First impressions of the new Canyon Torque 175mm gravity bike

James Bracey

The Torque has been let off the leash

The Canyon Torque is back with a bang for 2018. No longer the downhill rig, the Torque has been given free rein to now become a more versatile gravity bike.

Canyon Torque need to know

  • 175mm rear wheel travel, designed around 180mm suspension fork
  • Suspension kinematics shared with the Sender and new Spectral
  • 27.5″ wheel size. All but the top CF 9.0 Pro running 2.4″ Maxxis tyres
  • Shares the same cable channel/sleeve system as the Spectral
  • Available in aluminium or carbon/aluminium models
  • Seven models in total, starting with the AL 5.0 for £1899
  • Aluminium frames available in Extra Small – Extra Large, carbon frames S-XL

Not content with releasing the long awaited re-imagining of their trail conquering Spectral, Canyon announced the resurrection of the popular Torque gravity machine.

With the arrival of the Sender, Canyon’s latest downhill rig, the Torque name was killed off with the outgoing downhiller. but now it’s back and with kind of a different purpose.

Just like the Spectral, the new Torque shares the same three-phase suspension kinematic as the Sender. But whereas the Spectral shrinks it down to a trail friendly 140mm, the Torque keeps it’s boots firmly in gravity territory with 175mm of rear wheel travel. Rather than create a DH ‘lite’ bike though, it now comes with a 180mm single-crown fork and more ‘usable’ geometry, expanding its repertoire of riding terrain from the bike park through to big mountain all-day adventures.

Canyon Torque

The Torque’s new suspension design borrows heavily from the Sender.

Here’s what canyon had to say about the new beast, “Our new suspension configuration offers up big advancements over the kinematics of the previous Torque. Not only does it improve the stroke of the shock, it has allowed us to increase standover height and use a larger 150 mm (170 mm on L and XL carbon frames) dropper post for significant gains in rider mobility. Improved anti-squat means that the bike pedals well, but it also causes increased pedal kickback. We struck a balance between the two that actively increases the rider’s momentum without causing instability or fatigue over fast repetitive hits. Effective anti-rise means the rear end remains active and in contact with the ground under heavy braking for exceptional traction and control through corners and down steep, gnarly trails.”

canyon torque

That’s a rear end that means business.

The Torque will be available in both aluminium and carbon/aluminium framed options, depending on your budget. Whatever you choose Canyon has tested the Torque to its highest safety standards and now puts it alongside the Sender. This is good news for anyone looking for a bike capable of becoming a practical privateer DH weapon.

The stiffened up linkage helps to provide the 175mm of rear wheel travel.

Canyon bolster the Sender range with two new aluminium models

First impressions

MBR managed to grab an extremely wet ride on the Torque at the recent launch in Madeira. The challenging conditions might have been enough to make you concentrate more on staying upright than really thinking about the bike, but the Torque certainly displayed some very capable characteristics.

Like the best of long travel bikes the Torque was capable of swallowing up hefty rock gardens and poor line choices with ease, providing a smooth and stable chassis that inspired enough confidence in this rider to be able to attack savage lines with something feeling like ease.

The seat mast area shares a common shape with the new Spectral and Sender frames.

The Sender inspired design provides relatively conservative geometry for a bike designed as a bike park bruiser, but in a way this works out quite well for the Torque as it makes it into something a little more usable. It climbs well for having 175mm of travel, even on tight and twisty singletrack ups it pedals more like a trail bike. Combine this with much less pedal-induced bob than one would normally expect with such a supple suspension feel and the Torque almost feels like a bike you could own as your day to day machine.

Here comes the science.

Highlights of the range

Canyon Torque AL 5.0

Canyon Torque AL 5.0

Canyon Torque AL 5.0: Rockshox Yari RC Solo Air fork, Rockshox Super Deluxe shock, SRAM NX groupset, SRAM Guide RE brakes, DT Swiss E1850 wheelset, Race Face finishing kit. £1899

 Canyon Torque WMN AL 6.0

Canyon Torque 6.0 WMN: Rockshox Lyric RC fork, Rockshox Super Deluxe RCT shock, SRAM GX 11s groupset, DT Swiss E1850 wheelset, Race Face finishing kit. £2349

Canyon Torque CF 9.0 Pro

The top end Canyon Torque CF 9.0 Pro: Fox 36 Factory fork, Fox Factory Float X2 shock, SRAM XO1 Eagle groupset, Mavic Deemax Pro wheelset, Canyon G5 finishing kit. £4499

Head over to the Canyon site for more information. The Torque is available to order from today with delivery expected sometime in January.