Canyon and Fabio Wibmer rewrite the rules: meet the Stitched CFR Trial

Redefine what’s possible. Change the game. Those were the goals when we sat down with Fabio Wibmer at the start of 2020 to discuss creating a next-generation trials machine. The Austrian was already a viral sensation who had already put some of the most mind-blowing edits online. But he wanted a bike that could keep up with his vision. The Canyon Stitched CFR Trial is the result – a collaboration that has left Fabio with a street trials bike unlike anything ever seen before, and the wider community with a new addition to the Stitched stable. Oh, and did we mention that it was carbon fibre?

Things started with an aluminium test mule – the star of Fabio’s lockdown-inspired Home Office edit – but that was always a tool to learn from. Our R&D team’s expertise in carbon engineering meant that the end goal was always to look beyond metal for the final frame and fork. But it would need to be unlike any carbon fibre we had used before – light and stiff, yet bombproof enough to take the impacts, crashes and bails common to street trials. Enter a top-secret material, usually reserved for the aerospace industry, which was engineered into the layup to create Canyon’s HIT (High Impact Technology) Composite. Extensively tested and proven to be over 30% more durable than its aluminium competitors, there should be no question that the Stitched CFR Trial can take the hits.

As well as making it super strong, HIT Composite has enabled us to increase the stiffness-to-weight ratio, improving the bike’s responsiveness. This leaves riders with a machine that they can jump higher, session for longer and nail those tricks more easily on. The feel is still familiar though. The Stitched Trial sticks to a tried and tested geometry, so riders will be at home from their first bunny hop.

The Stitched Trial is only available in one size and one spec – Fabio’s. That means Continental Air King tyres, Magura MT7 brakes and a full SQ Lab cockpit and finishing kit from Fabio’s signature series. The artwork, too, has his influence, and is finished in the Fabio edition ‘Shockwaves’ artwork which has already broken cover on his Torque Mullet CF model.

As part of our flagship CFR line up, we didn’t do things by half measures. For our first street trials bike, we wanted to truly raise the bar and produce something never seen before. The Stitched CFR Trial is that creation. Looking like something out of a concept showcase but designed to be thrashed, we are confident that it will leave Fabio and the rest of street trials community with a bike that can take their riding to the next level. This is an evolution of trials.

The Stitched Trial is available from the 14th of April.