The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 is an entry-level trail bike. It’s designed to be a versatile ride for a newcomer into the e-MTB market, without being too aggressively laid out or challenging to get to grips with.
Canyon has pitched the range at an affordable price, to try and capture the potential huge bounty of customers who are moving into the sector. There are certainly rewards to be had, but can you guarantee quality at a low price? And does it really strike the right balance?
Only one way to find out, let’s get stuck into this Canyon Neuron review…
Our Verdict
A good entry level trail bike, which isn’t without issues, but certainly should be considered a success.
The bike feels comfortable to ride and well balanced – it also has a decent battery range, an adequate suspension for the job at hand and enough power to get up any climb. Plus, it comes at a fair price.
There are things to improve – the motor display is naff, it’s heavy and the brakes are a bit under-gunned. However, Canyon has managed to achieve what it set out to, by creating an easy to use entry-level trail bike.
Peaks:
- Price
- Battery
- Motor power
- Suspension
- Comfortable
- Tyres
Troughs:
- Weight
- Motor noise
- Motor display
- Brakes
- Drivetrain
Canyon Neuron:ON 6 Review
Price: $4,519
Weight/Frame
The Canyon Neuron ON:6 has a thick aluminium frame, with a total bike weight of 25kg. Clearly this is a heavy beast of a bike, but it’s made to be robust and feel stable out on the trail, which newcomers to the market will welcome.
The overall weight doesn’t make it the most playful ride on earth, but it isn’t designed for the gnarly trails and it would get found out if you took it there.
What you get is ease of use, with a conservative geometry, that allows this Canyon Neuron 6 to feel very comfortable on long distance moderate rides, on easygoing single tracks and on some decent climbs.
However, it isn’t cut out for harsh descending or anything too technical – it’s just too burly a bike. That said, an entry level rider isn’t expected to be going full send from the get go, so the geometry lends itself to the clientele. The bike comes in 5 frame sizes – extra small, small, medium, large and extra-large.
Battery
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 comes with a 630Wh Shimano BT-E8036 battery as standard. You can also opt for a smaller 504Wh battery for $254 less, but that battery is currently unavailable on Canyon’s website.
Canyon suggests three and a half hours of riding can be done on a full charge, but clearly this depends on many factors on our Canyon Neuron.
On our review rides we managed to push out an impressive 85km on a single charge, but that was with cautious use and we weren’t simply belting up mountains all day. You’ll find it lasting less if you’re heading up monster climbs with the assist powered on all rides, though.
The battery is secured tightly into the downtube of that sturdy aluminium frame and you can charge it up either in situ or easily clip it out.
Motor
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 is fitted with the Shimano EP8 motor, which can emit 85 Nm of torque. Given the bike’s heavy weight, you need a powerful motor to get you up the climbs and the EP8 certainly does the trick.
It delivers a punchy kick, which takes the pressure off the legs when you need it. With Shimano offering both the battery and motor on this bike, the EP8 performs better than it does on some other rides, where it appears battery-thirsty.
The pair end up having a pretty intelligent relationship, which allows you to push out the quite lengthy ride numbers we mentioned (85km in a charge). The motor comes with three modes of assist – Eco, Trail and Boost – when you move into Boost mode it can feel quite unnatural, with quite a heavy drag.
You also get a bit of noise coming from the motor sadly, which can take the edge off a ride. There’s also a walk assist function to help you push the bike up those really tricky sections.
ℹ️ For new e-MTB riders, be careful with the Boost mode – if can be very powerful and could catch you off guard. It delivers a ferocious kick and you need to be able to control the bike to mitigate that.
Motor Display
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 comes with the Shimano E7000 display. If we’re honest, it’s not great and really you leave feeling short-changed due to how limited it is.
You only get 5 lights to show how much battery life you have left, which leaves you feeling uncertain all the time. Range anxiety is a serious problem here and you don’t get many other data points to go by either.
It shows your total kilometres covered, the mode of assistance you’re in and a clock, but that’s it. It’s far inferior compared to many other displays on the market and Shimano really needs to do better.
Suspension
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 comes with 130mm travel at the front and 130mm at the rear. It comes with RockShox 35 Silver forks and RockShox Deluxe Select R rear shocks – these aren’t the plushest suspension components on the market, but they can handle some lumps and bumps.
Remember, the bike is targeted at entry level riders, so it will never have the wildest or most aggressive suspension setup out there. The bike feels assured on rolling single tracks and it can negotiate some varied terrain, but it immediately comes unstuck on anything too technical and on any challenging descents.
The moderate back-end travel means that it can climb well though and you don’t feel too spongy on the flats, either; you can comfortably push out some decent miles on an undulating course, without the bike bobbing around. It does the job in hand, but doesn’t offer any thrills.
