My experience with Canyon as a brand
For over half a year now, I am a happy owner of Canyon Endurace AL 6.0, an entry-level road bike from the German manufacturer.
This post isn’t so much about the bike and the gear itself, but about the experience with Canyon as a brand.
Lets start with the good stuff
I must begin with noting that I completely love the bike. It is beautifully designed and feels safe and reliable. Canyon bikes are well received in the product design community, which is why the design team was awarded multiple Red Dot honours this year.
Canyon is well-known for the factory-to-door (direct sales) concept. No middlemen, no concept stores, no showrooms (unless you are up for a trip to west Germany). If you are not lucky to have a friend owning a Canyon bike that could possibly test, the decision making is almost completely based on your online experience. Canyon is doing a very good job here with a clear UX, superb product photography, detailed bike and gear descriptions and most importantly, their Perfect Positioning System, which counts the ideal bike size for you.
As a customer, you must be totally in love with the brand at this point, as I was.
The weird stuff
Four days after the order confirmation, I received a newsletter email encouraging me to purchase one of Canyon’s fitness or performance bikes under 1200 €, a thing I actually did a couple of days before that. By now, I have received dozens of those emails. I know the messages are automated and not smart enough to realise I already have a bike which I am happy about, but still…
Funnily, I received the delivery tracking number 2 weeks after the bike was delivered. Let’s blame this one on the system failure.
In the meantime, I found out what the delivery status is, sorted out a failed Paypal payment, put the bike components together from a box and dismantled a front derailleur. Why would I do that? Because the chain was rubbing the derailleur on some gears. Frustrated, I watched and read hours of videos and articles on how to fix the issue, but eventually took the bike to a local bike shop.
Looking back, receiving the bike in imperfect condition was a positive experience because:
- it made me explore the chainset from every angle and helped me understand how the parts and the bike work as a whole
- it made me get in touch with someone who understands bikes and who I could talk to, which is something you would have to do sooner or later
- it was minus 20 degrees Celsius at the time of delivery, so it kept me from freezing.
Show me that you care
Putting the front derailleur and the delivery/payment issues aside, I think guys at Canyon can do a better job at communicating with the customers, especially those first-time buyers entering the road, fitness or MTB world.
What if, instead of those sales emails, you:
- send me video tips for efficient shifting, braking and cornering, to improve my skills
- a video of the unboxing/bike assembly, as an addition to the robust handbook.
- a guide how to maintain the bike in a good condition from the very beginning. This would save me so much research and worries.
- inspiring stories from the pro teams or the enthusiasts and challenges to keep me motivated (the way Rapha does). Because me being motivated = me riding more = improvement = me upgrading a bike
- ask me for a feedback on the experience with Canyon on and off the bike. You actually never did :(
- build my confidence in your brand. It actually takes some customer courage to purchase a bike without a promise of local bike shop support. Nurture the relationship remotely via online channels (or locally via events).