Canyon's Torque CF 8.0 has been crowned Enduro Bike of the Year for 2018.
BikeRadar has teamed up with Mountain Biking UK magazine to put together one of the biggest comparative bike tests, with categories for both trail and enduro bikes.
Over 30 bikes were tested during winter, from which winners in both shorter travel trail bikes and longer travel enduro bikes were found.
Canyon's Torque CF 8.0 crowned Enduro Bike of the Year 2018
Bikes were tested extensively here in the UK, from big loops in the hills to laps of Bike Park Wales. Finally, the top five from each category were taken to the mountains behind the Italian town of San Remo for the final showdown on the rugged, rocky and steep terrain.
In the Enduro Bike category, bikes with 150mm of rear wheel travel or above and priced from £2,600–£3,350 / $2,600–$5,000 were pitted against each other.
We were looking for bikes that were confident, fast and capable on the gnarliest of trails, yet also happy pedalling back up to the top for another lap.
After all our testing, in the UK and Italy, it was decided that the Canyon Torque CF 8.0 was the best all-round enduro bike in the test.
While it doesn't have the craziest geometry, the bike's rear suspension impressed, as did the kit plugged in to the well-detailed frame.
Its low centre of mass and great tyre combo meant it was an absolute demon in the turns and hugely capable when things got rough.
Competitive competition
While the Canyon came out on top, there were plenty of others that nearly made the top spot.
- BikeRadar would like to thank Life Cycle Adventures, Sanremo Bike Resort, MET Helmets, Bluegrass Eagle Protection, Mercedes Benz and Brittany Ferries for their help and support during our Bike of the Year test.
