Price: $4899, (starts at $2299)
Weight: 18.1lbs.; 830 grams frame only (claimed)
Style: Gravel
Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra Di2
Frame Material: Carbon
Tire clearance: 42 mm
Wheel size: 650b for XS and 2XS. 700c for all other sizes.
Canyon's wild-looking Grail is a totally new bike, one which the brand says fills a gap in its skinny-tire family tree. On the strictly-paved side of things it has the race-oriented Ultimate, Aeroad, and Speedmax, with the moderately-less aggressive Endurace catering to endurance riders. On the off-road side, it has the racy, cyclocross-specific Inflite, but until now there has been no ideal option for the growing population of endurance gravel riders and adventurers.
Canyon Grail Family
The Grail is available in six different models, and as a frame set. All models are available in sizes from 2XS to 2XL. The SLX 8.0 Disc (tested) is the top-of-the-line version, with slightly less expensive versions available sans carbon wheels ($3,599), or an even cheaper version without both Di2 or carbon wheels ($2,899). The CF SL 7.0 version is available with Shimano 105 shifting and aluminum wheels. It also comes in two women’s versions: the WMN SL 8.0 ($2,899) and WMN SL 7.0 ($2,299), which both have identical frames as the CF SLX Disc 8.0 Di2. The former of which come with 11-speed Shimano Ultegra mechanical shifting, and the latter of the two models comes with 11-speed Shimano 105. Both are outfitted with women’s saddles, aluminum wheels, and are only available in sizes 2XS to M.
More From Bicycling
The Grail is the company’s answer to this open space; a bike designed for long days of both road and gravel, and even light singletrack if that’s where your legs take you. Designed around comfort and stability on the dirt, it’s also as light and efficient a bike as you could ask for on the road, with a carbon frame and aero tube shaping.
Key Features
At the increasingly-rowdy adventure bike party, the Grail is making one hell of an entrance with its double-take-worthy cockpit. Dubbed the “hover bar,” it’s designed to flex when you’re riding on the tops, and feel secure when you’re descending in the drops.
How does it work? The bottom rung interfaces with the headset, leaving the upper rung without the traditional support of the stem. This (along with the tapered design) allows the middle of the bar to flex up to seven times more than a traditional bar, according to Canyon.
The drops, on the other hand, gain the support of both rungs, adding stiffness and precision when descending (plus, you can hook your thumbs on the lower rung for a locked-in grip). Canyon says the hover bar only adds 120 grams to the weight of the bike, compared to a standard bar. Other cockpit suspension systems, like Specialized’s Future Shock, can add up to 400 grams.
This bar design doesn’t comply with standard stack and reach measurement points, so Canyon utilized a proprietary system it calls “Stack Reach Plus” to compare the Grail to other bikes in its line. Using the center of the top rung of the bar as reference point, the Grail has a stack of 660mm and a reach of 457mm. That means it falls about 10mm shorter than the Endurace, and about 23mm taller than the Aeroad. On a medium bike the stem, which is integrated into the lower rung, is 75mm, and the width of the bars is 44cm, with a subtle 7.5 degree flare to the drops.
The Hover Bar setup comes at its highest setting, but spacers below the bottom rung allow you to lower it if you wish. As of now it is not possible to swap the Hover Bar for a standard one, but my take is that if you’re buying a bike like this, you’re hopefully doing it because you like the cockpit.
Component Highlights
Once you’ve picked your jaw off the floor, you’ll find that the Grail packs a whole lot of other features besides the space station on the front. Canyon partnered with Topeak, for example, to tailor a set of bike packs specifically to fit with the Grail frame, along with transparent stickers to protect it from rubbing over long miles. It has fender mounts and reinforcements on the chainstay to protect it from any chain slap.
The brand’s VCLS 2.0 (vertical compliance, lateral stiffness) seatpost functions like a leaf spring to absorb feedback from the ground, and on the Grail the seat clamp has been lowered in the seat tube, lengthening the effective post for an even smoother ride.
The Grail also has a longer wheelbase (40mm longer than the Endurace) for added stability, along with clearance for up to 42mm tires. It comes with Schwalbe's super-versatile G-One tires in a 40mm width, set up tubeless on DT Swiss C 1800 rims, which have a generous internal width of 22mm. The bike comes in seven sizes from 2XS to 2XL—the smallest two sizes come with 650b wheels, which the brand says helps preserve handling characteristics. Two women's-specific bikes are offered, with identical frames but different colors and saddles.
As of now the Grail only comes with road drivetrains (starting with Shimano 105 and going to Di2 Ultegra). All levels of the bike come with disc brakes.
Ride Impressions
Climbing, the Grail feels lively and limitless. I started the ride with tired legs, but soon found myself taking little detours and adding long and totally unnecessary climbs, just to see the view. It’s a bike that makes you want to get just a little bit lost.
The Hover Bar absorbed my silliest dirt road shenanigans, without any sensations of play or inconsistency. The flex on the tops was just enough to smooth the ride without dulling the handling, and the added thumb lock in the drops made riding there feel as stable and responsive as the tops on a standard cockpit.
The position of the bottom rung in relation to the curve of the drops was a little high for my thumbs, which began to feel a little tweaky on long descents. But a lower, more horizontal elbow position alleviated the feeling.
With its light weight, comfortable ride, and deft handling, this bike is well-suited to big events like Dirty Kanza and Grinduro—but you’ll be just as happy on it finding your own adventures close to home.
