The all-new Canyon Grizl is a carbon gravel bike designed for adventurous riding. With similar geometry to the existing Canyon Grail, the Grizl ups tyre clearances and adds mounts for bikepacking bags and accessories.
Most notably, it features a standard drop handlebar, rather than the Grail’s unique double-decker cockpit design.
Pricing is competitive with the new Grizl starting at £2,199 / $2,099 / €1,999 for the Grizl CF SL 6 with Shimano GRX RX400 components.
The range tops out at £4,999 / $4,799 / €4,599 for the Grizl CF SLX 8 Di2 with Shimano GRX Di2. You can also read our Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1by review, which features Shimano GRX RX810 for £2,949 / $2,849 / €2,699.
While the carbon Grizl is available immediately, a more affordable aluminium model is expected to launch later this year. (Update 21/10/21: The aluminium Canyon Grizl AL has now been launched)
Canyon Grizl key features at-a-glance
- All-new carbon gravel bike; aluminium version coming later
- Mounts for luggage, accessories and dedicated mudguards/fenders
- Similar geometry to Canyon Grail
- Choice of 1× and 2× drivetrains
- Clearance for 50mm tyres, or 45mm (fitted as standard) with mudguards
- 700c wheels for sizes S to 2XL, 650b for 2XS and XS
- CF SL (mid-range) and CF SLX (premium) frameset variants
- Priced from £2,199 to £4,999
A hench Grail with no weird bars?
Although its closest relative is, if anything, Canyon's Grail gravel bike, the Grizl looks like a Canyon Endurace that spent six months at the gym getting absolutely stacked.
It’s longer overall than the Endurace, covered in mounts for bikepacking bags and sports chunky gravel tyres, but Canyon’s design language is instantly recognisable. Particularly notable is the distinctive seat cluster where the stays appear to continue either side of the seat tube, all the way to the top tube.
The standout feature of the Grizl compared to the Grail is of course its cockpit, which comprises a very normal road bike handlebar, stem and headset.
Like other Canyons, the fork steerer diameter is 1 1/4in, so regular 1 1/8in stems won’t fit. All the same, there will be far fewer headaches when it comes to fitting accessories such as bike lights and bar bags.
If you want to adjust your fit, you can change stem lengths without replacing the entire cockpit because it isn’t a one-piece design.
Key selling points of the Grizl are its clearances – it accepts 50mm tyres, or 45mm with mudguards – and its array of mounting bosses.
There are mounts for three bottle cages (two on CF SLX models – the third is lost to an internal Di2 battery mount), a top tube bag, two cargo cages on the fork, and Canyon’s own mudguards.
In keeping with the adventurous theme, Canyon will be offering a collection of frame bags designed in collaboration with Apidura.
The many shades of gravel
According to Canyon, there’s no such thing as the perfect design when choosing the best gravel bike for your riding.
Gravel riding covers a huge spectrum of styles from road bikes that can dabble on dirt, to actual cross-country mountain bikes.
While the Grail sits in the “light gravel” area, Canyon places the Grizl in the “rough gravel” category, overlapping with the tamer end of mountain biking.
Canyon says it’s discovered the joys of “underbiking”, i.e. pushing the limits of the kind of terrain you’re prepared to tackle.
Canyon Grail geometry
In geometry terms, the Grizl is very similar to the Grail, adopting the same combination of long reach, short stem and wide bar that works so well for improving control when riding off-road.
The added clearances and other tweaks have stretched the wheelbase by 8mm on a size medium.
Taking into account stems lengths, Canyon says the effective reach is identical to that of the Endurace, while the effective stack is very slightly lower for a more aggressive position, but not as racy as the Ultimate road bike.
