Canyon has created something very innovative with the Shapeshifter and for that, it’s pretty awesome. However, it seems that if they had originally adjusted some of the geometry, the Strive could be a one-quiver ride without the bells and whistles that in a way also hinder it. Definitely worth a look for a rider who doesn’t like the modern geo all that much but is looking for a do-it-all bike. The all-around nature of the Strive is present, it just feels like you need to do too much while riding to get the best out of the bike.

Compare to Similar Products

See Our Best Long Travel Mountain Bike Review 2021 Article HERE!

The magician of the bikes in this review is the Canyon Strive. Fit with Canyon’s Shapeshifter technology, the Strive can feel like two bikes in one. Similar to technologies by Cannondale and Scott bikes, the Shapeshifter is nothing brand new, but it is interesting to watch bike companies remain innovative.

The Bike

With the Canyon Strive, the Shapeshifter technology puts the bike into two modes, Uphill and Downhill. There is a gas can that controls the position of the shock mount which is what is making all of the changes in the geo and the travel while switching between modes. With the shock mount gas can, it allows for Canyon to still use a standard rear shock and not have to create a specific shock for this bike. The Shapeshifter is activated with a trigger on the handlebar. Once it has been triggered because the rider wants to go into Uphill Mode, the rider will need to “pop” up and allow the bike to snap up into Uphill Mode. In Downhill Mode once the trigger has been hit, it will only take the first bump on the downhill to drop the bike into Downhill Mode, and you can shred on your merry way.

Climbing

Downhill

With the Shapeshifter, you enter into bike number two when the bike drops back into Downhill Mode, increases its travel, and slackens its geo. The amount of travel offered by the Strive does help it to be a very capable shredder. The geo places the rider in a central and controlled position to be able to adapt to corners well and handle the bumpier rock gardens. The DPX2 shock in the rear has excellent mid-stroke support and offers a steady amount of progression so that it feels like you have more travel than what’s there.

With the more conservative numbers, the high-speed stability isn’t as all there as you would probably want from a bike like this. The flip side of that is that at lower speeds in quick-hitting turns and areas where you want to skip to a new line, the Strive is really nimble underfoot and will happily pop around.

Build Options

For the frame only, it costs a reasonable $3,000, and at the time of writing, it was on sale for $2,699. From there, there are four build options, starting with the Strive CF 7.0 at $3,699 where you can get the full build-out for under $4,000, which is pretty legit in this bike range. There are two mid-range options at $4,699 and $5,699, which offer improved components but are still quite reasonable. The cream of the crop build-out is the Strive CFR LTD, complete with SRAM’s XX1 Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain, carbon wheels, and some Code RSC brakes—all for a kind of reasonable $9,500. Again at the time of writing, the CFR LTD was on sale for $8,499, which is one of the most cost-effective bikes to get your hands on that has the wireless derailleur by SRAM.

The Bottom Line

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