Review: Canyon Speedmax SLX and Speedmax CF
images by Nick Salazar
Mar 1, 2019
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The Canyon Speedmax has been a very successful and popular tri bike abroad, in the countries to which Canyon has historically been a consumer-direct company, much like TriRig. Canyon is only now just starting to sell its products to USA customers, and the excitement about them has been palpable. Check out our full review of these bikes for all the intricate details of these rides.
Speedmax SLX 
The Speedmax SLX is an undeniably clean bike. It has smooth lines everywhere, no weird gimmicks, super clean cable routing, and great transitions from one part to the next. Its highly-integrated setup does pose some problems, especially at the aerobar, but it is an overall excellent ride. The newest versions of the bike have an updated front end which we reviewed in Kona last year. It's a bit of an aesthetic (and probably aerodynamic) upgrade, but still doesn't really address our concerns about fit.
Speedmax CF 
The lower-end Speedmax is much like its bigger brother, but foregoes the integrated front-end and integrated brakes, keeping virtually everything else. It's a very high-value proposition. Unfortunately Canyon doesn't sell a bare frameset, but on the plus side the lowest-price build is just $2500, and easy to upgrade. Our final build is a fair bit MORE desirable than the SLX, at a much lower price point.
Mavic Comete Clinchers 
Along with the HED Jet series, this might be the best set of rims on the market. A textured aluminum track provides braking power and modulation superior to ANY carbon rim, while offering aerodynamic performance equal or better to virtually anything else on the market.
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The Concept Speedmax is easily Canyon's slickest tri bike to date, and it's definitely a head-turner. Here's our take on the new rig, ridden by race favorite Jan Frodeno.
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The defending World Champ is back on the island with a mostly-stock Canyon Speedmax SLX, with a slick paint job and one VERY special upgrade.
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Canyon has unveiled a beautiful new cockpit for the Speedmax SLX which cuts the number of columns from three to one, and reduces the frontal area significantly.
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