Canyon's Neuron is a very popular mountain bike for a very good reason. Bike Perfect's technical editor, Guy Kesteven, gave the latest version a full five stars in his Neuron 6 review and said, "the new Neuron 6 adds an addictive level of all-round pop, play and easy speed to create an outstandingly enjoyable all-rounder."
In Canyon's Cyber Weekend sale, we spotted that the more wallet-friendly Neuron 5 is currently reduced from $2,099 to $1,899 in the US, and from £1,849 to £1,649 in the UK. While these reductions obviously make the excellent Neuron better value than ever, I reckon there's a better value bike designed for the same all-round trail performance as the Canyon bike and that's the Vitus Mythique 29 VRS.
This very similarly specced and intentioned bike is currently available with 25% off in the US and a massive 37% price reduction in the UK. That means the US Mythique price is reduced from $1,999.99 to $1,499.99, while in the UK, it's reduced from £1,899.99 to £1,199.99. The Vitus Mythique range of bikes is already excellent value for money at full price, but with these savings factored in, even in our budget full-sus MTB deal feature, you won't find any other models that offer as much bike for your cash.
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Deals checked: 10:12, Wednesday November 29th
Canyon's Neuron 5 vs Vitus Mythique 29 VRS
Comparing the components on both bikes like-for-like, the spec is very similar. Suspension-wise, it's a RockShox pairing of a 140mm Recon Silver RL and Deluxe Select+ shock on the Neuron, while the Mythique gets a slightly beefier RockShox 35 Silver TK 140mm fork and Deluxe Select R shock. The forks on both bikes are Boost width – as are the rear dropouts on the frames that also both sport a UDH rear hanger.
As for the gears, the Neuron is Shimano mix of 12-speed Deore M5100 and SLX, with a Miranda Delta crank. The Mythique has one gear less at 11-speed and is also Shimano Deore M5100 but with a Race Face Ride crank. The brakes on both bikes are two-piston Shimano MT410 with 180mm rotors front and rear.
Both bikes run 29-inch wheels with the same 30mm internal rim width, but the Canyon bike runs in-house Iridium branded wheels, while the Vitus rolls on WTB ST i30 TCS 2.0 rims with Vitus hubs. A slightly bigger point of difference is the tire choices as the Neuron gets a 2.4in width Schwalbe combo of a Nobby Nic up front and a Wicked Will on the rear. The Mythique runs Maxxis High Roller II's on both wheels with EXO casing sidewalls and a 2.3in width. Arguably, the Schwalbe pair is better for speed, while the High Roller II gives a more assured grip.
As for the geometry, again, both bikes are on more or less the same page. Though the longer 455mm reach (on a size medium) on the Mythique will give a roomier feel than the Neuron with its 430mm (size medium). The head tube angle on the Vitus bike is 0.5 of a degree slacker than the Canyon's 66 degrees which will help boost descending confidence. A 76-degree seat tube angle on the Neuron should give it marginally better climbing prowess than the Vitus bike's 75.5 degrees though.
Could the weights give us a real point of difference? Well, it's probably the biggest one yet as the medium sized version of the Canyon Neuron weighs in at 15.1kg (33.3lbs) and the Vitus Mythique 29 VRS comes in 0.5kg heavier at 15.6kg (34.4lbs).
So there you have it, the only really significant difference is the current price. In the US, buying the Mythique 29 VRS over the Neuron 5 will save you $400, while in the UK the Vitus bike is £530 cheaper than the Canyon.
If MTB and off-road cycling is your thing, you might like to also consider our Cyber Monday mountain bike deals and Cyber Monday e-MTB deals articles for the best offers we've found so far. We've also curated the best Cyber Monday mountain bike lights and Cyber Monday kid's MTB deals for you.