Wheels/Tyres
The size of wheels you get on the Canyon Neuron:ON 6 depends on the size of frame you go for. On the extra small and small you get a 27.5in wheel at the front and rear, but you get 29in wheels on the medium, large and extra large frames.
The wheels are provided by Rodi with their TRYP 30s and the tyres are provided by Schwalbe with their Nobby Nic Performance compound, which are 2.6 inch wide. These give you a firm footing out on the trail and the wide base makes balancing easier, ideal for entry level riders.
The tyres also offer a very firm bite into the dirt, which builds confidence into the corners and overall they’re a good pairing.
Brakes
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 comes with Shimano MT420 brakes. These aren’t the best brakes out there and the bike is both heavy and powerful, so it’s a slight concern. You need to add quite a bit of pressure down to bring the bike to a halt at pace and we hope inexperienced riders don’t get caught out.
Drivetrain
The Canyon Neuron:ON 6 comes with a 10-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain. We would have liked to have seen a 12-speed setup, particularly when you take into account the bike’s weight. Pushing up challenging hills, without a 12-speed gear set and a heavy bike, can be a real challenge, particularly if you aren’t the fittest rider.
Price: $4,519
It's definitely knocking on the door of the entry level market and it’s from a very reputable name in the industry. Some corners are cut to keep the price down and you aren’t getting all the bells and whistles you might get on fancier bikes, but for someone just getting into e-MTBing, this is a fairly decent bike. Our Canyon Neuron 6.0 certainly isn’t perfect, though, but the price is fair all the same.
Canyon Neuron:ON 6 Review Facts & Figures
Size Configurations
| BASIC GEOMETRY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | S | M | L | XL | |
| BODY HEIGHT IN CM | ≤ 160 | 160 - 172 | 172 - 183 | 183 - 194 | ≥ 194 |
| SEAT HEIGHT IN MM | 582 - 681 | 647 - 756 | 693 - 823 | 733 - 863 | 773 - 903 |
| SEAT TUBE LENGTH IN MM | 380 | 420 | 440 | 480 | 520 |
| TOP TUBE LENGTH IN MM | 562 | 588 | 608 | 631 | 654 |
| HEAD TUBE LENGTH IN MM | 100 | 100 | 120 | 130 | 140 |
| HEAD TUBE ANGLE | 66.5° | 66.5° | 67.5° | 67.5° | 67.5° |
| SEAT TUBE ANGLE | 75° | 75° | 74.5° | 74.5° | 74.5° |
| CHAINSTAY LENGTH IN MM | 435 | 435 | 440 | 440 | 440 |
| WHEEL BASE IN MM | 1.135 | 1.165 | 1.175 | 1.199 | 1.223 |
| STACK IN MM | 584 | 607 | 625 | 634 | 644 |
| REACH IN MM | 405 | 425 | 435 | 455 | 475 |
| STAND-OVER HEIGHT IN MM | 766 | 772 | 798 | 800 | 808 |
| BOTTOM BRACKET OFFSET IN MM | 20 | 20 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
| COMPONENT GEOMETRY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | S | M | L | XL | |
| SPACER IN MM | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| STEM LENGTH IN MM | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| HANDLEBAR WIDTH IN MM | 740 | 760 | 760 | 780 | 780 |
| CRANK LENGTH IN MM | 165 | 165 | 170 | 170 | 170 |
| SEAT POST DIAMETER IN MM | 30.9 | 30.9 | 30.9 | 30.9 | 30.9 |
| DROPPER POST TRAVEL IN MM | 100 | 125 | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| SEAT POST LENGTH IN MM | 323 | 378 | 425 | 425 | 425 |
| MAXIMUM SEAT POST INSERTION DEPTH IN MM | 169 | 199 | 220 | 220 | 220 |
| MINIMUM SEAT POST INSERTION DEPTH IN MM | 70 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| WHEEL SIZE | 27.5" | 27.5" | 29" | 29" | 29" |
| DISC SIZE IN MM | 203 / 180 | 203 / 180 | 203 / 203 | 203 / 203 | 203 / 203 |
| FRONT FORK TRAVEL IN MM | 120 | 120 | 130 | 130 | 130 |
| REAR SUSPENSION TRAVEL IN MM | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 |
| BATTERY CAPACITY | 504 Wh / 504 Wh | 504 Wh / 504 Wh | 630 Wh / 504 Wh | 630 Wh / 504 Wh | 630 Wh / 504 Wh |
| FITTING LENGTH IN MM | 190X45 | 190X45 | 210X50 | 210X50 | 210X50 |
Full Specs
| FRAME | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frame | Rear Shock | Suspension Fork |
