Canyon is King of the Mountains (bikes) as Spectral CF 7.0 wins 2019 T3 Award

The T3 Awards 2019 is rewarding a number of bikes, and not surprisingly that includes a trophy for the Best Mountain Bike. Canyon is one of our favourite purveyors of two-wheeled delight – not that they would call themselves that, as they are German and extremely serious – and it is they who are hereby crowned King of the Mountains. The polka-dot jersey is in the post, guys…

Canyon completely redesigned the Spectral, its long-standing off-road champ, last year. Now longer and lower than ever before, the 2019 models – the number of which was also expanded – knocked us out with the new geometry, stealthy look, and 10mm more plush suspension travel at either end.

The entry-level carbon Spectral is the CF 7.0. Despite costing under £2,700 it comes with RockShox’ excellent, trail-smoothing Pike RC fork and RockShox Super Deluxe RCT rear shock as standard. Other very high quality bits o' kit onboard include the SRAM GX Eagle 1x12 gearing, powerful SRAM Guide R brakes, and burly DT Swiss M 1900 Spline wheels with triple-compound Minion DHII 2.4 tyres from Maxxis for maximum grip and traction.

Laughing in the face of even the most extreme descents, and light, agile and fast enough to smash technical uphill climbs, Canyon's Spectral range is our favourite family of mountain bikes, and the Spectral CF 7.0 is a stunning off-road bargain that is built to thrill and hard to kill.

• Buy Canyon Spectral CF 7.0 direct from Canyon.

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his.