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TECH NEWS

2015 WorldTour bikes: Movistar’s Canyon Aeroad CF SLX

A first look at Movistar's new Canyon Aeroad aero road bike for the 2015 race season

Canyon continues to sponsor Spanish professional cycling team Movistar for the 2015 season, a partnership which began last year. Canyon also sponsor the Katusha team, making them one of just two brands that sponsor more than one squad in the professional peloton.

It’s a partnership that has proved successful. In 2014 Movistar’s Nairo Quintana won the Giro d’Italia aboard the Canyon Ultimate, and had a special pink bike painted to mark his victory. While the Ultimate will be the main choice for the majority of stages and races, we expect to see the new Aeroad CF SLX being used a lot more than the previous version of the company’s aero bike.

The new Aeroad first broke cover at the Tour de France last year with the Katusha squad. I got to swing a leg over one of the first production models at the end of last year, and found it to provide “breathtaking speed with sweet handling.” You can read the full review here. 

Now the Movistar team are riding it, this bike was photographed at the recent Tour Down Under. The team are one of the few sponsored by Campagnolo, so it’s a full Super Record EPS groupset paired with Bora Ultra deep section carbon fibre wheels. Tyres are supplied by Continental and saddles from Fizik.

Every team uses a power meter, but gone are the days when most teams used an SRM. This year Movistar are using a Power2Max power meter, which is very similar to the SRM in that it replaces the chainset spider.

This bike was photographed with Canyon’s new one-piece aero handlebar and stem. Aerodynamics are increasingly informing the design of most bicycle components, and there has been a noticeable rise in the availability of aero bars in recent years. Along with this new Canyon bar,. Cervelo, Specialized and Vision all have new aero handlebars out at this year.

With no change of title sponsors for the team, the bikes are painted in the same blue and green colour scheme, but with a slight variation on the application of the green decals.

Photos reproduced with kind permission of Campagnolo.

View some more 2015 WorldTour bikes here.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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11 comments

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darrenleroy | 9 years ago
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I want to continue to use Campag, but the price and lack of innovation really pisses me off. I'm a snob, but even snobs have a price.

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rore replied to darrenleroy | 9 years ago
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darrenleroy wrote:

I want to continue to use Campag, but the price and lack of innovation really pisses me off. I'm a snob, but even snobs have a price.

Me too. But with this bike and Looks 795 not being able to fit the EPS groupset I might have to switch to the other side, if Shimano ever make a lever that doesn't make me want to vomit over my own stem that is (told you I was a snob  29 ).

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Nixster | 9 years ago
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I'm not sure that's right. The bike component market (or at least the mid-market) used to be much more diverse and Campag used to have a much greater market share.

IMHO Campag have not invested in innovation as much as Shimano did (using fishing reel profits maybe) and as a result have lost out in the mid-market. That's left them as a boutique brand drawing attention to their history and heritage to distract from the fact that they've been late to market with some key technology changes. Lower volumes of cheaper groupsets has also left them struggling to compete on price.
I'm sure those workers being laid off in Italy would rather they flogged more Centaur or Athena groupos than invited quite so many ex-superstars to their birthday bash.

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Jacobi | 9 years ago
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I agree with RobD's comment.

I don't like the blue and green combination. It makes a great bike very unattractive.

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ciderman_100 | 9 years ago
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its just a shame that they don't sell one with campag on it  102

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rore replied to ciderman_100 | 9 years ago
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ciderman_100 wrote:

its just a shame that they don't sell one with campag on it  102

I think it's because Campag don't do direct mount brakes. I do wonder what Movistar are using, they look a little like the Dura-Ace calipers but I can't tell from the pics, maybe someone who has them could tell.

I do wish they'd do a Campag version though, save you having to buy it all individually to build your own.

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fukawitribe replied to rore | 9 years ago
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rore wrote:
ciderman_100 wrote:

its just a shame that they don't sell one with campag on it  102

I think it's because Campag don't do direct mount brakes. I do wonder what Movistar are using, they look a little like the Dura-Ace calipers but I can't tell from the pics, maybe someone who has them could tell.

I do wish they'd do a Campag version though, save you having to buy it all individually to build your own.

They might be up for request for a sensibly priced custom build - they do Campag with a lot of their other road line, maybe a bit of Shimano/Campag mix or TRPs or something like the Hayes B1-R - might be worth an email.

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Rogue Trooper replied to fukawitribe | 9 years ago
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Campy (I guess) will never go into the (large) mainstream production for off-the-peg bikes.

Part of the Campy philosophy / heritage / culture - which I pray will not be to their demise.

I guess they are the Koenigsegg of the cycling world....

By the way - this isn't my bike...  20

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fukawitribe replied to Rogue Trooper | 9 years ago
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Rogue Trooper wrote:

Campy (I guess) will never go into the (large) mainstream production for off-the-peg bikes.

Apart from the mainstream off-the-peg bikes that already come with them I guess.

Rogue Trooper wrote:

Part of the Campy philosophy / heritage / culture - which I pray will not be to their demise.

...could be something to do with price as well maybe ? (Up front cost that is, not saying they wouldn't be cheaper in the long run)

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darrenleroy | 9 years ago
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Love that it's got Campag on it. Better to sponsor fewer teams if winning teams?

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RobD | 9 years ago
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It's green isn't it?
I do think the Movistar colour scheme would make most bikes look good.

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