Canyon just launched the Grizl that is complementing the Grail in their gravel range.
The idea seems to be wider tires (45mm standard, up to 50mm), more capacity to carry luggage and Dropper Post ready!
The current models are carbon but alu is planned for release.
Any thoughts?
This is the gravel bike that most folks should use in the PNW. The “gravel” FS roads are really all better experienced on an XC MTB, or something like this bike.
Sorry, what is a PNW?
Am I the only one who hates the paint? It’s like they painted them to be dirty. Trust me…I have no issues getting my gravel bike dirty!!!
Shimano only…
doesn’t look drastically different than other gravel offerings. wish the head tube was slacker. 70-71 would be nice across the board. Then with the 435 chain stay, can look at my 1990 Rockhopper and say it’s similar enough in the key areas.
The TT and reach seems a tad long too, for the given stack, compared to other brands. But, I guess it’s similar to the Grail.
Clarifying… “if you’re choosing between the two Canyon gravel bikes”
Lots of great gravel bikes out there these days, but the pictures of the gravel roads I see from all over the country look nothing like the gravel roads I end up riding on. They’re always so dreamy smooth and have nice little rolling hills in the background. PNW gravel has big chunk rock, huge potholes, huge stutter bumps, etc. Same story in the mountains of Virginia.
My experience with AZ and UT gravel is that it’s sandy and wide tires huge for speed and control.
I laugh when I hear folks talk about running 28-34mm tires for gravel… like where are these pristine gravel roads you ride on?!
I think a lot of folks are going to be or already have purchased fancy aero gravel bikes designed for racing gravel roads that don’t exist in their area, then selling them for either gravel bikes like this new Canyon, or XC MTB.
Gravel bikes were a great gateway drug for me to get back into MTB. 
why is the 1x more expensive than the 2x??
That’s interesting. Jan Heine seems to have buttery smooth gravel roads. I hear about the MTB trails in the PNW too, but WA seems to have much more gravel than I do here in CA (fire roads and single track).
Around me in Southern Ontario the back roads are sometimes this smooth… they get graded and fresh gravel gets laid down but after a winter and snowplowing most of the stone ends up in the ditch and sometimes it’ll be years before fresh stone gets laid down. In areas of low traffic it’ll stay like this for a long time. Closer to towns there’ll be potholes and washboards. It can be a lot of work when there is fresh gravel since it’s sandy but that fills in all the holes and washboards at least. The more MTB-like gravel bikes are handy on ATV/snowmobile trails and in some other spots… and in northern Ontario there are lot of fire roads that can be fun.
the 1x gets GRX 800 levers instead of 600 on the 2x. and nicer rotors and Ultegra level chain vs 105. the 1x also gets a dropper post vs the 2x, solid unit.
My recent gravel ride…
In my pic I was on my road bike… don’t think I’d take it on the stuff in your pic!
The Cycling Tips review said that Canyon hinted to some upcoming change in spec for the Grizl 1x models in a few months, seems like maybe a new groupset. So presumably the higher price could be related to avoiding a later price hike when that happens
I have once or twice. I was really concerned I cracked my wheels. There were loud sounds that did not sound so good.
Ekar, perhaps?
So it’s basically a Trek Checkpoint? Seems like a continuation of killing Endurance (32c) bikes, moving gravel more offroad into adventure, and sliding “Race” All Road (shorter headtube; 38-40c) bikes in there. I see Canyon merging the Endurance and the Grail. CX bikes will move to a single build.
This is similar to a modern fullsize SUV (Explorer, Highlander, etc); it’s a minivan, but not a minivan. They made a bikebacking / touring bike thats not a “bike pakcing / Touring bike”. Marketing this thing with 45-50c tires without a suspension fork is kinda silly, as you’re going to fall on your face as soon as you hit a reasonable size stick or rock, so it’s not a xc/trail bike by any means. I put 50c tires on my Checkpoint sometimes, but that’s just for occasional mud, rough trail, sand, etc. I think the Grail can do 45c tires, so I don’t see what this does that the Grail can’t do.
Kinda, the CP maxes at 45mm tire width.
Something like the Salsa Warbird or Cutthroat are closer to the Grizl for tire and packing ability.
Hello fellow southern ontarian.
I’ve been thinking about gravel but can’t justify buying one due to the same reasons as MTB. Needing to drive long distances to find good lenthy routes of quality gravel. It’s good to know we have this “nice quality” in the area though…i’ll use those road on my adventure motorcycle lol
I like just getting out the door on my bike and going for a ride lol.
My experience with PNW gravel is similar but there are a lot of good fire roads to ride that are pretty fun despite the bumps and ruts. It’s the steep climbs around the Cascades that can be brutal without the right gearing. Not unusual to see sustained climbs above 15% with steeper pitches along the way, 1:1 climbing gear doesn’t always get it done.
