Very close to pulling the trigger on an Ultimate.
I have reservations about the integrated cockpit. It seems way too complicated and badly engineered. I don’t fully understand how it works but it appears to harp back to quill stems of yesteryear, with one small bolt between you and a potentially horrible incident.
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/canyon-aeroad-snapped-handlebar
Was close to pulling the trigger on a Giant Defy Advanced 0, but it has hookless carbon wheels
https://road.cc/content/tech-news/zipp-safety-its-rims-amidst-hookless-debacle-307385
Every new bike I like that meets my requirements has some form of proprietary tech that looks amazing but is relatively infant in its implementation and / or has seen alarming recalls for quite nasty incidents.
I can’t find much online related to Canyons integrated cockpit since the recall linked above.
Can anybody with experience help shed a little more light on how they work? Thanks!
by ProcessAdventurous27
6 Comments
Peak Torque did a youtube vid of it when I launched with the previous version of the Aeroad. I’ve had an Ultimate since launch of the current gen (Oct 2022), haven’t had any issues with the cockpit in nearly 10k miles other than slightly rounding one of the bolts for the garmin mount (my own fault).
Proprietary yes, but, it’s been around for a while with no major issues/recalls and is used by a few WT teams with no failures since MVDP’s well publicised one with a previous version.
I mean, the integrated cockpit has seen a few iterations over the last couple years and has improved.
If you know your fit/sizing and feel confident that the cockpit stem length that comes with the bike will work, or you are comfortable with possibly getting it swapped out, then you are fine. Beyond that there is no real interaction with the cockpit system.
In my experience I’ve found it pretty easy to mess around with handlebar width (usually you can’t do this with integrated bars) and stack height.
As far as proprietary parts, that is basically every single brand. They all do it with at least some aspect of their bikes.
I have a 2019 Ultimate and haven’t had any issues. Biggest drawback is replacement for damage and/or stem length. Functionally, no complaints.
I have a 2022 – Ultimate CF SL 7 Disc. Great bike. Love the integrated cockpit. You can do a bikefit to “tailor” it, but it will definitely be limited in the adjustment sense. You cannot adjust anything too wild, and knowing the new Ultimate geometry is similar to the Aeroad, be mindful (and realistic) of your own physicalities. I can do basic adjustments to the hoods myself.
I DID explore adjusting alternatives, e.g. new bars. If you are not willing to put in the work yourself (aka bikeshop), my bikeshops advised against it as you may be better of just buying something new (depending on the price).
I sold my Endurace because of the integrated cockpit. It didn’t fit me right and it’s not easily modified.
How do you know that all of this stuff is “badly engineered”? If Canyon cockpits and hookless wheels were killing people left and right, don’t you think it would be easy to find that out?
This seems like something better resolved with therapy.