Canyon: do not want

[L'arriviste]

Folks, I only ever heard great things about Canyon and their machines.

Sadly, it looks like my new Canyon ride was the penny that fell down the cracks.

I've written up the whole story here:

http://www.mikepadgett.com/cycling/not-so-grand-canyon/

In a nutshell: an online-only seller that doesn't communicate. My model was "available immediately". A month went by, and out of frustration today, I cancelled the bike. Only then did they finally admit it was waiting for a cassette, as were lots of other bikes on order, but the cassette stock wasn't due until mid-June.

 

[blutto]

Folks, I only ever heard great things about Canyon and their machines.

Sadly, it looks like my new Canyon ride was the penny that fell down the cracks.

I've written up the whole story here:

http://www.mikepadgett.com/cycling/not-so-grand-canyon/

In a nutshell: an online-only seller that doesn't communicate. My model was "available immediately". A month went by, and out of frustration today, I cancelled the bike. Only then did they finally admit it was waiting for a cassette, as were lots of other bikes on order, but the cassette stock wasn't due until mid-June.

...oh darn....no make that double darn....nothing worse than having a dream go up in smoke and frustration...so what is the Plan B?...I mean the road is calling and all....and it will be so much fun when you are finally spinning up the miles...

...the best of luck with your next move...

Cheers

blutto

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Folks, I only ever heard great things about Canyon and their machines.

Sadly, it looks like my new Canyon ride was the penny that fell down the cracks.

I've written up the whole story here:

http://www.mikepadgett.com/cycling/not-so-grand-canyon/

In a nutshell: an online-only seller that doesn't communicate. My model was "available immediately". A month went by, and out of frustration today, I cancelled the bike. Only then did they finally admit it was waiting for a cassette, as were lots of other bikes on order, but the cassette stock wasn't due until mid-June.

Cassettes? Like those things available from just about every bike shop and MO outfit on earth?

They couldn't make a few phone calls and get some cassettes, even if it meant they lose a few euros on those, to keep customer's happy?

Oh yes, from one of those pesky 'middlemen'(bike shops), I am building a bike, I have everything on hand, but see the supplier shipped 2 front brakes rather than front/rear...I trundle on down to another bike shop and BUY a rear brake..build bike, keep customer happy...they seem to care about money, not you. true story.

 

[L'arriviste]

Cassettes? Like those things available from just about every bike shop and MO outfit on earth?

They couldn't make a few phone calls and get some cassettes, even if it meant they lose a few euros on those, to keep customer's happy?

Oh yes, from one of those pesky 'middlemen'(bike shops), I am building a bike, I have everything on hand, but see the supplier shipped 2 front brakes rather than front/rear...I trundle on down to another bike shop and BUY a rear brake..build bike, keep customer happy...they seem to care about money, not you. true story.

Yeah, once bitten and all that. So I went down to my LBS today and ordered a new bike with them. They promised to call me regularly and they already threw in a wheelset upgrade. Happy with that.

 

[frenchfry]

I had problems with Canyon as well, though I ended up receiving my bike. One of the main reasons I chose Canyon was that they offer large frame sizes which are difficult to find now that most bikes now come in S-M-L-XL and even the XL is generally at least 3cm too small for me. The other reason is the reasonable price for a superbly equipped bike. Also the LBS’s made no effort to assist me in my search for a bike that suited my size and budget, we do not have a customer oriented bike shop in the city where I live.

I ordered my bike early December. During the decision phase I had asked a few questions by e-mail and received quick replies which I found reassuring. (sidenote: the on-line sizing only takes into account inseam. The result I got was a 60cm frame, but after measuring and re-measuring I figured a 62cm frame would give me the position I wanted. I asked Canyon for their advice and they confirmed 62cm would be ok. I am very happy with the result). The initial delivery date was week 8, which was fine with me. I then received an e-mail from Canyon week 10 saying that the frame in the colour I ordered was no longer available, but if I changed colour they could respect the initial delivery date (which of course was impossible since that date was already passed). I replied that I agreed to this, but when I asked that they put a black saddle instead of white, and that they not charge me for modifications that I had ordered (stem length and handlebar width which cost €20 each) they responded that no modifications were possible and no consideration would be given to my request. Since they had screwed up my order I didn’t think this was too much to ask, but there is a total rigidity in terms of bike build. They sent me a modified order confirmation with delivery date of week 24, which was of course unacceptable. I went on the Canyon site and discovered that the bike I was to receive was available week 13, I then informed them of this and they modified the order accordingly. I did receive my bike week 13.

