- Race bike.
- Real bike.
- What's the difference between a race horse?
- [Blake] And a workhorse?
I've been riding this bike a lot lately,
but I've always wanted to know
what it's like against a race bike.
- Well they're both hard-tails.
- [Neil] Let's find out.
(upbeat techno music)
- So the bike I'm riding today is a Canyon Exceed CF SLX.
They're top of the range cross-country race bike.
It's a carbon fiber bike, it's a premium bike.
Comes in over 4000 pounds,
and it does have some upgrades as well.
I've got some Shimano Di2 electric gears,
I've got a power meter, I've got some FSA carbon wheels.
I've got some proper race tires, some ContiCross Kings.
It's stiff, it's fast, it's super lightweight.
It only weighs 20 pounds. It's a tool for a job
and that job is winning cross country races.
- All right, it's my Nukeproof Scout Comp.
It's a 27.5 wheel. It's got a wide trail tire.
I've been called out on this.
It's a 2.6, so it's a wide trail tire.
It's an aluminum frame or an "aluminum".
I've got a dropper post on this bad boy.
It's the biggest one that Crankbrothers do.
It's 160 mil drop on that.
I've got a short stem. I've got wide bars.
It's aggressive. Got a 140 mil travel up the front.
It's an all around hack bike.
It costs 1699. Practical, it's durable,
it's affordable. It's basically a work horse.
You can abuse this thing.
(upbeat techno music) (both panting)
- [Blake] I can hear it goin' on, eh?
- So I'm definitely not a cross country racer.
However, I do like having a super premium carbon fiber bike.
Feels like we're pedaling up here
and I'm sure I'm putting in less effort than you are.
- You are one for premium, but I'll tell you what.
What yours is good at is acceleration.
And yours gets up to speed way more than mine.
- 29. Lightweight, fast rolling tires.
I'm doing a 100 mile ride next week.
- Oh yes!
- In a day.
- Yeah? Which one? What one are you taking?
- I definitely think I would much rather
do it on this bike than on yours.
I'm sure it's possible on yours, of course it is.
But...I feel like I want the easiest bike to do it on.
- Yeah, I would've gone for that being super lightweight.
Mine...super aggressive.
But I look like I'm having a bit more of a comfy ride
when it comes to a rocky section like this.
- I tell you what, there's not much to this track.
But every little rock and bump, I am feeling it
in my thin tires, carbon frame. I'm kinda stretched out.
- Yeah.
- Yours looks a bit comfier, should we say?
- Yeah, I've got 140 up front, I've got a Wide Trail tire.
It's a 2.6. I can run a bit of a low tire pressure.
- I'm feeling 100 mil up front.
- It does feel like a proper cross country bike, this.
It's a bit old school in its angles,
got a steep head angle...
- Long stem.
- Yeah.
- 90 mil stem.
She's fast, though (grunts)
- Hey! Racer--premium, premium Neil.
(driving rock music)
(horse whinnies)
- Let's go into the woods.
Where XC and dropper post don't mix.
(driving rock music)
(clatter of bikes on terrain)
- Wow, this is where this bike comes into its element.
Super aggressive, you can jump it--hoo-hoo-hoo,
head angle's really slack on it.
So you can lay off the back of a dropper post--
which is good...and keep over the back tires as well,
(grunts)
lowers the grip. This 2.6 is...
I can run over the little bit of low pressure.
It lowers the grip, and the weight of the bike as well.
Makes a lot of difference, keeps that bike
super planted on the trail.
I love it! I feel like I'm having
a bit more fun than Neil. Hey, Neil!
- It definitely feels pretty dicey on this bike in here.
Head angles steep, which is nice and agile in the slower stuff.
In the fast stuff, oh...it just feels that
a little bit more sketchy.
I'm getting rattled, the bike is stiff--
and that is not forgiving on this stuff.
29 is good, though. 2.2 tires.
I don't wanna say this bike isn't really tough,
but...definitely on jumps and rough stuff,
it feels like you really can't punish the bike too much,
'cause it would be super easy to puncture.
90 mil stem feels long.
No drop post means it's actually pretty flippin' challenging
trying to keep up with Blake. But...I have a nice challenge.
(driving rock music)
- Ho ho ho! Wow!
Hey? What did you think of that?
- Well, it's good, I know, like, my bike is expensive.
You can't argue with that. But you'd always be able
to spend loads of money on fancy, exotic mountain bikes.
What do you get for your money? You get carbon fiber,
you get a lightweight bike.
It does what it's designed to do really well--
just be super light, be super fast.
- Stiff. Yeah, exactly.
Whereas mine is like half the price of that,
but the usability of this thing is nuts.
So, a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.
But it is the master of hacking.
- Well, I say it's half price.
Some things it does much better, like going downhill.
Things like, commuting, actually use that
as a day-to-day bike.
- Yeah, and you can go to the pub,
you can just leave it outside, you can lock it up,
whereas that--I wouldn't want...
- I wouldn't feel safe - to leave that.
- And if I spend four and a bit grand,
Then I wouldn't be wearing my chain out commuting,
that sort of thing, so, swings around about.
- Yeah, I do like this, I do like that.
I've never ridden one of them.
I should have a go...so...
- It's super light.
- I feel like it's going to be quite twitchy.
(Blake laughs)
- It's a race bike, so they're always designed
to do one thing very well,
but it does kind of make them slightly niche.
- Yeah, slightly. A bit like a sports car.
- It is. Sports car, you can use it to go to the shops,
but it's not going to be as comfortable as something else.
- [Blake] Exactly, especially when it gets a bit rough.
Whereas mine is a bit like an SUV, a sports utility vehicle.
It's versatile. You can use it on anything.
- So, I'm like a race driver, you're like a soccer mum.
- A soccer dad.
- And an ass. We said ass.
- We said ass. So, yeah, and you're a stallion.
(Neil laughs)
- On that note, on the Froso video,
we see me slog myself to death for 110 kilometers
in the Italian Dolomites on this very bike.
Kick over to that button.
- Oh yeah. And if you wanna see how hard
I can push this bike and find its limits
which I think, we can still push it harder...
Click just down here.
- Thumbs up.
- And we'll see you the next video.