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Three years ago, I restarted riding my bike regularely after an hiatus of several years, so I dusted off my old 2005 Specialized Hardrock Pro and as expected, a bunch of parts failed (suspension seals, transmission issues, bottom bracket, bearings, tires) and although it's not impossible to find good quality compatible parts for an old bike, it's a chore, so the idea of getting a new bike has been fermenting in the back of my mind.

The Hardrock has been a really good bike, but the time came to retire it, so I've been keeping an eye on some potential replacements:

• Specialized Chisel - An hardtail with a very light aluminium frame and some interesting technologies (they call it hydroformed alloy). A bit expensive and low end components, but very cool.
• Canyon Exceed CF6 - Great value for money with great components. I do not love the frame design, but it's growing on me. A bit suspicious of the direct to customer business model.
• Cannondale Scalpel HT 4 - A carbon-framed hardtail. I love the frame design. Also a bit expensive for its components.

And I ended up getting none of the above...

The 2024 Canyon Lux Trail CF7 caught my eye because Canyon ran a end of season sale that had a 30% discount, bringing its price close to what I was willing to spend on a new bike. I checked a few reviews online and hit the "order" button.

The CF7.

Buying Experience

I was a bit relunctant of the direct to customer format because I've heard a few issues from known people, mostly issues with availability, overly optimistic delivery estimates or quality control.

The bike was in stock and took 5 days from the moment I hit the buy button to receiving the bike (from Germany to Portugal). So no complaints there.

The bike came well packaged on the (expensive) cardboard box and as expected, the bike came almost ready, needing only a few finishing touches (installing the front wheel, handlebar, levers and seatpost). Manuals and the necessary tools are provided: basic torque wrench, shock pump and assembly grease. Nice touch.

The only issue I had was that the 3 position lockout was not working correctly: on the locked position, the front suspension locked as expected but the rear didn't. I e-mailed Canyon about the issue for the sake of curiosity, and they advised going to a local shop and offered to pay 20 euros. I didn't take on the offer and I fixed the issue by adjusting the cable tension adjuster.

At First Glance

The Good

• Great components: full Shimano SLX groupset, DT Swiss wheels and hubs, Fox suspension, shock and dropper post, nice Schwalbe cross country tires and Ergon contact points.
• It has a threaded bottom bracket. I'm not a fan of pressfit bottom brackets.
• The use of SRAM's universal derailleur hanger. Standard hangers are awesome.

The Nice

• Tubeless ready wheels with the tape installed.

The Meh

• No lifetime warranty like some brands offer (only 6 years, while Specialized offers a lifetime warranty for the frame).
• The additional maintenance that comes with a full suspension compared to an hardtail: the shock, and pivots bearings.
• The unknown about the availability of Canyon-only parts in the future, especially model-specific parts like the suspension yoke and integrated headset.

The Bad

• Although the internal cable routing looks great, that means additional headaches when the time will come to change cable housings, brake hoses or headset bearings.
• Also related to the internal cable routing: The cables go through the headset. That means that changing bearings requires a brake bleed, because brake hoses must be disconnected.

Impressions

It may be the new bike syndrome, but the bike feels fast. The ride is quite different compared to the old bike and I'm still not completely used to the very wide handlebars. It's not the lightest of bikes, but it's still lighter than the Hardrock. The full suspension is very comfortable, and despite thinking the 3-position lockout would be gimmicky, it's not, I use it a lot. Still not happy with the suspension settings, it'll take a few tries to get it dialed in.