Canyon Swiss Side Collaboration

Canyon and Swiss Side have left no stone unturned to create the fastest complete system triathlon bike ever. The result: The new Canyon “Speedmax” that is set to push the boundaries of what is possible in aero performance.

The Canyon “Speedmax”project is a culmination of years of aerodynamics research and development. Swiss Side, as one of the world’s leading authorities in CFD analysis with a background in F1 racing, have been working closely together with Canyon, also with a number of common pro-triathletes, to understand the ultimate recipe for the fastest tri-bike.

Thanks to the constant dialogue between engineers of Swiss Side and Canyon, aerodynamics were optimised while the bike’s great stiffness-to-weight ratio could be maintained to achieve the best overall system performance.

“We had incredibly ambitious goals for the aerodynamic development of the bike. With the expertise and the technical resources Swiss Side possess, we developed a development process together which is the “next level” in our industry. Together, we succeeded in dramatically reducing the aerodynamic drag of the frame set. Without precision CFD analysis and wind tunnel validation these results would not have been possible in the time that we had,” says Wolfgang Kohl, “Speedmax” Development Engineer with Canyon.

The new Canyon “Speedmax” embodies very much the “complete system development approach” with internally integrated hydration and storage in the bike, as well as a highly adaptable cockpit to ensure every athlete can find their ideal position and be as aerodynamic as possible.

„In the aero development, no stone was left unturned with exhaustive CFD and wind tunnel testing loops, to find the best concept to extract the maximum potential. The new “Speedmax” sets the new performance benchmark for triathlon bikes,” says Jean-Paul Ballard, CEO and Co-founder of Swiss Side.

Swiss Side are experts in optimising aerodynamics, Canyon are experts in building the best bikes – this shared knowledge as well as state-of-the-art technologies led to many small, but clever aero optimisations, saving up to nine watts (incl. rider@45km/h) in comparison to the previous “Speedmax” model in the wind tunnel.

The new Canyon “Speedmax” is the second project of Canyon and Swiss Side after the “Aeroad” earlier this year and one of the “Aerodynamics by Swiss Side” collaborations that aim at pushing the boundaries of what is possible in cycling performance.

For multiple years, Swiss Side’s aero experts have been working closely together with Canyon to develop the new “Aeroad”. One of the most resource-intensive projects Canyon has ever undertaken. The result is the fastest complete system road-bike ever.

Most of the new Canyon “Aeroad” models are equipped with the brand-new DT Swiss ARC 1100/1400 DICUT aero wheels, which have also been aerodynamically developed by Swiss Side. The new wheel collection was launched together with Swiss Side’s own HADRON² Ultimate aero wheel lineup in June 2020.

Swiss Side constantly strives to learn, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the field of cycling performance. The Canyon “Aeroad” is the first of a number of “Aerodynamics by Swiss Side” collaborations which will be unveiled in the very near future... Stay tuned. 

Patrick Lange’s 2017 Ironman World Championship ended just 101 seconds away from finishing the course in under 8 hours. Project 101 was a special project developed for Patrick’s 2018 quest for a second consecutive world championship, with the aim of making Kona’s fastest ever Ironman, even faster! This collaboration between Swiss Side, Canyon and Sauber Engineering produced a totally customised aero cockpit, perfectly sculpted to Patrick’s arm shape, contour and position. This dream team successfully designed the winning combination using the latest technologies and innovations from Formula 1, including 3D printing metal processes.