Friday, September 21, 2007

Canyon Nerve XC 3.0

With the help of DHL and exactly one week after ordering, my new German steed arrived today - a Canyon Nerve XC 3.0. Inspired by R2's most excellent rig and an absolutely unmissable end of season "Sparbuch" aka "sale" I dropped my wad on this cross country fully.

It was well packaged in a burly box and I for the lack of dosh it's a beaut. Not only does the frame have some lovely detailing but it also comes with Jagwire cables, rub patches and covers plus a fair old array of kit.


I was quite surprised to find LX shifters in place of the Deore items spec'd on online. I'm also keen to see what how the Avid's perform, these oem 3's are identical to the after market 5's. An initial squeeze of a lever revealed that they were "moto" style (front brake on left lever) :o but they were quickly swapped over without too much fuss - a nice feature of the Juicy's.

The RP23 rear bouncer has proved a worthy component on Chipmunk's ML, so now I get to try one too :p The rear mech caused me some head scratchin' early on (not least 'cos it's Shimano) but the cage came a full rotation out, see the bent "pin" :thumbd

I'm a big fan of Schwalbe's Racing Ralph's and the Nobby Nic's being a fave of Toons, although not necessarily on the terrain north of the border, I'm hopin' they'll do just fine down here. The durable yet basic Shimano hub'd and Alex rim'd wheelset aren't as heavy as anticipated and the cup/cone design means they just want to spin and spin - seemingly with little/no resistance.

The tube set uses typical large bore alloy tubing but the down tube is a whopper and the hard 7005 alloy makes for what sounds like a very thin walled tube. No doubt this contributes to all up low weight (approx 28lbs) even without exotic components. The gusseting looks chunky and well placed so it should be up to the odd punding ;)


Roll on a pukka test ride...

15 Comments:


toons said...

Nice looking rig dude; looking forward to the ride report.

I LOVE my Nobby Nic's, I think they're class.


Farqui said...

Thanx, she doesn't look too shabby does she.

Another bonus is that the Canyon's RP23 is identical in length/stroke to my 5Spot :thumbu - so expect some swapping and blatherin' :p


Rob#2 said...

So pleased to welcome a new member to the UK 'Canyon' club. Looks very nice, looking forward to the test ride report, come on you must have tested it by now!

Oh, how easy did you find it to adjust the pressure on the RP23. I had access problems with my pump...?

Such good value, I feel like getting another...'spend to save'.

Maybe after Afan you will convert me to a longer travel bike....


Farqui said...

Unfortunately we were away at the wkend so I haven't managed anything more than a couple of short blasts. However, it's starting to come together with cockpit alignments and suspension set-up getting more to my tastes. Early impressions are of a very light, nimble and confidence inspiring ride.

Yeah, the rocker does interfere with the short nose shock pumps but I've a long'un that works nicely - ooh err misses :) Early 5Spot's had this problem and needed a little dremel action on a rocker (which is still going strong btw).

I thunk we may have a few more "club" members once the masses catch on to these thangs. Meanwhile, enjoy your exclusivity while you can :p

Bring on Afan, I'm looking forward to see how you and your rig get along down there.


Dangerous Dave said...

Looks good. This for your "commuter" rig?
seems a bit overkill but does look quality!
Bring on Afa Fo' sho'!
Not sure whether to unleash the flats though...


Farqui said...

Yeah, it's primary use will be as my commuter BUT as I spend 7.5hrs a week on the darn thing, I figure I might as well be comfortable. Besides, my carbon footprint is teeny after all these years crankin' to/from work. Oh AND I deserve it ! :p

Tsk, stick to spd's you xc wanna be ! :D


Anonymous said...

I also ordered an XC3 on sale last week, and am looking forward to its arrival. Hope to read more of your impressions soon.


Dangerous Dave said...

HAHA.

Wannabe XC'er, the cheek!


Anonymous said...

Hi, I've also order one...thrilled to get it soon:-) But I've got one question about the brakes. You mentioned that it is Juicy 3, but kind of version close to Juicy 5 or so. Could you please clear it out? What is the difference? thanks a lot L


Farqui said...

Another one, heck they're gonna start loosing their exclusivity at this rate :p

From what I've read, the Juicy 3's are standard fit to retail bikes and not available aftermarket. Whereas the 5's are effectively the same kit relabelled and available as aftermarket units.


Anonymous said...

Actually another question while I'm waiting for the delivery:-) How long it takes to get this bike together...I mean is there anything particular diffucult to set up. I'm not a big mechanic, you know:-) Thanks L


Farqui said...

You'll only need to spanner two bolts to mount the bar to the stem and then it's just a matter of fitting the wheels. Easy peasy.

Let us know how you get on.

PS: R2's XC did really on the gnarly terrain in s.Wales over the weekend.


Rob said...

R2 is right the blue looks great, let's see this un roll in Woburn, that'll test it proper like.


Anonymous said...

I've just ordered one too. Shame it's not in pink. Don't think I'll use it for commuting though, a ride out on one of your FNCs sounds like fun though.


Farqui said...

ANOTHER one, OMG !

"FNC", now that's a give away...