The previous Canyon Grail made a hell of a splash in the gravel scene with its frankly bonkers-looking hoverbar. Whether it worked as intended or not it got the people talking, and it did make it into our list of the best gravel bikes, but for the latest iteration of its gravel race bike (alongside the Grizl, a more adventure-oriented machine) Canyon has returned to a relatively normal cockpit.
We’ve already seen this new Grail in action as far back as Unbound, under Peter Stetina, and most recently under Kasia Niewiadoma when she won the UCI Gravel World Championship. Under the radar perhaps, but it’s also been ridden to victory already at Unbound 100 and 200, two national championships, and a whole host of other big-ticket gravel races by Canyon-sponsored athletes.
There’s a fair bit to unpack, not least the redesigned front end, so let’s dive into what’s changed, what’s new, and how much you can expect to fork out if you want to throw your leg over one.
No more Hoverbar
Let’s start with the cockpit, as the demise of the Hoverbar, truly a Marmite piece of innovation, is what most people are going to notice straight out of the gate. Given as the Grail has become even more race-focused, with the introduction of a CFR tier (more on that later), it seems that having two bars is too much for aerodynamicists for any performance gains that the additional comfort may have offered.
The New Grail instead is kitted out with the CP0039 Double Drop Bar, with a downward sloping aspect away from the stem. The CP0039 features what Canyon call the ‘Gear Groove’, a central channel in the bars chat that can be blanked out if you do not want to fit any accessories, but can also be fitted with a computer mount, an out-front computer mount, or a very interesting looking set of adjustable aero bar extensions. Yes, Unbound has banned aero bars, but that doesn’t stop them from being useful in other races or FKT attempts. The main support of the extensions also features a place to pop your computer, and some snack storage too.
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Storage solutions, bells, and whistles
Yes, the Grizl is more of an adventure bike, and the Grail is the race model, but for races like Unbound XL, or for mortals who just want more snacks, the desire for storage is there in the market, even for racy bikes. The new Grail comes with a…
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