Road clear for canyon
The most important information about one of the most important international bicycle manufacturers
Triathlon bikes, mountain and gravel bikes, racing and cyclocross bikes: Hardly any bike manufacturer can do so many things as well as the Koblenz-based brand Canyon. Founded just 21 years ago, Canyon has quickly won over an enthusiastic, loyal and, above all, huge fan base. Today we look at the history and greatest achievements of the inventors of the Ultimate, Grizl and Grails more closely at when it says today: Road free for Canyon!
Like so many success stories, Canyon 's begins in a garage (hi Mr. Jobs). In the middle of the modest German province, Roman Arnold grows up in the 70s. He is a big cycling fan, competes in smaller races himself, and spends what little time his father has for him with him in the stands at regional competitions. One day, the two decide to turn their hobby into a business, travel to Italy and buy bicycle accessories and spare parts that are not available in Germany. Back in Germany, father and son sell these parts from their car trailer during the races, and later from a small garage store.
But the father dies early, at just 46 years old. After his death, Roman takes over the business with his brother, Franc Arnold, and officially founds Radsport-Arnold in 1985. The brothers now also sell bikes from third-party manufacturers, try in the 90s to sell own-brand bikes, but only in 2002 follows the decision to develop and produce them completely independently. Radsport Arnold thus becomes Canyon Biycycles.
Since then, Roman Arnold and his team have been designing high-quality bicycles - the Koblenz-based company produces up to 300 bikes a day. The brand has won numerous design and innovation awards and currently has more than 200 patents pending (for example, a CityBike that is driven by a gear chain instead of a regular chain, which does not need to be oiled and is therefore gentle on office clothes and urban outfits).
One of the most impressive innovations from the house of Canyon is probably the project 3 . 7. The lightest racing bike in the world at the time, just 3.76kg weighs the 2005 presented concept bike. A year later Canyon designs a road bike with hdyraulic disc brakes, far before there are similar models on the market. The Aeroad CF is the first bike with an individually adjustable fork dropout, and the MRSC Connected, the result of a collaboration with Deutsche Telekom, has a built-in emergency call system - a promise of safety that perhaps makes up for a minor scandal from 2006?
At the time, Canyon had to recall almost 8000 of its road bikes. The carbon forks were at increased risk of breakage due to a manufacturer's defect - which could have led to life-threatening falls. Since then, the brand has placed a high value on quality control: every safety-relevant component is tested for stability and safety by technicians using ultrasound equipment, and in some cases even computer tomographs are used.
Over 1400 employees, a company value of 800 million euros (fun fact: American basketball star Lebron James owns 4% of Canyon after a 30 million dollar investment), around 300 bicycle models and millions of loyal fans of the brand worldwide... However, there is still one finish line for Canyon to cross: Arnold wants a Canyon bike to win the Tour de France.
This victory should no longer be far away, since 2007 Canyon has been involved in professional sports, starting with the sponsorship of the Belgian Unibet.com team. In the Koblenz showroom now hang the Triktos of numerous Grand Tour winners and world champions: Cadel Evans, Jelle Vanendert and Joaquim Rodriguez, Giro d'Italia winner Nairo Quintana alongside Richard Carapaz and cyclocross hero Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who won the French championship in 2018. Other world-class athletes working with Canyon include European champion Mathieu van der Poel, Boris Stein and Iron Man world champions Jan Frodeno and Patrick Lange.
All these professionals not only rave about the high-performance bikes, especially the support at competitions by the Canyon team seems to be extremely personal and intensive. Pro Sport Management, the manufacturer calls it: The athletes:inside should not have to worry about anything but their competition, for maximum peace of mind and maximum performance.
This concern comes from Roman Arnold himself, so he has remained a cycling fan forever. The fact that the company and his Pure Cycling mission are so close to his heart has to do with his history. He says himself that Canyon would not have existed if his father had not died so early back then. So the brand remains a very emotional matter for him.
And Tour de France victory or not - Canyon bikes are in less than 30 years from the hearts of the bike community no longer imaginable and arrived at the top of the bike industry.
We at buycycle are also big Canyon fans... After all, the idea for our marketplace for used bikes comes from the phase when one of our founders wanted to buy a new Canyon road bike. Two years later, we offer over 8000 used bikes at buycycle at discounted prices and with maximum security - among them over 400 Canyon bikes. So take a look at our website, maybe your next dream bike is waiting for you. If you have any questions, our team is always there for you, until then we wish you: Happy browsing, happy cycling (whether on a Canyon or not)!