I am very happy with the bike, a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX with Campy Record. It is very comfortable, at least compared to my old aluminum frame, and great on the climbs.

One quality problem is the rear derailleur on which the pulley wheels aren’t aligned properly and the cage is bent towards the interior. I had difficulty figuring out the problem, and when I informed Canyon a month after receiving the bike they replied that it was too late and they were no longer responsible. They did offer to send the derailleur to Campagnolo for inspection, but that would mean dismantling it, sending it to Canyon at my expense and being without my bike for the time it took. I bent it back into position myself, though the pulley wheels are still out of alignment which is strange for a top-line component. I am hesitant to take it to a LBS for a look given I bought the bike on-line. The derailleur works, but it is a bit noisy and difficult to adjust.

As a conclusion, I wonder if the Canyon supply chain isn’t feeling the strain of their success, and this may be why they have difficulty following and respecting orders. I also see the shortcomings of buying a bike on-line, there is no one there if there is a problem after delivery. Having said that, I have always done my own maintenance and in 12 years never took my previous bike to the LBS where I bought it. I could also replace the rear derailleur at my own expense and the cost would be negligible compared to the savings of buying on-line.

 

[Parrulo]

could this problems be related to the cross atlantic shipping?
Also how much assembling does one have to do after the bike gets home? Because i am thinking of buying a canyon myself so i am curious.

 

[frenchfry]

could this problems be related to the cross atlantic shipping?
Also how much assembling does one have to do after the bike gets home? Because i am thinking of buying a canyon myself so i am curious.

I don't think my derailleur problem comes from shipping, but I could be wrong. I think the bikes are assembled in Europe and I live in France, so there wasn't any cross Atlantic shipping involved. The final delivery was from Germany.

The bike is delivered in a very well designed and protected box. The only assembling to do is to attach the handlebar to the stem, insert the seatpost (the saddle is already mounted), and put on the wheels. Of course there are the necessary adjustments to make like seat height, getting the derailleur centered, etc. You also have to assemble the pedals, computer, water bottle cages etc if you buy them from Canyon as I did.

 

[Parrulo]

i see.

well to be honest despite some problems with delivery times which to be honest are to be expected, canyon bikes still look like great deals.

 

[Master50]

Frenchfry
Have you had the hangar checked for alignment? It is often off on new bikes and bikes just recently shipped. You can bend a hanger pretty easily too. It can be the reason for the miss aligned rear derrallieur.

 

[frenchfry]

Frenchfry
Have you had the hangar checked for alignment? It is often off on new bikes and bikes just recently shipped. You can bend a hanger pretty easily too. It can be the reason for the miss aligned rear derrallieur.

Thanks for the advice. Indeed I thought of the hanger and a visual check doesn't show anything out of line but maybe I should investigate this further.

 

[Notso Swift]

could this problems be related to the cross atlantic shipping?
Also how much assembling does one have to do after the bike gets home? Because i am thinking of buying a canyon myself so i am curious.

Canyon do not sell to US, Australia and NZ, anymore. (couple of years)
I believe they are in the process of setting up local distribution channels but at the moment you need to get it delivered somewhere else and ship it private. I had a friend here (Aus) who did have an issue with an Alloy frame he picked up in Europe and it was still sorted without an issue, but they will not sell them.
Not sure if it is because of statutory warranty or something like that, hence need to get a distributor.

They are great value, but I noticed their prices have started to creep with their success
(I was dead set on buying one to replace my LOOK, but got a custom frame instead)

 

[mr. tibbs]

Yeah, once bitten and all that. So I went down to my LBS today and ordered a new bike with them. They promised to call me regularly and they already threw in a wheelset upgrade. Happy with that.

