This content was produced in association with Canyon

Three years on from its victory in our Direct Sales E-Bike of the Year test, the Canyon Spectral:ON’s key attributes haven’t changed one jot, but the price has dropped dramatically.

Take a closer look at the 2026 Spectral:ON CF9 featured in this range test and you’ll notice a way better specification. For £4.649 it gets the same carbon frame with the Shimano EP8 motor, but now features a Fox 38 Performance Elite level fork with the Grip2 damper, and a Shimano XT DI2 electronic drivetrain, that allows you to effortlessly shift gear even without pedalling. Impressive.

Yes, the layout of the full-carbon Category 4 rated frame hasn’t changed in the last three years, but the capacity of the removable battery has increased from 720Wh to 800Wh, as standard. And while Canyon has had some very public battery issues, that’s all behind the brand now, with its new alloy-cased 800Wh battery setting a new level in safety standards.

OK, so Shimano’s EP8 motor, with 600 watts peak power and 85Nm torque, isn’t going to pull your arms off with impressive acceleration, but its lower power output does help improve the overall range of the Spectral:ON. And even with our heavier DH casing Maxxis tyres fitted, the Spectral:ON CF9 managed to deliver 1,509 meters of vertical, on a single charge of the 800Wh battery.

That’s 200m more than the Pinion MGU equipped HaiBike All MTN, which also had 600 watts peak power and an 800Wh battery. Which only serves to highlight the inefficiencies in the combined gearbox and motor design.

The Canyon delivers 92m less in total elevation gain than the Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 5 motor and 800Wh battery fitted to the Whyte Kado RSX, and 124m less than the current record holder, the Gen 4 Specialized Turbo Levo, which comes with an 840Wh battery fitted.

So given that the Canyon is pretty much half the price of all those bikes, it’s impressive that it can still hold its own. At least for now.