Road clear for Canyon

Mar 4, 2024 6 min

Information about one of the most important international bicycle manufacturers

Triathlon bikes, mountain and gravel bikes, racing- and cyclocross bikes: Hardly any other bicycle manufacturer can do so many things as well as the Koblenz brand. Canyon. Founded just 21 years ago, Canyon has quickly convinced an enthusiastic, loyal and huge fan base of itself. Take a closer look at the history and greatest achievements of the inventors of the Ultimate, Grizl and Grails. Today's event: The Road is free for Canyon!

Like so many success stories, that of Canyon begins in a garage (hi, Mr. Jobs). In the middle of the modest German province, Roman Arnold grows up in the 1970s. He is a big cycling fan, and he even competes in small races and spends the 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 unavailable 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 bicycles from third-party manufacturers. They tried in the 1990s to sell bikes from their own brand, but only in 2002 did they decide to develop and produce them independently. Radsport Arnold thus becomes Canyon Bicycles. They tried in the 1990s to sell bikes from their brand, but only in 2002 did they decide.

Since then, Roman Arnold and his team have been designing top-quality bicycles - the Koblenz-based company produces up to 300 daily bikes. The brand has won numerous design and innovation awards. Currently, it has more than 200 patents pending (for example, a city bike 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 Canyon, the lightest racing bike in the world at the time, the concept bike presented in 2005, weighs just 3.76kg. A year later, Canyon is on the market. The Aeroad CF is the first bike with a customizable 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 that time, Canyon had to recall almost 8,000 of its racing bikes. Due to a manufacturer's defect, the carbon forks were at increased risk of breakage, which could have led to life-threatening falls. Since then, the brand has placed a high value on quality control: technicians use ultrasound equipment to test every safety-relevant component for stability and safety In some cases, even computer tomographs are used.

Project 3.7: The lightest road bike in the world at the time

Over 1400 employees, a company value of 800 million euros (fun fact: American basketball star Lebron James owns 4% of Canyon), around 300 bicycle models and millions of loyal fans of the brand worldwide... But there is still one finish line for Canyon to cross: A Canyon bike is to win the Tour de France, per Arnold's wish.

This victory should no longer be far away. Since 2007, Canyon has been involved in professional sports 2007, starting with sponsoring the Belgian Unibet.com team. In the Koblenz showroom now hang the triptics 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 rave about the high-performance bikes, but the Canyon's team support during competitions seems highly personal and intensive. The manufacturer calls this Pro Sport Management. - Alice Huot @ buycycle

The athletes should have to worry about nothing but their competition, for maximum peace of mind and maximum performance.

This concern comes from Roman Arnold, who has remained a cycling fan forever. The fact that the company and its Pure Cycling mission are so close to his heart is related to his history. He says that Canyon, the brand, remains a very emotional matter for him.

And the Tour de France victory or not. Canyon Bikes have become indispensable in less than 30 years from the hearts of the cycling community and arrived at the forefront of the bike industry.

Also, we at buycycle are big Canyon fans... After all, the idea for our marketplace for used bikes comes from the phase in which one of our founders wanted to buy a new Canyon racing 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, please look at our website; maybe your next dream bike will be waiting for you. If you have any questions, our team is always there for you. Until then, we wish you happy browsing and cycling (whether on a Canyon or not)!

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