Good choice! LBS is always the best bet. You're supporting your local scene, you make friends, and you get little "thank you"s like wheelset upgrades. It's all around better, even though it costs more.

I crashed at just over 30mph once and slid for quite a ways. As you can imagine, my kit was shredded. My LBS at the time, Contender Bicycles in Salt Lake City, fronted me a new one, just cuz. I really do <3 those guys, and visit the shop every time I'm in Salt Lake.

 

[Parera]

Aren't Canyon also hucking 1 1/4" steerers like Giant? Severely limits your stem choices...

 

[Michele]

Yes they are, and that's one of the things that I point out when some guys stop and say "nice bike, Im thinking to get it..." .
You must be really sure of your size and lenght when ordering one.

Ive got a bitter relationship with Canyon as they didnt want to accept my warranty request (a 1cm crack near the BB area) by saying it was due to normal use during a whole season but I had the bike from just 3 (three) months.
A year later the crack became around 2cms long and sent it to show again and they finally accepted to warranty it and here start the funny part; at first they told me I had to choose between a black, blue or red frame while mine was white.
I went for the black but the frame arrived....without fork!
By now 3 months passed and after sending it back, they sent me a CF SLX, I think also thanks to the pressure from Canyon Italia to the german headsquare.

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

I think it's inevitable that there will be some sort of fall-out in terms of service and flexibility when Canyon are offering frames with components pretty far below most other bike suppliers.

 

[L'arriviste]

There's a postscript to this story that I should probably add and which may be of anecdotal interest to some of you reading this.

A few weeks back my partner, who received her Canyon all present and correct, crashed on her first run on the Flemish cobbles.

Since my LBS-bought Look was going in for its free First 500km Service (another LBS win), I took her Canyon with me.

The conclusion was that they would only agree to look at the Canyon because I had bought my Look with them and even then just this once.

The mechanic explained that no bike stores in that area (Flemish Brabant, Belgium) would be prepared to service an internet-only bike on the basis that Canyon and businesses like it threatened the livelihoods of LBSs.

It seems to have been a collective decision. I didn't press him to find out how this "collective decision" had been made, because I just wanted my partner's bike checked and I was grateful that this rather severe-mannered guy was prepared to make an exception.

I have yet to learn if this policy is indeed being applied at other stores. I may ask next time I go to my other favourite store and see what they say.

 

[Benotti69]

That is defintely an important point to consider when purchasing a bike if you are not going to spanner on it.

 

[elapid]

The mechanic explained that no bike stores in that area (Flemish Brabant, Belgium) would be prepared to service an internet-only bike on the basis that Canyon and businesses like it threatened the livelihoods of LBSs.

Interesting, but I am not sure if I agree with this approach or not. I am more leaning to not. I understand that online stores threaten retail outlets, but refusing to work on bikes purchased online isolates the consumer and further jeopardizes the income of LBSs. I am not a bike store owner so I am not sure if this is true, but I heard that most profits for a LBS do not come from bike sales but rather the sale of associated equipment (tires, tubes, lights, helmets, etc). If this is true, then the LBS that refuses to work on a bike bought online is also saying to that person that we don't want any of your business (at least I would not personally buy anything from a LBS that refused to tune or repair my bike).

 

[L'arriviste]

Interesting, but I am not sure if I agree with this approach or not. I am more leaning to not. I understand that online stores threaten retail outlets, but refusing to work on bikes purchased online isolates the consumer and further jeopardizes the income of LBSs. I am not a bike store owner so I am not sure if this is true, but I heard that most profits for a LBS do not come from bike sales but rather the sale of associated equipment (tires, tubes, lights, helmets, etc). If this is true, then the LBS that refuses to work on a bike bought online is also saying to that person that we don't want any of your business (at least I would not personally buy anything from a LBS that refused to tune or repair my bike).

Yes, that's how I see it too: it seems counterproductive. I would think this unimaginable in my country of origin (UK), but some folks here in Belgium can be pretty eccentric.

 

[Cancellator]

Yes, that's how I see it too: it seems counterproductive. I would think this unimaginable in my country of origin (UK), but some folks here in Belgium can be pretty eccentric.