| Canyon Neuron:ON Canyon Neuron:ON aluminium frame, 130 mm rear travel. Incredible kinematics thanks to Triple Phase Suspension design. Integrated battery. Boost standard rear axle (148 mm). Post mount brakes (180 mm rotors). Axle dimension: 12×148 mm Material: Aluminium (AL) | RockShox Deluxe Select R | RockShox 35 Silver, 130mm Travel: 130 mm Fork steer tube diameter: 1 1/8″ – 1.5″ |
| DRIVETRAIN | ||
| Motor | Battery | Rear Derailleur |
| Shimano Steps EP8 Motor | Shimano BT-E8035-L Shimano BT-E8036 | Shimano Deore, 10-speed |
| Chainguard | Shift Lever | Cassette |
| Canyon Chainguide EP1001-02 | Shimano Deore, 10-speed | Shimano Deore, 10-speed (11-46) Number of sprockets: 10 |
| Crank | Chainring | Chain |
| FSA CK 752 E-MTB Number of chainrings: 1 | FSA Megatooth Chainring 104BCD | KMC Connection Link 10s KMC X10-93 10s |
| BRAKES | ||
| Disc Brake | Brake Rotor | |
| Shimano MT420 Shimano BR-MT410 Deore | Shimano SM-RT30 Center lock 203 mm Size: 203 mm Shimano RT-EM300 STEPS Size: 203 mm | |
| WHEELS | ||
| Wheel | Tyre | Thru Axle |
| Rodi TRYP 30 | Shimano MT400 Rotor mount: Center Lock Wheelsize: 29″ TRYP 30 | Shimano MT400 Rotor mount: Center Lock Wheelsize: 29″ | Schwalbe Nobby Nic Performance, 2.6 Width: 2.6″ | Canyon GP0225-01 Thru Axle 148×12 |
| COCKPIT | ||
| Stem | Handlebar | Grips |
| FSA Comet 35 Fork steer tube diameter: 1 1/8″ Clamping diameter: 35.0 mm | FSA Comet Alloy 35 Riser Width: 760 mm Rise: 25 mm | Canyon Lock-On |
| Display | Modeswitch | |
| Shimano SC-E7000 | Shimano Steps E7000 | |
| SEAT | ||
| Saddle | Seatpost | |
| Fizik Terra Alpaca X5 | Iridium Dropper Post Move more freely on steep descents, by dropping down saddle with the press of a handlebar-mounted button. With internal cabling. Clamp diameter: 30.9 mm Material: Aluminium (AL) | |
| LIGHT | ||
| Light | ||
| Reflector Set | ||
| ACCESSORIES | ||
| Battery Charger | Trekking & City Pedals | Manuals and Accessories |
| Shimano STEPS – Battery Charger | Iridium VP-536 | Canyon Small Box Wrench Tool 15mm Quickstartguide Canyon eMTB |
How Does it Compare?
A good entry level e-MTB to compare the Canyon Neuron:ON 6 to is the Cannondale Moterra Neo 5.
Both bikes have a fully aluminium frame, with the Cannondale weighing in a 1kg lighter than our Canyon.
You get a slightly smaller 504Wh battery on the Cannondale and with that 1kg weight saving, you can push out some decent numbers – we found up to around 100km, depending on assistance use.
Cannondale have chosen the Shimano DU-E7000 motor as their partner, which can kick out 75Nm of torque – this is 10Nm under the EP8 on our Canyon, but that slight power decrease could well be welcomed by an entry level rider, given the ferociousness of the EP8.
You get 140mm of travel at the front and 150mm at the rear on the Cannondale, which seems an odd choice, because it does make the bike quite spongey on the climbs and flats. The SunTour suspension is nowhere near as well-crafted as our RockShox either, so Canyon certainly leads in this department.
Cannondale opted for Shimano MT200 brakes, which are a step down from our Shimano brakes on the Canyon and Cannondale went for the same Shimano Deore drivetrain. Price-wise, the Cannondale comes in $231 more expensive than our Canyon Neuron:ON 6, at a total of $4,750.
The Cannondale is certainly underwhelming and we put a lot more faith in our Canyon – a big win here for our Canyon Neuron ON.
Final Thoughts
Is the Canyon Neuron:ON 6 a good entry trail bike? Absolutely! It has an ease of use and comfortable ride experience, which lends itself to being ridden easily by people moving into the e-MTB market.
And the price hits the mark too, offering some decent components and a decent level of versatility. It isn’t a bike made for wild terrain – it’s bulky and reserved in its geometry, which means it needs to stay in the world of moderate trails.
But that’s the market Canyon were aiming for, so really, they hit the nail on the head in that department. It isn’t perfect, though; the motor is noisy, it’s heavy and the display is poor, but it’s certainly a good Canyon e-bike.
Better saddle up and give it a go, ey!
If you enjoyed this review then make sure to check out our other Canyon e-MTB reviews:
