Canyon almost quadruples bricks and mortar stores, including sites in London and Sheffield in a bid to improve customer experience

Canyon has announced the launch of two new 'Customer Experience Locations' in the UK, a move that will finally allow Canyon customers to try before they buy in the United Kingdom.

The German brand has partnered with Mokolo in South London, and Veloroo in Sheffield, bringing hubs to the north and south of the UK for sales and servicing Canyon products.

The shops will stock a wide range of Canyon bikes and offer Canyon's apparel and accessory lines.

The rollout of Canyon Experience Locations has already begun on the continent - there are 4 already in Europe - but in 2025, it's hoping to expand this to 15, adding 9 to the European market, and 2 in the USA. The shops in the UK are both brand new, and will only stock Canyon bikes - though they will service any bike that comes through the door without brand prejudice.

“Through our new experience locations we’re bringing our direct-to-consumer model closer to riders and new customers," explains Aaron Budd, Head of Sales and Marketing for Canyon UK/IE. "As well as bike services and a curated selection of our products, our Experience Partners will offer Canyon customers bike tests and bike collection options as well as running events to build and inspire their local cycling communities.”

Canyon has long been heralded as a value brand in the cycling world, offering impressive spec sheets and frame quality for a lower price than its competitors. This is largely down to the brand's direct-to-consumer business model, which eliminates bike shops as a 'middle man' allowing it to keep margins higher.

The obvious issue, however, particularly now that bikes are becoming increasingly complicated for a home mechanic to service, is that a lack of face-to-face engagement with customers poses challenges when it comes to customer service. For example, trying before you buy and servicing have historically been somewhat tricky for Canyon bikes. The latter has been greatly helped by Canyons 'Authorised Service Partner program, which the brand says will also be expanded in 2025, but this still didn't solve the try-before-you-buy issue.

In a survey produced by Canyon, 65% of people asked said that they would like to test their new bike prior to purchase, with 53% saying that they would prefer the after-service of a bike dealer.

Though Canyon may only have a handful of physical stores open this year, this trend looks to be a big deal for the brand. It won't rival the likes of Specialized, Trek or Giant when it comes to a support network of dealers, but it will give some customers the option to test their bikes before purchase. Given the popularity of the Canyon brand, and the significant financial outlay that a new bike purchase can require, many customers will happily travel a couple of hours to find their new steed.