The prices for simple service jobs are unimaginable in the UK, in some shops

 

[Notso Swift]

Ditto in Australia, I know a shop that charges $80 an hour... plus GST (10%)!
Minimum charge 1 hour and there is a 1 week wait to get on the service schedule.

To put this into context I drive a reasonably expensive car and I pay $90+ from the Main dealer, including a coffee, a lift, tickets to shows, events and all that crap and bottle of wine at Xmas...

What is more the kids at the stealership are trained, not wannabe racers who are there so they get a few free tyres
There are lots of Good shops charge 2/3 of the price for proper mechanics, you just need to know where to go

 

[Bustedknuckle]

There's a postscript to this story that I should probably add and which may be of anecdotal interest to some of you reading this.

A few weeks back my partner, who received her Canyon all present and correct, crashed on her first run on the Flemish cobbles.

Since my LBS-bought Look was going in for its free First 500km Service (another LBS win), I took her Canyon with me.

The conclusion was that they would only agree to look at the Canyon because I had bought my Look with them and even then just this once.

The mechanic explained that no bike stores in that area (Flemish Brabant, Belgium) would be prepared to service an internet-only bike on the basis that Canyon and businesses like it threatened the livelihoods of LBSs.

It seems to have been a collective decision. I didn't press him to find out how this "collective decision" had been made, because I just wanted my partner's bike checked and I was grateful that this rather severe-mannered guy was prepared to make an exception.

I have yet to learn if this policy is indeed being applied at other stores. I may ask next time I go to my other favourite store and see what they say.

Called collusion in the USA, not legal, don't think so, I are not a lawyer.

I think the LBS' are being dumm for not servicing all bikes, even those crappy internet only ones. Service is BY FAR the best margin in bicycle shops.

Expand the service area, make sure the wrenches know WTF they are doing, slim down the least profitable, lowest margin 'thing' in the store, yep, you guessed it, the bicycle.

I sometimes wonder about bike shops who whine about the internet. Not gonna go away and anybody that can pay cash for a truck load of 'stuff', a warehouse and a website to sell from, will.

BUT to **** people off, and not take the $ to repair internet bikes, well, that makes no sense. Ask top dollar(Euro), do the job right, go to the bank.

 

[Animal]

I'm having delays with my online order of a Canyon too.

My order was processed March 22nd.

Emailed them on May 7th asking where it was, they replied stating that the order will be dispatched next week.

Emailed them back today (May 20th) asking where my bike is.

They replied saying they are moving to a bigger factory, so there's a delay, and the bike will be dispatched next week.

I'll give them one more week before I cancel the order and demand my money back.

 

[winkybiker]

Good choice! LBS is always the best bet. You're supporting your local scene, you make friends, and you get little "thank you"s like wheelset upgrades. It's all around better, even though it costs more.

I crashed at just over 30mph once and slid for quite a ways. As you can imagine, my kit was shredded. My LBS at the time, Contender Bicycles in Salt Lake City, fronted me a new one, just cuz. I really do <3 those guys, and visit the shop every time I'm in Salt Lake.

I agree that the LBS is a good alliance to make. They have to add some value, though. My LBS sometimes has ridiculous wait times on basic bits I could order myself from a web-store much more quickly. My LBS also needs to follow up with customers and keep them informed better than they do. Good quality mechanics are an asset of course, but I've never had a problem there. I find the work they do to be great.

 

[michaelmccarthy]

Delay after delay

I ordered a Canyon bike on the 4th. of June (2014) I was told I could expect ship out in week 27. (June 30th. to July 6th) I waited and didn't hear any more from Canyon so I contacted them - was told sorry delay till week 29. Waited same thing didn't hear back from them so contacted them was told sorry delay till week 31, waited again - had to contact them and was told delayed again till week 32 on top of that I had to place a new order for same product and was given a new order number. As I wanted this bike for my summer holiday which starts August 9th. asked them what are the chances of me getting the bike in time - no reply so have given up hope of getting for my holiday. I am hoping at this stage that the mechanics that put the bikes together are of a higher caliber than the staf that answer e mails, queries and take orders. Am really disappointed - but if I get what I paid for will still be a happy customer, but Canyon really does has to work on its customer services department.