Who can forget the Hoverbar, Canyon’s bizarre attempt to reinvent the gravel cockpit? It definitely started a conversation, but not really the one the German outfit was hoping for, as the memes lampooning the biplane double-decker created significantly more noise than any talk about what it actually felt like to ride them, much less how the original Canyon Grail performed.
For the second-generation Grail, Canyon has opted for something a bit more traditional this time around and added a few new tricks to its bag.
With the more adventurous Grizl still in Canyon’s lineup, the Grail maintains its place as the high-performance racer — heck, it won the mud-fest that was the 2023 Unbound Gravel under Kasia Neiwiadoma before it was launched. Priced at $4,199 AUD, a shiny new Grail CF 7 has just rolled into Flow HQ.
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What’s changed for the second-generation Canyon Grail?
Available in three tiers, our test bike most budget-friendly of the bunch, with the frame made from Canyon’s CF-level carbon. Both the frame and fork are full carbon, and if we’re honest, crazy bookshelf handlebars aside, the silhouette isn’t all that different from its predecessor.
Let’s talk about those handlebars
Addressing the elephant in the room first, Canyon has sent the hover bar, and all of the proprietary mumbo jumbo that started in front of the headtube junction over the rainbow bridge. No doubt it would have been difficult to send the Hoverbar packing — especially given it did feel pretty good to ride, despite the aesthetic — we’re in two minds about what the German outfit replaced it with.
The new cockpit sees what Canyon calls its Double Drop bar, which sees a 5º backsweep at the tops and 16º of flair at the drops. However, being one piece, if you want to change to a longer stem or roll your bars, you’ll also have to purchase a bar and stem. Fortunately, Canyon has changed to a standard 1 1/8in steerer, so the world is your oyster. The unit that came attached to our size small test bike is 70x420mm. Even with the integration here, the cables run in a groove under the tops rather than through the bars, before entering the frame through the top headset bearing. This leaves us with a mixed bag of emotions.
Canyon makes aero claims about how this setup saves a handful of watts, however all of that is completely nullified when I strap on a bar bag full of Party Mix— because snacks are life.
This bar and stem combo also misses out on the gear groove, which allows for accessories like a computer mount and event aero bars to be bolted on without a fuss.
While the proprietary business is gone at the front, Canyon has opted for a D-shaped carbon seatpost at the back. Shaped to promote some compliance over rough ground, it does mean that any hope of wanging a dropper post in the Grail has gone the way of the Hoverbar. However, given the existence of the Grizl and the intended purpose of the Grail, it’s hardly a deal breaker here.
Bring snacks and all your spares
The new Grail also gets a whole host of mounting points, which were a notable omission from its predecessor. Now, there are bosses for a top tube bag, a third bottle under the downtube, and a nifty Fidlock frame bag that seamlessly integrates into the frame — which, unfortunately, is an aftermarket purchase.
The Grail is also compatible with what Canyon calls its Load Fork Sleeves. These are essentially bolt-on three-pack bosses that allow for bottle cages or something like Salsa’s Anything Cage to be mounted on the front of the bike — albeit with a 1.5k weight limit.
The SLX and CFR specs of the Grail also receive internal downtube storage. However, our lower-spec CF model misses out.
Tyre clearance is marked at 42mm which is relatively narrow for a fresh new gravel bike, with most in the class capable of taking 45 or even 50mm rubber. Canyon says it came to this figure as the brand believes that generally, this is the max tyre width people use gravel racing, and it allows for space for a 52/36T crankset for the Clydesdales pushing big gears.
Canyon Grail geometry and spec
Canyon was an early adopter of porting the longer top tube, short stem and slack headtube from mountain bikes into gravel bikes, and the dimensions of the second-generation Grail are relatively similar to its predecessor.
Seeking to maintain a 69mm trail value across the sizes to keep the handling consistent, the head angle has been slackened to 71.5º, the seat angle is a hair steeper at 73.5º, and the wheelbase grew to 1027mm. The top tube has grown significantly in a size small by 17mm and paired to a 70mm stem. It’s also worth highlighting that Canyon runs big on the drop bar side of things compared to most other brands. At 175cm tall, I am firmly a medium in most brands; however, a Grail in this size would have been WAY too big.
We have the Shimano build of the CF7, which sees the new GRX 12-speed 2x drivetrain with 46/30T chainrings and a 11-34T cassette. Unfortunately, this is the 105-level cluster that misses out on the butter-smooth Hyperglide+ ramps between the cogs. The rolling stock DT Swiss Gravel LN has a 25m internal width and is packaged in 40mm Schwalbe G-One R rubber. The G-One are one of my favourite gravel tyres, and these roll appreciably faster.
Canyon has opted to spec the new Grail with a UDH, which is fantastic as it not only means spares are readily available, but you can also run a T-Type Transmission direct mount derailleur should you choose.
All up, this build tipped our scales at 9.2kg. The ‘Quicksand’ paint job is also pretty smart if we do say so ourselves.
We’ll be putting this gravel ripper through its paces over the next few months. Stay tuned for a full review.