| 2XS | XS | S | M | L | XL | 2XL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube (mm) | 432 | 462 | 492 | 522 | 552 | 582 | 612 |
| Top tube (mm) | 532 | 541 | 562 | 574 | 588 | 612 | 627 |
| Head tube (mm) | 121 | 133 | 118 | 138 | 164 | 185 | 204 |
| Head angle (degrees) | 70 | 71 | 71 | 72.25 | 72.5 | 72.75 | 72.75 |
| Seat angle (degrees) | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 | 73.5 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 420 | 420 | 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 | 435 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,007 | 1,007 | 1,036 | 1,037 | 1,050 | 1,072 | 1,086 |
| Stack (mm) | 522 | 537 | 556 | 579 | 605 | 626 | 644 |
| Reach (mm) | 377 | 382 | 397 | 402 | 409 | 427 | 436 |
| Stem length (mm) | 70 | 70 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 90 | 100 |
| Bar width (mm) | 400 | 400 | 420 | 440 | 440 | 460 | 460 |
| Crank length (mm) | 170 | 170 | 172.5 | 172.5 | 172.5 | 175 | 175 |
| Wheel size | 650b | 650b | 700c | 700c | 700c | 700c | 700c |
Will Canyon discontinue the Grail?
So, is it curtains for the Grail?
Not according to Canyon. The brand is positioning the Grizl as the more adventure-oriented platform, while the Grail is more in the realm of all-road riding with a more even on/off-road split.
Mountain bike features and the right sized wheels
According to Canyon, the Grizl CF SLX’s carbon frame weighs 950g including hardware, making it around 70g heavier than the Grail CF SLX. The Grizl CF SL is said to be around 100g heavier depending on colour scheme, and very slightly less stiff.
Notable features of the Grizl include a radically dropped driveside chainstay to create those all-important clearances, and an optional front derailleur mount – Canyon is offering both 1× and 2× builds at launch.
The seat clamp is a neat hidden design as used on previous Canyons and it’s situated 110mm below the top of the seat tube to allow additional seatpost movement.
The frame is compatible with dropper posts and the US variant of the Grizl CF SL 8 1by includes one with 80mm of travel.
Bikes will be specced with 160mm disc brake rotors as standard, but the frameset is designed to take 180mm rotors if you prefer – another indicator of the Grizl’s more mountain bike-adjacent intentions.
Canyon is emphatic that designing a frameset to accommodate both 700c and 650b wheels is inherently a compromise, and that bigger 700c wheels are faster.
As a result, the Grizl officially only takes 700c wheels except for the two smallest sizes (2XS and XS), which are specifically designed around 650b to maintain consistent geometry across the size range.
Canyon Grizl specs and prices
Canyon is offering a good mix of 1× and 2× builds from the off, with Shimano GRX gravel groupsets dominating the range and a choice of paintjobs at some spec levels.
While UK pricing doesn't look as generous as in other territories, it's very competitive with the rest of the market.
There are two key spec details worth highlighting when you’re comparing models.
While the more expensive Grizl bikes feature wheels with rims that are 24mm wide internally and, therefore, particularly well-suited to fat tyres, the CF SL 6, CF SL 7 and CF SL7 WMN get the slightly narrower DT Swiss C 1850 Spline DB 23 that measures 22mm internally.
Also, the more affordable models also get standard seatposts, rather than the clever leaf spring S15 VCLS 2.0 post on pricier builds.
At launch, Canyon is not planning to offer a frameset-only option for the Grizl.
Canyon Grizl CF SL 6
- Groupset: 10-speed GRX RX400
- Wheels: DT Swiss C 1850 Spline db 23
- Price: £2,199 / $2,099 / €1,999
Canyon Grizl CF SL 7 / Grizl CF SL 7 WMN
- Groupset: Shimano GRX RX600/RX810
- Wheels: DT Swiss C 1850 Spline db 23
- Price: £2,499 / $2,399 / €2,299
Canyon Grizl CF SL 8
- Groupset: GRX RX810 2x
- Wheels: DT Swiss G 1800 Spline db 25
- Price: £2,999 / $2,949 / €2,799
Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 1by
- Groupset: Shimano GRX RX810 1×
- Wheels: DT Swiss G 1800 Spline db 25
- Price: £2,949 / $2,849 / €2,699
Canyon Grizl CF SLX 8 Di2
- Groupset: Shimano GRX Di2 2x
- Wheels: DT Swiss GRC 1400 Spline db 42
- Price: £4,999 / $4,799 / €4,599
Canyon Grizl CF SLX 8 1by
- Groupset: Campagnolo Ekar 1×13
- Wheels: DT Swiss GRC 1400 Spline db 42
- Price: £4,899 / $4,699 / €4,499
