[Closed] Canyon Strive Race Sizing

You'd be wanting a small race or a medium normal.

Those figure on the medium race are as long as I'd want at 5'11.

I'm 5ft 8in and had a quick go on my mate's medium.

Didn't instantly feel too big, but did feel very different to my own bike.

He came to it from a large mega though, if that helps.

629mm ett and 445mm reach is pretty much what you'd have found on a big large bike about 12 months ago.

The small is what you'd expect on a medium bike, 600mm ett and 425mm reach... Like a medium Orange Five from 12 months ago, or an XL santa Cruz that's not a Nomad.

Would you have considered a large Orange Five before as a good size?

I've always been between medium and large bikes, and the large Enduro 650b is bang on for me, any longer and itd be too big. That's a ett of 610mm and reach of 442mm.

Essentially the race geometry is what a big medium bike should have been, but manufacturers kept putting average height people on large bikes instead.

thanks chaps. yes as expected it would feel very very long. small race for me i think...

A small race is the same frame as a "normal" medium. Just the stem lenghts differ between those bikes. Cheers.

I'm 5'8 and ride a 'normal' medium / race small. It's spot on

I'm also 5'8" and have a small race frame in team colours for sale if you're interested. Email in profile. It's a 2015 bike.

It fitted perfectly.

I don't see the issue here. Why would [i]not[/i] go for the one that says 'race'*? Seriously though - Go for the longer one. Push the boat out. It'll be faster both up and down and once you're used to it, it won't feel bad / weird. I haven't studied the geometry charts for all the sizes, but Canyon aren't stupid. For a given height they give you two choices - the fast and roomy version for brave souls or the normal one. Don't try and subvert their scheme by sizing down and getting the race version.

I'm 6' and I've got the Large race. It's fast, and a lot of fun. I'm very much a convert to the longer frame size and I haven't come across any situations where the length is a problem. My bunny hops are bigger than ever.

*It doesn't actually say race on it anywhere, except on a sticker that you'll probably remove. And yes, I know that the 'race' version just means the next size up.

I don't see the issue here. Why would not go for the one that says 'race'*?

I agree with you that the longer race geo offers the better platform, but at the ops size he is in the lucky position that the normal medium and race small are the same frame so they can just chose the spec they want.

I've just got a large race.
Confused by canyons geometry charts though, they claim 648 top tube, but how do they measure it, certainly not as the charts, mine measures about 600 horizontally between 2 vertical lines from centre headtube & centre seat tube ( as per their chart)
Makes an ETT of around 630.
I can't get anywhere close to 648 however I measure it.
Also centre of BB to top of seat tube is not the claimed 460 but 480.
Reach and wheelbase seem correct though for the race geometry.
Any actually measured their bike or could explain to me how the top tube is measured at 648?
Or have they sent me a standard frame with a race sticker on it!!

Same as Superficial. I'm 6' and have the large race, loving the longer frame.

Superficial and koldun, what do your large frames measure in the top tube compared to mine above, just so I can confirm mine is a race?
I'm confused by canyons measurements.
Cheers.

The general gist of the "new-school" geometry is that any given frame size will have a longer effective top tube, front centre and reach compared to more traditional geometry.

The whole point of this is that;

a. It opens up the cockpit giving you more room to move around the bike.

b. Longer wheelbase = the bike is much more stable going up and down.

c. You can run a shorter stem / wider bars for better handling.

I don't understand why some people still presume that you need to try and match your existing frame geometry numbers i.e. "I currently ride a medium frame with a 590mm ett, there's no way I'd buy a medium [make and model here] because the ett is 4cm longer than my current bike."

Yes, your current frame at 590mm ett with a 90mm stem might have a shorter combined reach than say a Bird Aeris in medium, but with a 30-50mm stem the numbers will be very similar.

It has been said time and time again on these forums though - its hard to size up a bike by geo numbers only. Test rides are the only way to know what will work for you.

Good thing the OP isn't after a direct sales European bike then 😉

My comments aren't saying "don't buy a bike that's bigger than your current one" I'm actually saying the opposite.

The OP is sizing up by going for a medium in the normal non race format, but by going for the race geometry he's doubling up the sizing, effectively putting a rider who would traditionally be on a small onto a large, which is just plain wrong.

deal done on small race frame 8)

still plenty longer than my small mega - so new school enough for me!

Whooop! Let us know how you get on when you get it 🙂 new bicycles are great

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but I am surprised you are going for a small Race at 5’9”, although I understand your comments regarding coming from a small Nukeproof. But the Canyon Race is precisely intended to be a longer bike. If anything, you appear to be sizing down to make it feel like a more traditional bike, not sizing up.

The Strive Race Medium is all but identical to the Bird Aeris in Medium, in terms of both reach and wheelbase. For some reason, top tube is different, but it may well be an error, as above. I’d maintain that reach and wheelbase are the important ones to look at though. I am 5’10”, so only a touch taller than you and I have a Medium Aeris), with a 40mm stem. I was even debating for a while whether to go for a Large! I certainly wouldn’t have gone for a Small. Medium with a 40mm stem is just right. I could have ridden a Large, but it would have been that much harder work to keep the front wheel weighted. But a Small with a 35mm-40mm stem would have just been cramped.

