I have a Canyon Grail CF SLX 8.0 Di2.
I partially disassembled the bike to take on holiday, and I was reattaching the integrated handlebars/stem to the fork steerer.
The two stem bolts are rated at 7nm, and the instructions dictate you must tighten them both to half max torque first.
But, as I was tightening one bolt at 4nm with a torque wrench, it broke through the cockpit clamping insert (E436-16) and crushed the carbon fork steerer tube.
The warranty is only 2 years and guarantee (although 6 years) doesn’t apply if not the original owner.
Canyon told me I had to buy a new fork from them (proprietary steerer tube size ofc).
So 399.95€ for the fork, 10.95€ for the clamping insert.
So essentially a tiny 10 euro component brakes under normal usage and I have to fork out (pun intended) 400 euros for a new fork.
What if it happens in the future and they have no replacement forks? (something my local canyon service shop told me happens frequently)
Such a bad design. In the future I will stick to standard stems and forks.
For anyone with the same style stem. BE CAREFUL when tightening the bolts. Keep an eye on the insert to make sure it doesn’t brake.
MyMiniVelo on
Holy hell I can’t imagine a worse possible design for clamping onto a carbon tube than grub screws pushing directly into it? Why didn’t they do what every other stem manufacturer does and have the screw clamp the stem collar down evenly. Even with a compression plug it’s a terrible design as rotation is being countered at two points biting into a carbon stem, rather than allowing the stem to slip, which saves the fork.
Traditional round stem and seat post clamps all the way.
Firefighter_RN on
Mine also failed in a similar way. The insert has been back ordered in the US all summer. Still waiting on it…
roscomikotrain on
Looks like a classic over torque issue
Sharp_Pomelo_2891 on
Too high stem height maybe? Did you cut the steerer tube before? Steerer tube must go through the stem completely before it is tightened. In that setup as shown in your photo, even if you were able to fully tighten the bolts to the specified torque, stem itself would easily break the tube while you ride the bike.
UnitedCardiologist12 on
I have the same issue on a 2018 Endurace. It’s a design flaw, not due to over torquing. I would Reach out to canyon and they may cover a fork replacement with or without warranty.
nokky1234 on
Canyon wedge system is fucked. They blame the consumer and sell them a fork.
7 Comments
I have a Canyon Grail CF SLX 8.0 Di2.
I partially disassembled the bike to take on holiday, and I was reattaching the integrated handlebars/stem to the fork steerer.
The two stem bolts are rated at 7nm, and the instructions dictate you must tighten them both to half max torque first.
But, as I was tightening one bolt at 4nm with a torque wrench, it broke through the cockpit clamping insert (E436-16) and crushed the carbon fork steerer tube.
The warranty is only 2 years and guarantee (although 6 years) doesn’t apply if not the original owner.
Canyon told me I had to buy a new fork from them (proprietary steerer tube size ofc).
So 399.95€ for the fork, 10.95€ for the clamping insert.
So essentially a tiny 10 euro component brakes under normal usage and I have to fork out (pun intended) 400 euros for a new fork.
What if it happens in the future and they have no replacement forks? (something my local canyon service shop told me happens frequently)
Such a bad design. In the future I will stick to standard stems and forks.
For anyone with the same style stem. BE CAREFUL when tightening the bolts. Keep an eye on the insert to make sure it doesn’t brake.
Holy hell I can’t imagine a worse possible design for clamping onto a carbon tube than grub screws pushing directly into it? Why didn’t they do what every other stem manufacturer does and have the screw clamp the stem collar down evenly. Even with a compression plug it’s a terrible design as rotation is being countered at two points biting into a carbon stem, rather than allowing the stem to slip, which saves the fork.
Traditional round stem and seat post clamps all the way.
Mine also failed in a similar way. The insert has been back ordered in the US all summer. Still waiting on it…
Looks like a classic over torque issue
Too high stem height maybe? Did you cut the steerer tube before? Steerer tube must go through the stem completely before it is tightened. In that setup as shown in your photo, even if you were able to fully tighten the bolts to the specified torque, stem itself would easily break the tube while you ride the bike.
I have the same issue on a 2018 Endurace. It’s a design flaw, not due to over torquing. I would Reach out to canyon and they may cover a fork replacement with or without warranty.
Canyon wedge system is fucked. They blame the consumer and sell them a fork.