The Strive enters its third year with no major tweaks but it’s still a bike that almost everyone will have on their shortlist.

>>> YT Capra vs Canyon Strive – which is best?

The Canyon Strive is a bike that lots of people are interested in. Whether they’re a punter or a fearful rival brand, people want to see what the new Strive has to offer.

It goes without saying that the specs and the price tags will be impressive. They always are with Canyon. That’s their thing.

There are four carbon Strives and five aluminium Strives. The prices for the aluminium Strive start from £2,299. The prices for the carbon Strive start from £3,399. The Strive CF will also be available as a frame-only for £2,649.

Yep, all very impressive. Just wait until you see the specs. More spec details later (scroll down if you can’t wait!)

2017 Canyon Strive geometry

Less price-lead people, with more of an eye on bike handling, will want to know if the Strive still has that relatively steep head angle.

The answer is yes. Although listed as 66° on paper we’ve always measured it as 67° on the actual bikes themselves.

But if it really is 66° this time, it’s not exactly pioneering or progressive geometry. It’s pretty standard down-the-line fare. Which is fair enough really. The Strive always was best played as a fast trail bike rather than a mini-DH-alike enduro sled. The move to a one degree slacker head angle is most welcome.

Having said that, we don’t live in a bubble. We’re aware that things like offset bushings and angleset headsets exist. Geometry can be tweaked relatively easily and affordably.

>>> Read the full review of the YT Industries Capra Al Comp 1

The Shapeshifter on-the-fly geometry adjustment is still there but in our experience it’s not something that even the most fervent Canyon-heads are that bothered about. But if you’re a constant pedal-whacker on climbs then it can be useful for raising the BB a bit on climbs.

On the sizing front it’s great to see an XS size for shorter and/or female riders. And there’s also now an XL size. Which is principally of interest to folk who like to ‘size up’ their bike choice (running an XL frame instead of a L to get a longer reach).

Spec-wise, a great move is that all Strive models now feature wider rims. And all M, L and XL bikes come with RockShox Reverb Stealth posts with 150mm of drop.

The majority of the Strive models feature 1x drivetrains. All except a couple of lower end aluminium Strives, which are 2x.

2017 Canyon Strive CF 9.0 Race Team

Fork: RockShox Lyrik RCT3, 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle
Brakes: SRAM Guide Ultimate
Wheels: Mavic Deemax Pro
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £4,899

2017 Canyon Strive CF 9.0 Race

Fork: FOX Factory 36 FLOAT RC2, 170 mm
Rear shock: FOX Factory FLOAT X EVOL
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle
Brakes: SRAM Guide RSC
Wheels: DT Swiss EX 1501 SPLINE ONE
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £4,499

2017 Canyon Strive CF 8.0 Race

Fork: FOX Performance 36 FLOAT, 170 mm
Rear shock: FOX Performance FLOAT X EVOL
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle
Brakes: SRAM Guide RS
Wheels: E*thirteen TRS+
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £3,999

2017 Canyon Strive CF 7.0 Race

Fork: RockShox Lyrik RC, 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Drivetrain: SRAM GX 1×11
Brakes: SRAM Guide RS
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1650
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £3,399

2017 Canyon Strive AL 6.0 Race

Fork: RockShox Lyrik RCT3 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle
Brakes: SRAM Guide RS
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1650
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £3,299

2017 Canyon Strive AL 6.0

Fork: FOX Performance 36 FLOAT, 170 mm
Rear shock: FOX Performance FLOAT X EVOL
Drivetrain: Shimano Deore XT 2×11
Brakes: Shimano Deore XT
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1650
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £2,949

2017 Canyon Strive AL 5.0 Race

Fork: RockShox Lyrik RC, 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Drivetrain: SRAM GX
Brakes: SRAM Guide R
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1650
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £2,649

2017 Canyon Strive AL 5.0

Fork: RockShox PIKE RC, 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3
Drivetrain: SRAM GX
Brakes: Shimano BR-M506
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1900
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £2,499

2017 Canyon Strive AL 4.0 Race

Fork: RockShox Yari, 160 mm
Rear shock: RockShox Monarch Plus R DebonAir
Drivetrain: SRAM GX 1×11
Brakes: SRAM Guide R
Wheels: DT Swiss E 1900
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth 150 mm
Price: £2,299