Canyon Has Landed in the U.S.

Published August 16, 2017 04:35PM

Canyon Bikes, a direct-to-consumer brand that has become a ubiquitous name in Europe has finally opened in the U.S.

After months of waiting, delays, silence and more waiting, the direct-to-consumer bike brand Canyon Bikes has finally opened its website’s doors to the U.S. market. The brand that has sat underneath Jan Frodeno for both of his Ironman World Championships in 2015 and 2016 is now available to U.S. customers as well.

“The past few months have obviously been very intense, integrating personnel, an ERP system, a CRM system, and web software,” says Blair Clark, President of Canyon USA. “The employees are passionate about creating an emotional connection between our customers and our bikes. Our team demands the best results from one another and along the way wants to build the best bike company. Often when I’m out riding my Canyon, I get the same two questions: ‘When can I buy one?’ Or, ‘Where can I test one here?’ It’s incredibly rewarding now to be able to say, ‘Go to our website—you can order one of these legendary bikes today and you have 30 days to try it out for yourself.”

Canyon began in 1985 under the name of Radsport Arnold. After years as a garage business, founder Roman Arnold changed the name in 2002. Headquartered in Koblentz, Germany, Canyon now has a full-range of road, mountain, triathlon, fitness, and urban bikes.

With a new U.S. office located in Carlsbad, Calif., Canyon has gone from cult following to transition-area mainstay on the other side of the Atlantic. This year at Challenge Roth, Canyon crept dangerously close to Cervelo’s throne at our very own bike count—finishing in a tight second place, ahead of Specialized and Felt among others. It’s likely that the brand’s Euro popularity will also launch Canyon inside the top ten at Kona’s bike count.

While Canyon boasts some impressive tech in its bikes, one of the most interesting aspects of the brand is its direct-to-consumer business model. Rather than going through a retailer, Canyon sells manufacturer direct—their bikes are not available in stores anywhere. Instead, customers enter their measurements into an online fit system, where the correct size is calculated. After payment, the bike is then (mostly) assembled and shipped in a specially-designed bike box right to the purchasers front door. They also offer a 30-day return policy and an impressive six-year warranty.

Though the newly-launched U.S. website only shows their midrange Speedmax CF 7.0 in the triathlon category (as of writing, the bike was displayed, but not available for sale), much of their high-end road and mountain range was available for purchase. Representatives told us that the response has already been overwhelming—hence the soft rollout—but expect models to become available as soon as they hit the brand-new U.S. warehouse.