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A mark to market comparison of the Kú TF1 versus the Canyon Speedmax 2021
Canyon is a large consumer-direct online retailer and has recently launched their Speedmax 2021.
We provide our Kú Ftters with a short overview how the Kú TF1 stacks up against this new model.
1. Bike fitting is an afterthought for Canyon. You purchase your bike first online and then they will sort out the bike fit later.
2. Canyon have increased their retail prices significantly in 2021 and are no longer cheaper than their competitors, while they keep all the margin to themselves without a fitter or retailer part of the process.
3. Canyon provides a hydration system proven in the market not to be very hygenic and fairly non-practical during races.
4. Canyon does not provide a smart travel solution.
5. With all main-stream brands, it’s hard to say you have a true relationship with the brand and or the staff.
6. Canyon does not provide fitter or bike
services for the customer.
1. Kú Cycle works exclusively with Kú Fitters who provide the bike prescription for Kú Cycle to then build a rider specific TF1 frame for one customer.
2. Kú Cycle is priced competitively but provides an income to the Kú fitters, instead of cutting them out of the value chain.
3. Kú Cycle’s hydration provides solid aerodynamics and practical race management strategies.
4. Kú Cycle provides a smart and free travel solution for the TF1.
5. Kú Cycle is small boutique brand where personal service offered together with the Kú Fitters is one of our top priorities.
6. Kú Cycle provides full customer service
trough the Kú Fitter.
Canyon: “For many many years your try to get yourself flexible to fit to the bike”. Kú response: we agree and the reason why an excellent bike fit should be performed first so the bike can then be built underneath the rider”.
Canyon: “we are committed to make the bike adjustable to you”. Kú response: but the Canyon sales model leaves out the bike fitter from the entire purchase process as the customer purchases their Speedmax online in a predefined bike size. Where is the commitment to true bike adjustability to the rider other than just a marketing slogan?
Canyon: “Each of us are very individual and we have different positions in which we can produce power”. Kú response: we fully agree with Jan, and this is why the use of a bike fitter is of utmost importance to identify these different positions without any bike involved!”
Canyon: “The uniqueness of this bike comes to show in its adjustability”. Kú response: other than the standard cockpit adjustability of the Speedmax, nothing is adjustable and the frame is not rider specific at all.
The Kú TF1 is completely build for one athlete and your body based on a Kú bike fit performed by a world class fitter in 3 simple steps.
Step 1: The Kú fitter will determine the rider position 100% athlete centric without the use of any bike in mind.
Step 2: The fitter’s prescription will balance the rider’s biomechanics, aero performance, weight distribution, bike handling skills and performance stability.
Step 3: The Kú TF1 is built to order and assembled for each individual customer.
The result of these 3 steps is a Kú rider
specific frameset providing the fit.
This approach will lead to serious athlete performance improvements, something we strongly believe is much more difficult to achieve (if at all possible) on a stock frame size.
As online business model Canyon completely dismisses the bike fitter and the importance of a bike fit.
What Canyon says in fancy marketing words “the bike should be made adaptable to you” has been actually implemented by Kú Cycle in real actions.
The original Speedmax is considered to be siginficantly slower than the Cervelo P5, so the Speedmax 2021 claims to be 9 watts faster, but that means it’s still slower or at best equal to many other bikes.
Canyon claims the Speedmax 2021 “saves 9 watts” (mind you at a speed of 45km per hour). How many people can maintain this speed for 6 hours? And even if you can maintain this speed, it still means the Speedmax 2021 will be slower than the new Cervelo P5 disc.
When you ride 45 km/hr you would ride a 180 km bike ride in just 4 hours. What Canyon does not disclose, is the position of the rider it used to measure their claim, or was it just the bare bike without rider which isn’t a great comparison.
If you look closely to the teaser pics of Frodeno (which is a superb athlete!) on the Speedmax 2021 just before it was launched, you can see Canyon has even taped the stem-to-bar cover to close that gap which is there in real life. In other words how real is the 9 watts savings?
The FAST fork of the TF1 has true innovation which is proven to lower the overall system drag (bike + rider).
In Kú Cycle’s aero test (see www.ku-cycle.com), Kú has already matched the Cervelo P5 disc but without any rider optimization…
The rider setup was tested at a large range of different speeds including “normal human speeds” to proof the TF1 is fast for you and me and not only at pro level speeds.
Our rider specific built not only means built for you, but we also made sure it is fast when the normal you and me (the mass market athlete) ride the bike are fast.
