German direct-sales bike brand Canyon have finally started selling bikes in America. The first bikes were apparently ordered on Tuesday.

To misquote a famous American, this date will no doubt go down in infamy amongst Stateside LBS owners.

Will Canyon have as big a success in the United States as they have in Europe? Will they cause the Usual Suspect big bike brands to adapt? It’ll be interesting to see how things get shaken up, or not.

Canyon statement:

CARLSBAD, CA 16.8.2017 – Canyon, one of the world’s most innovative bicycle companies, has officially launched sales to consumers in the United States. Award-winning, German-engineered road, mountain, triathlon and commuter bikes are now available directly from www.canyon.com with delivery to all 50 states. The first orders were processed yesterday and riders will receive their new bicycles within a matter of days.

“Thirty years ago I started Canyon, selling parts from a trailer I brought to local races,” said CEO and Founder Roman Arnold. “Launching sales in the United States marks another great milestone for all of us in the Canyon family, from our design team to our engineers to our top professional riders, as we begin a new chapter of sharing our passion for cycling.”

“The past few months have obviously been very intense integrating personnel, an ERP system, a CRM system and web software,” said Blair Clark, President of Canyon USA. “However, our team’s aptitude and can-do attitude is amazing. The employees are passionate about creating an emotional connection between our customers and our bikes. Our team demands the best results from one another and along the way wants to build the best bike company. Often when I’m out riding my Canyon, I get the same two questions: ‘When can I buy one?’ Or, ‘Where can I test one here?’ It’s incredibly rewarding now to be able to say, ‘Go to our website – you can order one of these legendary bikes today and you have 30 days to try it out for yourself.’

Canyon USA is based in Carlsbad, California with a logistics facility in nearby Chino. Canyon has always been at the forefront of engineering, design and setting the highest quality standards in the industry. The Canyon R & D Department is currently made up of some 50 engineers, designers, product managers and quality controllers. Strength in these areas really sets Canyon apart as a brand, with innovation and expertise as the top priorities in all processes, from research, to design, to production, to delivery. Canyon also rely on the world’s top professionals in every discipline as integral parts of the R & D process. Teams and athletes include CANYON // SRAM Racing, Movistar Team with Giro and Vuelta Winner Nairo Quintana, Team Katusha-Alpecin with ITT World Champion Tony Martin, Ironman Triathlon World Champion Jan Frodeno.

Watch: Canyon Strive vs YT Capra head-to-head review

Howdy America

For any Americans who may be reading this and wondering just where to start with Canyon’s rather large range of bikes, here are all the Canyon mountain bikes we’ve reviewed recently.

You may also want to check out our Complete guide to buying a bike online.

Buying a bike online is not without its pitfalls and potential dramas – it can be really hard to commit to laying out four figure sums on a bike you’ve not seen in the flesh – the but savings are undeniable. And let’s be frank, this retail model is not going to go away.

Happy browsing!