Canyon's Roadlite: ON gives its hybrid bike range an electric kick

Canyon's Roadlite platform is said to be a performance led road bike for the casual cyclist using a flat handlebar that is ideal for anything from commutes to fast paced fitness rides.

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The hybrid Roadlite now has another three options - this time with a battery boost - to add to its already 12 strong range. The three new models are aptly named the Canyon Roadlite: On.

Canyon says that this new model is at the forefront of the e-bike revolution and uses the popular Fazua battery and motor system. Yes, a fitness bike with a motor does sound a little counter intuitive, but trust me, you still have to put the effort in.

I went for a ride with Canyon around London to see how the bike performs.

All to often, riders turn their noses up at e-bikes because of looks and the weight. But the sleek frame design paired with the Fazua motor system makes the Canyon Roadlite: On a very good looking bike – One I can quite easily see myself skipping around town on.

The bike weighs in at 15kg ,with Canyon claiming that 4.6kg of that weight is carried in the Fazua system.

That system is actually removable, which in turn can save around 3kg. This leaves you with a relatively lightweight hybrid bike to ride without assistance, although I can't see why you'd want to – it's great!

Besides, you'll need to buy the plastic cover separately, otherwise you'll have a massive air scoop on the down tube. This'll set you back around 80 Euros.

The Fazua drive system offers three levels of assistance and should be good for a few hours of constant use.

You can, of course, have the system off (or removed). 'Breeze' gives you around 125 watt hours (Wh) of support which should give you two to three hours assistance if used lightly. 'River' is 250Wh for around two hours of riding and 'Rocket' mode will give you 400Wh for a far shorter period. A full charge takes around three and a half hours.

It's the latest Evasion battery and motor from Fazua. It is half the size of a mountain bike battery but isn't half the power, offering up 60nm - only around 10nm less than you get with e-mountain bikes, according to Canyon.

Around London I found the Canyon Roadlite: On to be spritely. I was riding the lowest version on offer, the 7.0 model, which doesn't have the carbon integrated bar, but does have hydraulic brakes and 11-speed Shimano gearing.

I used the bike in the River setting (blue light).  I liked it and at no point felt that I was being lazy or not having to put in my own effort. It doesn't feel like it weighs 15kg either, making cycling a pleasure, despite the horrendous weather we had in London that day.

Canyon says it wanted to design the Roadlite: On to make the access into cycling easy. It makes clear that this bike shouldn't be complicated or difficult to ride and from the short time I spent with the bike on the launch, I'd say Canyon has achieved that.

Although, without any remote on the front I found it difficult to know or change the battery setting on the fly. However, you'll be able to purchase an out front phone mount from Canyon - if you are using the carbon integrated bar or from Topeak if you have the standard alloy bar and stem - and you can download the app to see normal ride data. Next spring Canyon hopes to have its own version of the Fazua app.

Final details include the 35mm tyres with a bit of tread to be used for light off road use. I think you could use 38s if you wanted, although Canyon does not recommend this. There's a 15mm thru-axle at the front to deal with the extra demands of weight and speed while stopping is covered by hydraulic brakes and 160mm rotors.

Canyon's new Roadlite: On will be available in three models from this week (August 15th 2019); 7.0 at £2499 with a non-carbon integrated bar, 8.0 at £3049 and the flagship model is the 9.0 at £3449, which'll have Shimano XTR components.