Today Canyon is unveiling a brand new component called K.I.S. Standing for ‘Keep It Stable’, the K.I.S system is a unique device that aims to stabilise your bike’s steering by adding a counter-force to wheel flop. It’s claimed to be lightweight, maintenance-free, and adjustable, while helping to lessen rider fatigue by reducing front wheel deflection and improving high-speed stability. The K.I.S system will be available from today on a limited edition Spectral, but Canyon is so jazzed about this tech, that we expect we’ll be seeing it on more bikes in the near future.
What is K.I.S?
The K.I.S system is a mechanical steering stabiliser. It anchors inside the frame’s top tube and utilises stainless steel springs and high-stretch polymer cord that connect to a specially designed cam that clamps onto the fork steerer.
At rest, the springs hold the front wheel in a centre position. As you turn the handlebar left or right, the springs begin to stretch, and a counter-force is applied, which helps to bring the front wheel back to the centre position.
The system is adjustable via the top tube slider with a 4mm hex key, allowing you to increase or decrease the counter force. There is also a steering limiter that’s built in to the system to prevent over-rotation of the bars and potential damage to the internal components.
According to Canyon the entire system weighs just 110g, and it’s claimed to be maintenance-free.
What does it achieve?
The concept behind the K.I.S system is all about controlling wheel flop, with the aim of making your bike’s steering more neutral.
The goal isn’t dissimilar to the single springs you sometimes see on kids bikes and touring bikes, which connect the back of the fork crown to the downtube. The difference with the K.I.S system is that the force doesn’t build exponentially the further you turn the bars. This is achieved by the dual spring system and the cam that attaches to the fork steerer, which modifies the torque curve.
Canyon says that when you first turn the bars, the initial spring force ramps up quite quickly. From there however, the force grows in a steady and linear fashion, providing your hands with a consistent and predictable platform to push into.
With this steering counter-force, Canyon claims the K.I.S system helps to improve your bike’s high-speed stability and reduce front wheel deflection. Picture an ugly rock garden, a steep chute filled with slippery roots, or a dusty blown-out corner dotted with loose sniper rocks. As your front tyre bounces between impacts, sudden changes in traction can pull it off-line. The K.I.S system adds a counter-force in those scenarios, with the aim of steading your bike’s steering.
Canyon also says the K.I.S system offers advantages on steep climbs too, as it reduces the amount of front wheel wander.
Where did this thing come from?
While we have seen steering stabilisers in the mountain bike market before (the Hopey steering damper and the Cane Creek Viscoset being two notable examples), the K.I.S system still feels like it has come out of nowhere.
The design of the K.I.S steering stabiliser was actually invented by Jo Klieber of Syntace and Liteville. At the end of 2021, Klieber presented it to Canyon with the aim of licensing the technology to a fellow German company.
Moritz Ströer, the Gravity Senior Engineer at Canyon, began testing prototypes soon after. Moritz was so impressed with the results that he committed to bringing it to production, ensuring that Canyon would be the first brand outside of Liteville to bring the concept to market.
While the K.I.S system isn’t widely complicated, it still needs to be durable, lightweight and as foolproof as possible. It also requires some specific frame fixtures. There needs to be a hole in the top tube for the adjustable slider and main anchor to sit, and there needs to be two other holes in the head tube to access the cam’s clamping bolt and the steering block. For this reason it’s not something you’ll be able to buy separately and fit to any bike. The frame has to be built for it.
With this in mind, the fact that Canyon was able to put this component into production in under a year is, quite frankly, staggering. Of course, it is a new ‘feature’ for the brand to be able to sell to consumers, but it also says a lot as to how much Moritz and his team believe in the technology to have brought it to market so quickly.
What bikes will K.I.S come on?
The K.I.S system will initially be available in a limited edition version of the Canyon Spectral CF 8. Liteville will also be launching a new e-MTB at the same time with a similar system.
Canyon has a 12-month exclusive on the technology, though after that expires, any other brand will be able to license it from Syntace.
When we spoke with Moritz, he noted that a trail bike like the Spectral was the ideal platform to make the most of the system’s benefits, which is why they chose to launch with it first. However, he also indicated that they’ve been testing prototypes across a wide range of disciplines, from road and gravel, through to XC, DH and e-MTB.
Having experienced the dreaded ‘death wobble’ on bikes with curly handlebars, we can see the benefits of implementing a steering stabiliser on bikes in the road and gravel segments. We also understand that Canyon’s enduro and DH athletes are currently testing the K.I.S system in the off-season, so perhaps we’ll see it being used in competition next year.
There will likely be some packaging issues with bikes that utilise headset cable routing, and e-MTBs that already incorporate a control module in the top tube. But we expect there’ll be a lot more prototyping and testing going on in the background, as Canyon seeks to expand its K.I.S offering in the future.
How much does it cost, and when will it be available?
The Canyon Spectral CF 8 K.I.S is the first model to feature the K.I.S system, and it’ll be available as of today alongside the rest of the Spectral lineup.
The complete bike will sell for $7,399 AUD (plus shipping). That’s a $700 premium over the regular CF 8 model, which is a significant up-charge. We expect a lot of that is due to the R&D that has gone into the K.I.S system, as well as the specific tooling required for the frame to accommodate the module. To help justify the cost, the Spectral CF 8 K.I.S will also come with a purpose-built top tube bag, a minitool, and a special edition reflective paint job.
Being a limited edition model, there are just 120 of these bikes available worldwide. Canyon states that it will have more K.I.S-equipped bikes becoming available next year.
Flow’s Take
We are absolutely fascinated by the Canyon K.I.S system. Its claimed advantages are bold, and we’re eager to see how its unique steering dynamics play out on the trail. We’re also impressed at the speed that Canyon has brought this concept to market, which says a lot about its confidence in the design.
To put K.I.S to the test, we’ve got a Canyon Spectral CF 8 K.I.S test bike arriving any day now, and we’ll be spending some quality time on our home trails to see whether it genuinely lives up to the hype. Is it as revolutionary as Canyon is claiming? Stay tuned for our thoughts coming soon!