Canyon Inflite CF SLX: The most fun you can have upright

As a road racer of many years, my winters are routinely spent in a shed on a turbo trainer knocking out hour after hour of kilometres in front of a virtual cycling world surrounded by garden furniture and lawn mowers. This is all fine, but swapping the fresh country air for the smell of creosote isn’t why I took up cycling in the first place.

With that in mind I decided to try my hand at Cyclo-cross this winter. For those who are unaware, it’s somewhere between road racing and mountain biking, using a bike which looks like a road bike, but has a fairly relaxed geometry and 33mm UCI standard tyres compared to the usual 23 or 25 on a road bike. They also have a very pronounced tread which means they can get purchase on gravel, over rocks and even in mud.

I was unconvinced, but always up for a challenge I signed up for the Crossbones CX sportive just outside Worthing and took the Canyon Inflite CF SLX along for the ride. CX races are normally on circuits over obstacles which normally involves running with your bike, hurdling things on a variety of surfaces in a small, contained area. CX sportives on the other hand are more akin to normal road sportives in that you leave from one place, do one huge lap and return from whence you came.

Having received the Canyon, initial impressions were positive. It was comforting to see it looked like a normal road bike but with the fatter tyres and a single 40 tooth chainring at the front and a 11 speed cassette at the back with a huge 36 tooth ring for the big climbs.

There a few really nice touches which you don’t notice but help it with clearing mud during cross races. The top tube is raised. rather than a sloping, this higher, horizontal design increases the space inside the main triangle for easier shouldering, and drops away towards the seat stays to maximise the length of exposed seatpost for greater seated comfort and traction.

Reducing mud and debris build up is always a big challenge in cyclocross, especially for those with only on bike. Canyon’s solution is to reduce the frame’s surface area by 8.5 percent in key positions, particularly the slim seatstays and angular chainstays that should shed mud.

Performance

We got to Worthing at about 9am having driven through 90 minutes of foreboding and inclement rain we expected a bit of mud and we certainly not disappointed.

Riding the Inflite through 3 foot ‘puddles’ and mud trenches which reached a third of the way up the wheel of the Inflite was an odd experience. Definitely out of my comfort zone. It felt like a road bike, but it went through mud like a hot knife through very melted butter. Very confusing. It was like being a kid again, learning what the bike could do (a lot) the different ways of balancing on the variety of terrains and getting soaked and covered in mud. It was utterly compelling.

I love road racing, but churning out KM’s on roads is mentally challenging at times. CX is so different. 100% concentration, descents on gravel, climbs on mud and flying down hills covered in ice-like tree roots is a unique and terrifying experience but you are never bored.

The Inflite performed brilliantly in every circumstance. So much so I think I will try and buy one. This was my first cyclocross race, but it certainly won’t be my last. I could give you a load of tech specs, but other sites will do that. I want give you the feeling you get riding this bike. It’s that feeling which really mattered and something I haven’t felt for a long time on a bike. Give CX a go, and if you can, do it on the Inflite. Kiss goodbye to the shed forever!