Canyon Roadlite AL 6 road bike

Originally I was not considering buying a road bike yet. Even though I did ride road races and for a mountain biker it is ideal to train a lot on the road, so a road bike would come in handy. Getting hold of a frame that fits me is no joke at all and I did not feel like paying for another bike with a custom frame right now, so only a used bike came into consideration. On top of that, my dream road bike should have disc brakes, and wheels at least 29" too......

A friend kept bombarding me with links to a classifieds site with various bikes, mostly cheap ones. And since that site was fairly busy, I started following it. Unlike mountain bikes, where I got my bearings quickly after coming back to the sport, on a road bike I had only ridden a few times. So my requirements were not particularly strict. Apart from the fact that size matters, so apart from a large frame and ideally also cranks (180 mm), I wanted rather Shimano 105, if possible a carbon fork and a modern headset. Then I even came across two bikes in my size that caught my interest.
Subsequently, after arranging it, I made use of a trip to a conference in Brno, where I took the opportunity to buy the bike.

The Canyon Roadlite AL 6 bike is new to me and it is like new, but in reality it is not new. It is a bike of a German brand which manufactures the frames in the east and assembles the bikes in Germany.

A photo of the Canyon Roadlite AL 6 for comparison in front of the Duratec Torein bike. For trying it out, still without clipless pedals.

Build:
• shimano 105 triple
• 3 chainrings at the front, 50-x-30 teeth
• cranks: fc 5703 175mm
• bottom bracket: sm fc 5600
• chain: cn-5600
• cassette: 10, cs 6600 12-27 teeth - ultegra
• carbon fork Canyon One One Eight CF
• wheels Mavic Aksium Race
• tyres: Continental Grand Prix 4000
• saddle: Selle Italia
• frame Canyon Roadlite F6, 64 cm
• stem: ritchey
• seatpost: ritchey
• weight ~9 kg

Compared with the Torein, which was custom-made, both the frame and the components, on the road bike there is still quite a lot to fine-tune. At the front the bike has a triple chainset, which is less common, but that does not bother me. But the biggest chainring would need more teeth, because of a bigger gear for the flats. Against that, on the cassette the biggest sprocket could also do with more teeth, for an easier gear. Longer cranks would suit me, ideally 180 mm like I have on the Torein The position of the levers on the handlebars will need adjusting a little. Maybe round handlebars would suit my grip better; the ones on there now are oddly angular. It could also do with a longer stem. Because you can tell the frame is not very long. I still cannot get used to the long throw of the shift lever for the front derailleur. I have fine-tuned the saddle position, but it is still not comfortable enough, maybe I will replace it....

I bought the road bike with road clipless pedals. But instead of them I bought MTB SPDs, Shimano 540. Because I really do not feel like hunting for another pair of shoes. Besides, you cannot walk in road shoes and I go straight shopping before/after training. I would rather invest in winter MTB shoes. Of course I promptly bought accessories for the heart rate monitor (polar cs200) for the bike, including cadence.