Canyon Nerve AL 9.9 29er

Aesthetics and finish

Aesthetically it’s typically Canyon. By that I mean understated and not too showy, but with enough neat detailing and well placed graphics to suggest that this a serious piece of kit. Unlike some of the competition, Canyon do not offer a big range of colours; two to be specific. The Nerve AL 9.9 I rode was the Acid Storm finish (or in layman terms, grey/green), the other option being Deep Black Ano-white (black and white). The quality of the finish is excellent, and one suspects the limited choice offered is just one way that Canyon are able to continually offer such good value for money.

Internal cable routing on the down tube are a nice touch and ties in with the uncluttered look – clear attention to detail. I rode the bike hard for 3 weeks and after a good scrub and lube it looked almost good as new. The finish is of excellent quality and built to last.

The understated Nerve AL

The Frame

Canyon have opted for a 14 stage, aluminium, hydro-formed frame. This technique uses fluid pumped at huge pressure into a mould in order to achieve a tube shape with high stiffness to weight ratio, whilst also reducing the number of welds required. The frame weighs in at 2650g, which though no match for a carbon alternative, is respectable. The tapered steerer and gusset free top tube are of particularly stiff construction. Couple this with the 12X Thru axle, which is bordering on the industrial, and your left with a frame that is extremely solid, stiff and displays no discernible lateral movement.

Super stiff aluminium framed Canyon Nerve AL

Ride and suspension

This brings me onto the suspension. I must admit that I had planned to ride the Cristalp on a hard tail, as my main concern with a full suspension was loosing energy through the rear shock on the long climbs. So I was a little sceptical about how this bike was going to behave over 6 hours of climbing. The Nerve AL uses a Fox Float CTD with 3 settings (climb, trail and down hill), with the climb setting providing a fair amount of damping, being by no means a lock out. I was a little disappointed that there was not a more obvious difference between the settings, though you have to accept that the pay off is that the trail and downhill settings provide enough damping to be able to descend all manner of terrain with ease. On the day I pumped the rear shock up hard (200psi) and found that my concerns were unfounded, with minimal rear end “bobbing” on the climb setting and just enough on the descent to allow for a some very fast, and at times frankly irresponsible, downhill riding.

Fox Float CTD rear shock has 3 settings – climb, trail and downhill