CANYON NEURON 6 - £2,249 27.5in & 29in canyon.com

NEED TO The previous Neuron got on our nerves; KNOW can its redesigned successor get us fired up?

- Danny Milner

The Canyon Neuron was launched in 2017, but its roots can be traced right back to the brand’s very beginning. It was the replacement for the full-suspension Nerve, a bike that was born in 2002, and happened to be the first Canyon model we ever tested here at mbr. That bike was the 2011 Nerve XC 5.0, and it came with an alloy frame, 26in wheels, 120mm of travel, weighed 12.9kg and cost £1,188 excluding the box and shipping.

Now there’s a new Canyon Neuron, and while the geometry bears little relation to that early Nerve, the wheels are 3in bigger in diameter, and the price and weight have both crept up, it’s still intended to be an affordable, versatile, friendly trail bike that is as approachable for beginners as it is thrilling to experienced riders. At least that’s the aim. But the last version, introduced three years ago, was (at least in my opinion) a bit of a flop.

At a time when geometry and sizing was settling down after a period of rapid evolution, Canyon chose to take an overly cautious approach. The head angle was too steep, the seat angle was too slack and the wheelbase was dinky. Which made the bike twitchy and unstable on descents, and the steering too light when climbing. It meant that the Neuron was basically out of date from the moment it hit the market.