Upto you of course, but if I was in your shoes, I’d be looking at Medium…

I'm 5'9", my medium race arrived yesterday. Sat on it in the kitchen and it felt right. Will update after tomorrow's first proper ride

still a massive sizing up. My small mega has a reach of 395mm
even the medium mega was only 415mm
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so a strive small race with a reach of 422mm is quite enough for me and still plenty of standover.

where I do 80% of my riding (surrey hills) it's tight trees so don't need it super long..

It'll be the right size for Nick...he always prefers small bikes: he's a wrong'un 😀

5' 8 1/2" and on a Medium Race with a 35mm stem. Feels absolutely perfect for me, loving the extra length up front, and the stability.

Look at the Mondrakers: Foxy XR comes with a 30mm stem and has 478mm reach in a Medium. Makes the Strive Race at 448mm look very short.

Height isn't the only factor too, if your height is all in your legs then you'll want a shorter reach, but need a longer seat tube.

Similarly if you have short legs, in relation to your body, then you'll need a longer reach and shorter seattube.

Plus, depending on where and how you ride you bike a really long front centre may or may not make sense.

I'd certainly not want much longer than my large Enduro 650b for the Tweed.

exactly. plenty of tight twisty singletrack and plenty of jumping - I know what works for that 😉

I'm 6'3" on a large with 50mm stem and it feels good.
I'm assuming then that the 648 top tube claimed is an error or something?
Anybody looking at buying one though could be put off by canyons geo measurements as the TT is nothing like stated.
Had about 4 rides on it now and it is superb, climbs great in either setting, handles amazing on the downhills.
I would recommend riding it for first couple of rides in dh mode and get used to it, I found myself trying to make the most of the shape shifter as you do with a new toy but it's like trying to get used 2 new bikes at once as the steering is so much sharper in Xc mode. I found myself dropping it into dh mode and hitting a steep decent and completely cocking up the first few corners when it didn't steer fast enough.

Confused by canyons geometry charts though, they claim 648 top tube, but how do they measure it, certainly not as the charts, mine measures about 600 horizontally between 2 vertical lines from centre headtube & centre seat tube ( as per their chart)
Makes an ETT of around 630.
I can't get anywhere close to 648 however I measure it.

Superficial and koldun, what do your large frames measure in the top tube compared to mine above, just so I can confirm mine is a race?

I've just been out to measure mine (CF 9.0 race in Large). The top tube (centre of headtube to centre of seat tube) is pretty much 600mm. Clearly the top tube is quite slanted so it's quite a long way off the 'effective top tube' measurement but like you I can't get anywhere near 648mm. It is, however, the longest bike I've ever ridden or swung a leg over. It's plenty long 😀

The OP is sizing up by going for a medium in the normal non race format, but by going for the race geometry he's doubling up the sizing, effectively putting a rider who would traditionally be on a small onto a large, which is just plain wrong.

Well, sort of. Except that he's reasonably tall for a 'small' frame anyway, so he should probably have always been on a medium. Add in new school geometry (if you want) and it puts him on a medium race.

FWIW I did the same. At 6' I should always have been on a large but for years I rode medium frames. In hindsight that was probably wrong but I felt I knew best. Anyway, going to a large race was effectively two sizes bigger (Than the old school mediums I used to ride) I guess. Love it.

Cheers superficial, same as I got that's reassuring, like u say they are long, even fine for me at 6'3", however prob more like a standard fit on me, an xl (if they did one) would be too long and would loose the fun feeling I think.
Another 48mm like they claim on a large would be like a barge!

Canyon like most measure the ETT as the theoretical line between the centre of headtube and where the seat post extension bisects it. Their geo pictures are a bit misleading but that's what they told me.

Annoyed me a bit as I specifically bought the strive to get a bit more length in the top tube and I thought the 620mm ETT would feel longer (I.e. Comparable to ETT of say 640mm) given how they measured it, as per pictures, but it was actually pretty close to everything else on the market at the time, just a lot cheaper!

Really interesting reading all this. I've been looking at the cf race. I'm 5'10 and riding a M zesty 2013. Running it with a 50mm stem. I'm off to the cycle show next week and canyon are there so hoping to throw leg over a few bikes to get my head around some of the figures.

5'10 would put you on a medium race 🙂 definitely post back here, as it'll help those in the same situation.

Don't hang about if u want one, 2015's have a decent discount on em now.
Large's are all gone, mediums from stock !
2016's are on January delivery.

Just read your message mark rich. Mediums sold out 🙁 at that price is have snapped it up!! Guttered!!

Mtbsam I think there's still cf8's in medium.
Look in the express bikes section, lists all what they have in stock. As of 6.45pm mediums are available.