At Kú we don’t really care if the pro athlete is fast on the bike, we want YOU to be faster on the bike!
That’s why we work with Kú fitters that have superb experience in setting riders up in the correct position and as a team together, we have a huge amount of experience in aerodynamics. Canyon does not use the fitter and their expertise in the entire purchase process.
Over the next few months, we will demonstrate the Kú TF1 will actually deliver a lower CdA than the Cervelo P5 disc and therefore be comfortably faster than the Speedmax…
Mass bike production delivered through online direct channels is the road travelled by 99% of all bike manufacturers.
The choice of only a few limited colours has been decided by the product managers and marketing staff of Canyon.
At Kú we have decided for our business to provide full paint scheme choice to the customer.
Design your own bike the way you always wanted!
This is a unique feature that many of our Kú fitters and clients really like and Canyon will not offer for many years to come.
Canyon opted for the integrated bladder bag inside the frame.
We are not sure about the brown color of this rather un-hygenic hydration solution.
This not a new solution and proven in the market to get very dirty after use, unhygenic and difficult to maintain.
Canyon is clear (there is an obvious reason!) to specifically state the used preference is water and that is what’s they tested with.
The valve that go’s in and out most likely will suffer or get stuck from the use of sports drink.
Canyon is an online seller so they need to explain in advance if there are issues with using sports-drinks so they work around that by saying it is tested with water only.
Not to mention the cleaning which you need
to do with special tablets.
Triathletes and fitters have told us, that the normal bottle between the arms (BTA) is what is most practical and preferred. How are you otherwise going to accept a bottle at the aid station during a race? Reload your bladder while you are riding your bike??
Integration doesn’t have to mean hidden and difficult to access, the TF1 hydration and storage solution is an integral part of your race day aero set up; adding a ‘leading edge’ to your body while providing ample storage and the aid station convenience of a conventional round bottle.
Kú Cycle introduces in December 2020 our hydration system for the Kú TF1 which will be included in our price.
Great you get a power meter but if the crank is not your size you have a very expensive crankset to replace because you cannot change this with Canyon.
Do you want a longer more supportive armpad, sure please tick € 299,95 at Canyon.
You don’t like the Fizik saddle that comes with the Canyon, too bad, it comes with the bike.
You want a power meter or not, sure no problem.
Tell us what your fitter advised to take after
the fit and we put it on.
The TF1 accepts armpads from several brands so you can customize and optimze for much less.
We don’t set you up on uncomfortable saddle because we choose not to provide one. Test at your fitter, experience what suits you and get your saddle. No money spend on something you don’t like.
Canyon does not even mention any travel solution.
One wonders with all the cockpit and integrated hydration systems how this bike can be broken down…
To enable easy breakdown of the TF1 bike for travelling, Kú introduces the hydraulic advanced system (HAS) with a smart uncoupling and recoupling feature of the hydraulic brake lines. Rebleeding is not required.
The HAS system enabled Kú Cycle to introduce a TF1 specific travel solution for smart, easy packing and protection of your Kú TF1.
The Kú TF1 is delivered with this complementary travel solution.
This travel solution will be introduced in Q1 2021 and will be ship for free to Kú TF1 customers as soon as stock has arrived.
Canyon has cut out the local bike retailer and bike fitter of the sale, so ask yourself who is going to service your bike locally once you ride it.
Canyon’s online mass-market business model leaves you to organise your own bike service locally. So, ask your local bike shop to service your bike, the same hard-working local bike shop that was also cut out of the sales process!
An online price comes with consequences…
We work exclusively with our Kú authorised fitters who deliver the best possible service you can ask for.
This is so important to achieve your optimal athlete performance.
Do you know the CEO of Canyon and when did you send him an email and received a response?
At Kú Cycle you communicate directly with Kú Fitters and the company owners one call away and this is how we like to work, because we are in the people business not the online business.
We have stock of every spare part for our bikes, and we can ship that to any Kú fitter or customer in less 48 hours.
We challenge you to test this type of service level with Canyon (or any other major brand), we are afraid you will get quite disappointed…
Slowtwitch forum: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Canyon_Speedmax_Disc_P7301938/
Canyon Speedmax 2021 promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTt853QUTsQ
Transistorstraat 151
1322 CN Almere
The Netherlands
KvK-nummer: 74978454
VAT: NL860095629B01
Email: info@ku-cycle.com
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