Canyon launches its lightest ever e-MTB, Saracen's downhill bike is a budget-friendly ripper, Mondraker reinvents its Dusty e-gravel bike, and big MTB brands drop huge Spring sales. It's been a busy week of MTB and off-road news!

The Canyon Neuron:ONfly
Canyon's new lighweight e-MTB could shake up the busy lightweight e-MTB category (Image credit: Canyon)

There is plenty of excitement to bring in what's been another hectic week in the bike world, with lots of new MTB and off-road products dropping. This week's edition has some exciting 'shock' news, with two big brands launching all-new affordable bikes – which includes this week's news highlight, the first lightweight e-MTB from Canyon.

There's been a fair bit landing in our in-boxes and we've rounded up all the newest bikes and products into one handy single article, so read on for all the must-know details and the Bike Perfect team's top picks from this week's mountain bike and off-road news...

The Canyon Neuron:ONfly being ridden down a trail

Canyon's Neuron:ONfly is light in weight but also on the wallet (Image credit: Roo Fowler / Canyon)

Canyon launched its first lightweight e-MTB and it could be set to dominate the category as the Neuron:ONfly has a very affordable price point and weighs just 19.1kg

Canyon's latest e-MTB, the Neuron:ONfly dropped this week, and was the stand-out story for the round-up. Not only because it's Canyon's first ever lightweight e-MTB, but its price point makes it significantly cheaper than most of its competition.

The Canyon Neuron:ONfly comes in four carbon-framed builds – the CF LTD, CF 9, CF 8 and CF 7. All four will be available worldwide except for the US, which only gets the CF 7 model. The competitive pricing starts at $5,499 / £4,649 / €4,849 for the CF 7 model and tops out at £7,649 / €7,900 for the CF LTD. 

Canyon claims the lightest model of the new Neuron:ONfly – the CF LTD, weighs in at 19.1kg and costs £7,649 / €7,900, and as an example of weight and pricing the similar Whyte E-Lyte 140 Works weighs less at 17.4kg, but is priced at £10,999. The Cube AMS Hybrid ONE44 weighs 17.7kg and costs £7,999.

Canyon's 'ON' electric mountain bikes are already a popular choice in the best electric mountain bike market with models like the Spectral:ON CF and the original full-powered Neuron:ON, so with an established e-MTB pedigree it looks as though the German direct-to-consumer brand's first-ever lightweight e-MTB might just be set to dominate.

Saracen Myst Team

Saracen says its new Myst is the fastest downhill bike it's ever made (Image credit: Saracen)

If you're looking to hit the uplifts this summer, then the Saracen Myst is a downhill bike packed with 10 years of race development with a budget-friendly price tag

Saracen launched an all-new Myst downhill bike which gets a brand-new aluminum frame, and a reworked suspension system. Saracen says the new Myst benefits from the brand's 10 years of downhill race development alongside the Madison Saracen Factory Race Team and makes it the fastest downhill bike it has ever made.

So does the best downhill bike it has ever made come with a whopping price tag? The answer is no. This nicely specced downhill bike comes in two complete builds and starts at just £3,599 / €4,499 for the Myst Pro and £5,499 / €6,299 for the Myst Team Edition. There is also a Frameset plus a Fox DHX2 Factory option at £2,199 / €2499. However, the bikes are currently not available in the US.

Mondraker Dusty R e-gravel bike

Mondraker adds two new models to the Dusty e-gravel bike range (Image credit: Mondraker)

Mondraker ups its game in the e-gravel market by adding two new additions to its Dusty range – a 40mm suspension model and a flat-bar urban commuter too

The original Mondraker Dusty XR was the Spanish MTB giant's first delve into the best gravel bike market. It has now launched two new versions of its Dusty e-gravel bike – the Dusty R and the Dusty X. 

The Dusty R now gets a 40mm lock-out RockShox Rudy suspension fork and an exclusive new and very attractive looking paint job in Midnight Blue, Tonic Gold and Teal Green. The rest of the build matches up with its rigid forked sibling and uses the same Mahle X20 Drive Unit and e-Gravel Stealth Air Carbon frame. The Dusty R is priced at $5,499 / £TBC.

The X version is a flat bar version of the Dusty aimed at urban commuters but also claimed to be capable on longer weekend gravel rides. Dusty X comes with integrated lights which are a bar-mounted 150-lumen headlight and a Supernova seatpost with built-in LED rear light. The rigid forked Dusty X shares the same motor and frame as the other models. Pricing for the X is $5,199 / £TBC.

Specialized Epic Pro

The Specialized Spring Sales headline act is half-price deals on the XC Epic Pro (Image credit: Specialized)

Half-price Epic Evo anyone? Specialized's massive Spring Sale drops 50% off deals across a huge range of MTB and off-road cycling gear including the brilliant Epic XC bike

The Specialized Spring Sale launched this week and is one of the biggest ever from the US bicycling brand. There are whopping discounts of up to 50 percent on off-road cycling products that include its best mountain bikes, gravel bikes and e-MTBs. 

