On Test | The new 2023 Canyon Torque:ON CF introduces new tech & bigger battery

The Canyon Torque:ON debuted in 2021 as the longest travel electric mountain bike from the German brand. Designed for bikepark shredding and self-shuttled downhill riding, the Torque:ON featured a 180mm travel fork, 175mm of rear travel and 27.5in wheels. It was only offered in alloy to begin with, and it was also limited to a relatively small 504Wh battery. That changes with the arrival of the new Torque:ON CF, which introduces a new frame design that’ll handle a whopping 900Wh battery.

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 emtb electric
The Canyon Torque:ON CF is a brand new e-MTB that features a beefy carbon frame and a mixed wheel setup.

An overview of the 2023 Canyon Torque:ON CF

As with the alloy version, the new Canyon Torque:ON CF is designed to be an electrified gravity bike. It features the same amount of travel with a 180mm fork and 175mm at the rear, though it’s now optimised around a mixed wheel setup.

The Torque:ON CF still utilises a four-bar suspension platform, but the layout has changed significantly with the low-slung shock now driven by the seatstays directly. Canyon says the kinematics are pretty similar, and are designed to work with both coil and high volume air shocks.

Thanks to the move to carbon fibre, the Torque:ON CF frame is said to weigh 1.5kg less than the alloy frame. That’s a massive difference, though Canyon also claims that the carbon frame is significantly stiffer too.

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 emtb electric
The Canyon Torque:ON CF still offers 175mm of travel via a four-bar suspension design, but the shock position has changed and is now driven by the seatstay.

Motor & battery

Part of the improved frame stiffness on the Canyon Torque:ON CF comes from the huge enclosed downtube, which is designed to accommodate a 720Wh or 900Wh battery.

First introduced on the latest Spectral:ON, these batteries are unique to Canyon and feature horizontally-stacked cells that makes the battery casing wider and shorter. The battery can be charged while mounted, or it can be removed from the base of the frame by unhooking the motor’s skid plate and undoing a couple of bolts with a 4mm hex key.

2023 canyon torque:on electric e-mtb
The massive downtube houses a 720Wh or 900Wh battery, which can be removed from the base of the frame.

Powering the Torque:ON CF is a Shimano EP8 motor that’s been clocked upwards by 30°. This allows the battery to sit closer to the BB, helping to lower the bike’s overall centre of mass.

Frame features

Because of the bigger battery and new shock position on the Canyon Torque:ON CF, there isn’t a lot of room in the front triangle for a water bottle. To address this, the engineers cooked up a custom solution that’s based around a split top tube. This pocket houses a proprietary 650ml bottle that gets strapped into the cage to keep it secure.

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 emtb electric
The Canyon Torque:ON features a custom water bottle that sits in a pocket within the split top tube.

You’ll also find tool storage underneath the top tube and seat tube junction. There’s a neat bolt-on rear fender, and Canyon includes a fork mudguard with the bike too.

As with the Spectral:ON, the Torque:ON CF has unfortunately jumped on the headset-routing bandwagon. At least the frame features fully guided internal routing to hopefully make the process of replacing a cable or a brake hose less of an ordeal.

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 emtb electric
Canyon claims the carbon frame is 1.5kg lighter than the alloy version while also being stiffer.

Canyon Torque:ON sizing & geometry

Compared to the existing alloy version, the new Canyon Torque:ON CF receives a number of welcome updates to the geometry.

It sticks with a 63.5° head angle, but the seat angle has steepened significantly from 74° to 77.5°. The reach has also increased, with a Medium frame jumping from 460mm to 475mm. That is very long, and we suspect prospective buyers will be taking a very close look at the sizing chart.

The chainstays have also gotten longer, with the rear centre coming in at 445mm for all four frame sizes.

Canyon Torque:ON CF Size Chart

Canyon Torque:ON price & specs

There will be three models in the Canyon Torque:ON CF lineup for 2023, with prices starting at $10,099 AUD for the CF 8. As always with Canyon, you’ll need to add on the price of shipping as these bikes are sold online and posted straight to your home.

Each model will be available with a 720Wh or 900Wh battery, with the bigger option adding $600 AUD on to the price. The only exception is for the Small size frame, which will only accommodate the 720Wh battery.

For those after a cheaper option, Canyon will continue to produce the alloy version of the Torque:ON. At the time of writing, pricing starts at $7,849 AUD for the Torque:ON 7.

As to how this big travel beast performs on the trail? We’ve just received our Canyon Torque:ON CF 9 test bike, so stay tuned for our in-depth review coming soon!

2023 canyon torque:on cf ltd electric e-mtb
The top-end Canyon Torque:ON CF LTD features a coil shock and a RockShox Zeb Ultimate fork.

2023 Canyon Torque:ON CF LTD

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 electric e-mtb
The Canyon Torque:ON CF 9 features Fox Factory Series suspension and a Shimano XT groupset.

2023 Canyon Torque:ON CF 9

2023 canyon torque:on cf 8 electric e-mtb
The Canyon Torque:ON CF 8 is the cheapest model in the lineup but still gets Fox suspension and a Shimano SLX groupset.

2023 Canyon Torque:ON CF 8

2023 canyon torque:on cf 9 emtb electric
We’re looking forward to seeing what this big travel beast can do – stay tuned for our Canyon Torque:ON review coming soon!

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