In 1985 Roman Arnold and his brother Franc Arnold founded 'Radsport Arnold' GmbH as a supplier of bike parts for cycling. It wasn't until 1996 that the first bikes with the brand name Canyon appeared. Radsport Arnold adopted a direct sales strategy via the Internet. In 2001 the company took the step from being a supplier to becoming a cycle manufacturer and changed its name to Canyon Bicycles GmbH. With Lutz Scheffer Canyon was able to secure the services of a frame designer. In the next few years the firm based in Koblenz, Germany was able to hire Hans Christian Smolik along with other bicycle construction experts. In 2006 Canyon unveiled its new corporate design, which also received several awards in 2007.
Involvement in cycle and triathlon sport
Radsport Arnold was involved in elite sport right from its start. In 1985 the Koblenz-based company had its first successful sportsman under contract in Jürgen Zäck. In the area of road racing the company has been in cooperation with various teams. In 2007 the company first equipped the team Unibet.com, which took part in the UCI ProTour. Currently, Katusha and Movistar compete on Canyon racing bikes. The largest prize ever won on a Canyon bike went to Nairo Quintana, who won the 2014 Giro d'Italia, riding an Ultimate CF SLX frame for the road stages and a Speedmax CF for the time trials. Other achievements on Canyon bikes include Cadel Evans' 2009 World Professional Road Race Championship for the Silence-Lotto team, Alexander Kristoff's two stage wins in the 2014 Tour de France and Jan Frodeno´s wins at the Ironman European Championship 2015 in Frankfurt and at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii 2015. In August 2015 it was announced that Canyon would sponsor a new top-level women's team from 2016, led by former directeurs sportifs Ronny Lauke and Beth Duryea. In December 2016 it was announced that they would co-sponsor the British UCI Continental-status team, which would make its debut in 2017.
Project bikes
2004 Project 3.7: The lightest racing bike at that time with a total weight of 3.7 kg. 2006 Project 6.8: A racing bike with disc brakes with a weight of 6.8 kg - the lowest weight allowed by the UCI Pro Tour. 2007 Project 0.05: A triathlon bike that features very low levels of wind resistance thanks to solutions such as brakes integrated into the frame and a drink system integrated into the handlebar. 2008 Project 0.01: A racing bike with full suspension, which thanks to the high levels of comfort, relieves the pressure on the rider's muscles during maximum effort. 2009 Project S5: The first mountain bike project bike was a freeride bike weighing less than 12 kg. It was intended for rides in the high mountains where there are longer carrying sections and difficult descents.
Other branding
In Switzerland, Canyon bikes are called "Pure Cycling" since the brand name Canyon is already protected by another bicycle manufacturer there.
Controversies
After standardizing company-wide IT infrastructure to suit projections that began in November 2015, Canyon expanded production facilities to end the year. During the subsequent transitional phases of improvement, Canyon's reputation suffered by reductions in customer service. Associated obstacles were encountered during internal expansions that were coupled to external supply chain deficiencies, regarding spare parts. Reported discontent essentially reflected concerns that the company grew more interested in selling their products than providing adequate customer service. To address concerns, Canyon's founder and CEO released a service GAU in February 2016. An official apology was offered within, which addressed customer criticisms. The disclosure also properly informed the public of the contributing circumstances and outlined corrective actions. The firm then thanked customers for their loyalty and continued patience.