One of the stand-out MTB discounts is on various models in the Specialized Epic Evo range, which is the brand's highly-rated World Cup XC bike. The sale ends on the 30th of April, so we'd suggest if something catches your eye, especially on bikes, don't hang around because they are bound to be snapped up quickly.

Another highlight that caught the eye was the Specialized Gambit Full-Face helmet our best overall helmet in our full-face helmet buyers guide. Check out the Specialized US and Specialized UK websites as deals differ in each territory.

Trek Fuel EX 9.9 in Yellow

Trek has got a big April sale on bikes and parts including the Trek Fuel EX 9.9 (Image credit: GuyKesTV)

Trek also has a massive Spring sale going with hefty across site price drops up to 30%

Not to be outdone on the big spring deal offers – Trek launched its own April MTB and off-road cycling sale with up to 30 percent off bikes, helmets and parts.

Trek have deals across its site and includes its ever-popular Trek Marlin – one of the best budget mountain bikes around, but unfortunately not the recently launched budget e-MTB version, the Trek Marlin+.

However, one of the stand-out e-MTB discounts is on the Trek Fuel EXe 9.9 XX1 discounted to $12,999 / £9,499.95, from the usual $13,999 / £13,500 which is a very nice deal on this carbon framed and TQ-motor-powered full-suspension e-MTB. The analog version Fuel EX 9.9 XX1 also has a sweet discount currently discounted from $10,749 / £11,800, to $9,749 / £7,994.

The Trek sale is live now and ends on the 30th of April. Check out the Trek US and Trek UK websites as deals vary depending on location.

Restrap Race Hydration vest

Restrap’s new Race Hydration Vest looks like a well-designed gravel race-ready hydration vest (Image credit: Restrap)

Restrap launched its all-new Race Hydration Vest aimed at gravel bike racers, but it looks like a good option for any cyclist looking for a lightweight hydration pack

In last week's news round-up, UK brand Restrap added the Race Top Tube Bag Short to its Race Range of bikepacking bags. This week, the bikepacking and adventure gear brand has launched its all-new Race Hydration Vest. It's designed for the best gravel bike racers to carry all the food, water and other essentials. It also looks like a pretty cool lightweight addition to any rider's kit who fancies trying out the best hydration packs instead of the humble water bottle.

Restrap’s new Race Hydration Vest design looks to tick all the boxes and has a capacity of 5.5 liters of storage, plus the included 2-liter hydration bladder. There is front chest storage and more storage on your back too, which "will be held securely by the highly adjustable retention system to customize a perfect fit."

Available now, the unisex design comes in two sizes, S/M and L/XL. The Restrap Race Hydration Vest is priced at $190 / £140 / €168.

Café du Cycliste Outlands in Scots Pine colorway

The new Café du Cycliste Outlands gravel shoe has all the same features as the original but with a more 'filth' friendly color (Image credit: Café du Cycliste)

Café du Cycliste launches another stunningly stylish gravel shoe adding to its Outlands collection with brand new colorway but they don't come cheap

Café du Cycliste revealed it's brand new 'Scots Pine' version of its gorgeous looking hiking-boot-inspired gravel shoe. The Café du Cycliste Outlands was a shoe I loved straight away, especially for looks, but was backed up with top performance too. Although the color has taken a hammering in Scottish gravel riding conditions. 

This new colorway looks like it'll cope better with filthy conditions and the new dark green shoe has all the same features as most of the best gravel shoes and its original sibling. 

Outlands has a SUPtraction custom-designed rubber tread and a carbon footbed for rigidity and maximum power transfer. The upper is made from flexible leather with laser-cut holes for ventilation surrounded by abrasion protection rubber.

The Café du Cycliste Outlands 'Scots Pine' is available now priced at $390 / £295 / €300.

The Vans x YT Industries 114 flat shoe range

The Vans x YT Industries 114s come in three color choices (Image credit: Vans x YT Industries)

YT Industries collaborates with footwear legends Vans and drops the BMX-influenced 114 flat pedal shoes

YT Industries partnered with cult street footwear giant Vans to drop an all-new MTB footwear collaboration. The Vans x YT Industries 114 shoes are influenced by the requirements of the Vans BMX team but are designed to deliver the best MTB flat shoe performance too.

Sporting a very casual look, the 114s come packed with plenty of performance features to back up the cool vibe, including the Vans Wafflecup outsole, Popcush cushioning, and Duracap underlays. These are all designed to deliver support, protection, and durability for the most demanding riders.

Available now in three color options White, Red and Black, the collection also includes a set of Vans x YT Industries 'Live Uncaged' La Costa sliders. 

The 114 shoes are priced at $99.99 / £99.90 / €99.90. The 'Live Uncaged' sliders are priced at $44.99 / £44.90 / €49.90.

Paul Brett
Staff writer

Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.

Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2