| Type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Koblenz, Germany |
| Key people | Roman Arnold (CEO) |
| Products | Sport cycles |
| Employees | 161 (August 2008) |
| Website | www.canyon.com |
Canyon Bicycles GmbH (abbr.: Canyon) is a German manufacturer of racing bikes, mountain bikes and triathlon bikes based in Koblenz, Germany.
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In 1985 Roman Arnold and his brother Franc Arnold (who is no longer involved with the company) founded 'Radsport Arnold' GmbH as a supplier of bike parts for cycling. It wasn't until 1996 that the first bikes with the brand name Canyon appeared. It's not unusual for cycle suppliers to have their own cycles in their ranges. Radsport Arnold, however, also adopted a direct sales strategy via the Internet.
In 2002 the company took the major step from being a supplier to becoming a cycle manufacturer and changed its name to Canyon Bicycles GmbH. With Lutz Scheffer (formerly Bergwerk and Votec) Canyon was able to secure the services of a renowned frame designer. In the next few years the firm based in Koblenz, Germany was able to capture other big names on the cycling scene such as Hans Christian Smolik, thereby enhancing their technical competence. The bikes, however, are still only available via the direct sales method.
In 2006 Canyon unveiled its new corporate design, which also received several awards in 2007 (European Design Award for Corporate Design, red dot design awards for Corporate and web design, iF Product Design Award for Corporate Design).
Radsport Arnold was involved in elite sport right from its start. As early as 1985 the Koblenz-based company had its first successful sportsman under contract with Jürgen Zäck.
In the area of road racing the company has been in cooperation with various teams for a long time. In 2007 the company first equipped the team Unibet.com, which took part in the UCI ProTour. Currently, Omega Pharma-Lotto competes on Canyon racing bikes. The biggest prize ever won on a Canyon bike went to Cadel Evans on 27 September 2009, when he won the World Professional Road Race Championship for the Silence-Lotto team. In the same year Philippe Gilbert won the Tour of Lombardy, one of the so-called Monuments of Cycling.
The brand not only supports triathletes and racing cyclists, but also mountain bikers. The first top riders contracted to Canyon were Bobby Root and Stefan Herrmann as well as the Fumic brothers in 2006. The company was thus represented by pro riders in all the facets of mountain bike sport. There are now also other riders in the team such as Robert Jauch, alias Rob-J and Tibor Simai.
The greatest win to date on Canyon mountain bikes was the victory of the German Cross Country Championship by Manuel Fumic in 2008.
Canyon also pursues an extensive youth development programme with the Canyon Young Heroes. Riders aged between 15 and 16 years old can apply to the Koblenz-based manufacturer to be accepted onto the team and if successful, receive a complete carbon fibre bike and technical support for at least one year. The mentor of the Canyon Young Heroes is the former top sprinter Erik Zabel.
Thanks to its effective public relations work at the Eurobike the firm consistently causes quite a stir on the cycling scene.
2005 Project 3.7: The lightest racing bike at that time with a total weight of 3.7 kg.
2006 Project 6.8: A racing bike with disc brakes with a weight of 6.8 kg - the lowest weight allowed by the UCI Pro Tour.
2007 Project 0.05: A triathlon bike that features very low levels of wind resistance thanks to solutions such as brakes integrated into the frame and a drink system integrated into the handlebar.
2008 Project 0.01: A racing bike with full suspension, which thanks to the high levels of comfort, relieves the pressure on the rider's muscles during maximum effort.
2009 Project S5: The first mountain bike project bike is a freeride bike weighing less than 12 kg. It is therefore ideally suited for rides in the high mountains where there are longer carrying sections and difficult descents.
In Switzerland Canyon bikes are called "Coast" since the brand name Canyon is already protected by another bicycle manufacturer there.