This Cannon Spectral E-Bike Is Perfect for Weekend Warriors

This do-everything e-mountain bike is an exceptional ride that makes it easy to get out on the trails.

May 13, 2024 - 21:05

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This Cannon Spectral E-Bike Is Perfect for Weekend Warriors

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Against all good sense, my old ass has been getting into mountain biking over the last few months. It’s a fun hobby, but I find the part of mountain biking where you ride up the mountain to be less fun. Miserable, even.

It's not just hard on my body. Being confronted with how out-of-shape I am is hard on my soul. So I'm grateful for my personal deliverance: Canyon's Spectral:ON CF 7. This all-carbon electric mountain bike takes the misery out of the sport, leaving riders free to enjoy themselves and/or fear for their lives, even if they aren't in peak condition.

The CF 7 isn't really a beginner's bike, though, so to get fuller perspective on it, I asked O.G. mountain biker and mountain bike instructor Colin Wedel to put the CF 7 through a more punishing set of paces. More details below, but overall, both the beginner and the ringer were impressed.

Overview of the Canyon CF 7 e-Mountain Bike

ON CF 7

Credit: Stephen Johnson

On the mountain bike continuum. On one end, there are cross-country bikes designed to be pedaled uphill. On the other, there are "that's what ski-lifts are for" downhill bikes. The CF 7 is right in the middle, a trail bike that aims for a "does anything" sweet spot in terms of geometry, suspension, weight, and flexibility—it's designed to get you both up and down hills with (relative) ease.

Instead of getting granular about how smoothly the gears change or how well the brakes perform, I'll just say this: The CF 7 features high quality components and was built by a company that's been making mountain bikes since the 1990s. It's a $4,000 bike—far from the priciest on the market, but a "serious" ride anyway, and everything about it lives up to the level of performance you'd expect at that price.

How the Spectral:ON CF 7 rides: An experienced perspective

Collin Wedel

Credit: Stephen Johnson

Collin Wedel is a mountain bike instructor who has been riding both analog and e-mountain bikes all over the west coast for decades. He took the Canyon CF 7 out for an afternoon ride in the mountains over Simi Valley recently, and reported back. "When you first look at it, you're like, 'Man, this looks like a bulky bike,'" he said. "But when you get on it, it feels super agile, super nimble, very playful. It feels so much lighter than it actually is."

"On the trail, it just comes alive," Wedel added, "It feels great on the fast flowy, and it corners phenomenally. Man, it just, it just ate up the corners. You can really sit and press into them, especially banked corners. It really settles in super nicely. I even hit a big jump, a 20-footer, and it just sent it perfect."

As for more technical sections of the trail, Wedel noted: "On the chattery bits, there's a little bit too much vibration in my hands. I don't know if that's because I'm a little over sprung in the shocks, especially in the fork, so I could probably adjust that with some fine tuning from air pressure standpoint."

How the CF 7 rides: A beginner's perspective

ON CF 7

Credit: Stephen Johnson

I was happy with this bike's ability to drag me up a hill, but that's basically what I expect from the "e" part of any e-bike. The surprising thing was how much fun I had going down.

The CF 7 seems like a behemoth compared to the lighter mountain bike I've been riding. Even though it's all fiber, it still weighs over 50 pounds (mostly battery). I expected that a bike this heavy would feel unwieldy or hard-to-control on the downs. But the first time I hit the button that drops the CF 7's saddle, stood up on the pedals, crossed myself, and went down, those fears disappeared. It feels like something clicks into place, and you're in in a stable, in-control position, where the heft of the bike disappears. You realize, "oh, it was designed for this," and relax into the ride. Don't get me wrong: It's still terrifying, but less so on this bike.

Are you a beginner? I know $4,000 is a lot for a bike, but if you can manage it, it's an excellent ride to learn on. This is only the second mountain bike I've ridden for any length of time, and the difference between my decent, but nothing special hard-tail and this one is night and day, mainly in terms of how safe it feels. The CF 7's 160mm of travel in the front fork and the 150mm in the rear suspension is not only great for burly warriors landing big jumps, it's forgiving if you're like me, white knuckling it over rocks and obstacles and praying you don't break your neck. Getting down a trail in one piece is much easier if your suspension can eat your mistakes.

The bike is responsive in turns and holds traction well too, even if your technique is lacking. Like most beginners, I tend to ride the brakes too hard on downhills. While I didn't take it down any black diamond runs, the traction and control I felt on the drops on the gravel or fire-roads I frequent was excellent.

The "electric" part of this electric mountain bike

ON CF 7

Credit: Stephen Johnson

I may not have a ton of mountain bike experience, but I've ridden a ton of electric bikes, and the CF 7's Shimano EP8 motor is excellent. The mid-drive, torque-based assistance delivers 400% pedal assist so smoothly it doesn't feel like a motor is helping you as much as it feels like your legs have suddenly become super-strong.

In keeping with the "it's a mountain bike" vibe, the full-color screen is unobtrusive, small, and "just the facts." It tells you how fast you're going, what your level of pedal assist is, and how much battery you have left. There's also anti-theft GPS tracking built in, and your bike can be paired with Canyon's app,

The battery is removable, but embedded in the downtube to keep the weight balanced and the center of gravity on-point. This is a minor gripe, but I found removing it to be complicated and fiddly. I did it exactly once, then charged it without removing it. I'm lazy like that.

There's no throttle—this isn't a ride for touring around town—but the bike's five assist levels mean you can sprinkle in as much or as little help as you want, from "just a little extra" eco-mode to "haul my fat ass up this mountain for me" turbo mode. How long the battery will last depends on how you use it of course, but it provides enough power that your legs are likely to tire out before the battery does.

Overall: A fun bike for any

Collin says the ideal rider of this bike is the "weekend warrior," someone who's not a pro, but still wants the performance of a high-end bike. I aspire to weekend warrior status, but I also think it's a great bike for people starting out. With a high quality ride, the learning curve is less tortuous, especially since you don't have to pedal up hills.