an attractive strategy for the budget-conscious mountain biker. Besides the obvious savings, owning a single bike means you’ll have less to keep track of when it comes to maintenance. Keeping up with suspension service intervals, brake pads and chain wear is easy with just one bike in the garage. Deciding which bike, among the hundreds of available options, to make your one-and-only is a more difficult equation. Canyon’s Spectral 29 CF 9 is described by the German company as a “true all-rounder for all off-road conditions.” For a rider like me who loves the simplicity of a bike that can handle just about anything, Canyon’s vision statement is one I can get behind. So, eager to see how the Spectral would fare on Bellingham’s diverse terrain, I put it through its paces—riding everything from ultra-fast low-angle trails that are common close to town, to steeper lines farther afield. Our test model arrived with 150 millimeters of progressive rear travel and a 150-millimeter RockShox Pike Ultimate fork. Before we go on, one important note regarding spec: Riders who purchase the Spectral 29 CF 9 in North America will receive a slightly different build kit with a Fox DPX2 shock and a slightly longer 160-millimeter Fox 36 Factory fork instead of the RockShox setup included on the bike I received for the purpose of this review. In my experience, bikes with around 150 millimeters of travel and more usually come with trade-offs, mainly in that they don’t pump or have the agility and efficiency of shorter travel models.

Read Review

The Spectral 29 is the next step in the evolution of Canyon's popular Spectral trail bike. Rolling on 29-inch wheels with 150mm of rear-wheel travel, a...

Read Review