Canyon joins the long, slack and low hardtail crowd with the all-new Stoic – an affordable alloy trail hardtail that starts at £849 / $1,099 for the Stoic 2 and 3 (US), rising to £1,799 / $1,799 for the Stoic 4.
Built around a 140mm fork and 6061 alloy frameset, Canyon describes the Stoic as a "versatile, capable hardtail to take on anything, without it breaking the bank".
It's aimed at young riders on a budget, newcomers diving into the gnarlier end of mountain biking and seasoned shredders looking for a fun hardtail, according to Canyon.
Progressive geometry for an aggressive hardtail
Key to the Stoic is its progressive geometry. Following wider trends in the industry for mountain bike geometry, the head angle on the Stoic is raked out to a shred-friendly 65 degrees – this isn’t quite as wild as something like the Marin El Roy’s 63 degrees, but still stands apart as the most aggressive hardtail in Canyon’s range.
This slacker head angle is paired with a short 42mm offset fork on the 29in bikes (small sizes use 27.5in wheels).
As we have shown in testing, when paired with slacker head angles, a shorter offset can improve control because shorter offset forks increase the trail. This makes for more stable, heavier steering, especially in steep corners or bumpy sections, particularly with 29in wheels in steep terrain. 27.5in bikes get a standard 46mm offset fork.
Notably, 165mm cranks are specced throughout the range. Although the 45mm bottom-bracket drop is not perilously low, this will still improve ground clearance when pedalling through rocky terrain.
Reach stands at 455mm on a size medium bike. While not the very longest out there, if you’re a certified shredder and prefer a longer bike, the top tube is slung low enough that, if you’re between sizes or would like to go for a longer bike, most riders will be able to size up.
The gear and dropper post cables run internally via a port on the top of the driveside down tube. The gear cable then runs externally along the base of the chainstay. A large port at the base of the down tube should make accessing these painless. The brake hose runs fully externally beneath the top tube.
The Stoic frameset uses a custom-specced yoke that boosts tyre clearance to 2.8in with a 27.5in wheelset or 2.5in with 29in wheels.
On that note, the Stoic comes with 27.5in or 29in wheels, depending on the frame size.
Sizing runs from 2XS through to XL, with 27.5in wheels used on XXS, XS and S bikes, and 29in wheels on M, L and XL bikes.
2021 Canyon Stoic range overview
To make matters confusing, the Stoic 3 as it is sold in the US is the same bike as the Stoic 2 in the rest of the world. Canyon confirmed: “in other words, they’re the same model with different names”.
- Stoic 2 (Stoic 3 in the USA) – £849 / $1,099
- Stoic 3 (everywhere except the USA) – £1,299
- Stoic 4 – £1,799 / $1,799
We asked Canyon why the bikes are named differently across the two territories and it explained that in the USA the brand has a “different portfolio with slightly fewer bikes, so they tweak the numeric naming”.
Canyon was unable to confirm further international pricing before launch.
2021 Canyon Stoic 2 (Stoic 3) specs
The Stoic 2 (or Stoic 3 in the US) gets a Shimano Deore M6000 drivetrain, which is paired with Shimano MT200 non-series brakes, Zoom alloy finishing kit and a SR Suntour XCR3 fork.
All bikes in the range feature the same Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Trail (front) and Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail (rear) tyre combo.
- Fork: SR Suntour XCR34
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore M6000 with Prowheel charm crankset
- Brakes: Shimano MT200
- Wheels: Alex rims DP30 rims laced to Shimano MT400 hubs
- Tyres: Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Trail (front) and Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail (rear)
2021 Canyon Stoic 3 specs
Moving up to the Stoic 3 (not available in the USA), you get a SRAM SX Eagle groupset, Rockshox Recon RL fork and SRAM Level T brakes, as well as a Canyon Iridium dropper post and matching finishing kit.
- Fork: RockShox Recon RL
- Drivetrain: SRAM SX Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM Level T
- Wheels: Alex rims DP30 rims laced to Shimano MT400 hubs
- Tyres: Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Trail (front) and Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail (rear)
2021 Canyon Stoic 4 specs
Finally, the top-end Stoic 4 gets a Rockshox Pike Select RC fork, SRAM Guide T brakes and a SRAM NX Eagle groupset. The cockpit jumps up to Canyon G5-level kit and you get the same Iridium dropper as the Stoic 3.
- Fork: RockShox Pike Select RC
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle with Truvativ Descendant 6K crankset
- Brakes: SRAM Guide T
- Wheels: Alex rims DP30 rims laced to Shimano MT400 hubs
- Tyres: Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Trail (front) and Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Trail (rear)
