Tech of the Month March: Canyon's seat post and handlebar malfunctions plus one gorgeous Racer Rosa
News about Canyon's handlebar and seat post issues, while we take a look into the world of open mould frames and a beautiful custom Racer Rosa build.
The big news this month, unfortunately, centres around issues Canyon has been having with elements of its finishing kit.
Canyon’s finishing kit problems
The 2021 Canyon Aeroad has a seat post which has been engineered to allow a little bit more flex in order to increase comfort. However, there have been complaints from some customers that this flexing has caused significant gauges in the carbon seat posts and left the bike unrideable. For more detail on this story, you can check out our full article here.
Shortly after this news broke, so did Mathieu van der Poel’s handlebars at the one day race, Le Samyn. Canyon issued a stop ride order for all bikes with these handlebars – due to the high levels of integration, a different set of handlebars couldn’t simply be fitted.
Although this meant most pro cyclists had to switch bikes for their upcoming races, Canyon was able to modify Mathieu van der Poel’s frame to accept a different handlebar ahead of Strade Biacnhi – which the Dutch rider went on to win.
Open moulds
It might surprise you to learn that there aren’t many bike brands which have total control over the construction of their bikes. Factor and Giant are very much in the minority in owning their own factories – most brands will design a frame and then pass it on to a manufacturer to do the messy work of making the bikes.
In other cases, the factory develops its own bike designs – open moulds – which poorer bike brands that can’t afford to design their own frames can then commission a certain number of and sell under their badge.
Although you can as a customer purchase these open mould frames from the factories direct – and gain a significant saving – you don’t have the assurance of quality control that you would do if purchasing the same frame from a recognised brand.
For more details on the bike design process, we’ve got an in-depth article on everything from open moulds to in-house manufacturing.
Racer Rosa SC21
Custom made from Dedacciai Aegis scandium tubing, this frame is designed to fit tech writer Simon Smythe like a glove. At the joins on the inside of the main triangle, there are deep inserts designed to increase the stiffness of the frame.
In English, we call these gussets, but in Italian they go by the far more elegant term fazzoletti, meaning handkerchiefs – drawing on the image of how it looks when one’s tucked into a breast pocket.
As you might expect, it’s a full Italian build, with a Campagnolo Chorus groupset, Bora wheels and Vittoria Corsa tyres to name a few highlights. In this build, the price comes to £5,570, while frame only is £1,950 – which for a fully custom geometry and such quality tubing is actually quite incredible value.
Simon's full review hasn't yet landed, so keep an eye out for when it does.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
Since then, he’s earnt his 2ⁿᵈ cat racing licence in his first season racing as a third, completed the South Downs Double in under 20 hours and Everested in under 12.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
Height: 177cm
Weight: 67–69kg
-
USA Cycling unveils 2025 National Championship schedule with 17 chances to claim the Stars and Stripes jersey
From cycling eSports in February to cyclocross in December, here are the dates and locations for the 2025 season
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Tech of the week: A shockingly expensive steel bike from Colnago, a surprisingly affordable carbon bike from Pinarello, DT Swiss energises our cycling lives and Pog's bars are now yours to buy
Colnago's Steelnova is a thing of beauty but you'll pay for the pleasure, while Pinarello's F1 is an inexpensive gateway to the brand. DT Swiss enters the dynamo hub market and Enve brings Pog's cockpit to market
By Luke Friend Published