Canyon Grizl Review | Rugged Gravel Bike, No Double-Decker Weirdness 

Impressive pronunciation of Schwalbe! Greetings from Germany.

Thanks for posting this video. I agree with some of the points but there are issues to be considered. Here is my 500 mile review of the Canyon Grizl CF SL8. I’ll post this also on other videos about this bike. Positives: • The bike is responsive, essentially like a road bike. • The bike is light and climbs well even with the quite heavy wheel/45mm tire combo (DT Swiss/ Maxxis Rambler). • The tires roll well and give decent traction in gravel • The flex seat post provides some additional comfort, but there are some downsides to it (below). Negatives: • There is overlap of the front wheel and my shoes which can be disconcerting in a U-turn or in more technical trails. My shoe size is 45 and the bike has a large (L) frame. This should not happen. I have ridden and owned numerous bikes, and this is the only time this has ever occurred. Why not increase the distance between the bottom bracket and the wheel just a bit? • The geometry is essentially that of a race bike as evidenced by the specs and it feels that way. I would have preferred a slightly more raked fork (may also help with the shoe/wheel overlap) and longer trail for stability. • The spring mechanism of the seat post can be a pain. To adjust the seat angle, one has to take the seat post out, loosen a screw at the bottom of the seat post that holds the two leaves together and then slide the leaves against each other by a millimeter or two at the time, then tighten the screw, put the seat post back on the bike and try it out. Repeat this procedure until it fits. I think the flex design is overly complicated for what it achieves and can cause problems (see below). • The color looks nice at first, but a bright tone and matt finish makes every smudge and fingerprint visible. It is a bit of a pain to clean. • I have the version with two chain rings and am not a fan of the gearing. The way it is set up, at around 10 mph is the speed at which one needs to switch between chain rings to avoid crossing the chain too much and avoid rubbing. This is a speed often traveled on inclines or more technical sections. In hindsight I should have opted for the 1by. • There is a lot of lateral flex in the frame and the bottom bracket is quite narrow. Even when just pedaling hard, one notices some flex. I am 63 years old and not very strong. Not sure how the frame fares under a stronger rider. Quality issues: There were quite a few and more than I ever experienced on any bike. The new-bike joy was squashed almost instantly with quality problems. • On my first ride the rear brakes were dragging. Not really Canyon’s fault I thought, because during shipment things might get out of whack. I aligned the brakes and the dragging stopped, but they made a screeching noise to wake the dead (friends called it choking geese), which was not only aggravating but also embarrassing every time when coming to a stop. I cleaned and lightly sanded the pads, and cleaned rotors, which did not really help much. It took over 200 miles until the noise finally abated and the pads were bedded. • At about 150 miles or so, a crackling sound emerged from the frame. I feared that the frame might have a crack somewhere. It took me a while to figure out that the noise came from the seat post and saddle and projected through the frame. I re-tightened all the fasteners to exact torque specifications but to no avail. I then realized that the saddle was just loose. I could rattle it with two fingers up and down and sideways. The two hinges that hold the seat clamps in place were not of the same width, preventing the screws from getting the hinges snugly attached to the seat post. It took me a while to find some properly sized nylon washers that I could insert. That fixed that problem. • Another problem followed soon. On every downstroke of the right pedal there were some clicking noises but only when the chain was on the small chain ring and when pressing hard, like on a steep climb. Friends with whom I was riding noticed this too. It sounded like the bottom bracket. Again, it took me a while to figure out what was wrong. It turned out that noise came from the two chain rings which are attached to each other with Torx screws. Once I tightened all of them the noise went away. • Some of the internal cables rattled when riding over uneven terrain. I had to adjust the cables to correct that problem. Also, the rubber grommets that guide the cables into the frame were not placed properly in the factory. Lots of little signs of poor assembly. Summary: In the end after solving all the above problems, the bike rides well. But I am not sure I would buy it again. In hindsight I should have taken advantage of their 30 day return policy. But that period had elapsed when some of the problems occurred. Curious what the experience of other riders is.

7:40 Yeah! Now you got the right pronunciation of Schwalbe! Congrats

Holey Grail. Best joke I've heard this month

I’m a detail snob and I would say not a single detail was missed. Nice work!

Thank you for the in-depth review. I've been lusting for one of the 2x ones since they were announced in the US a few months ago. Out of shape mtb'er and roadie trying to get back into it. Putting miles on fire roads used to be my thing.

Matthew Loveridge, The best presenter in the bike world. Thank you very much again for your excellent review.

First time I’ve heard of bike pricing numbers being lower in USD than GBP. Is that an effect of the Brexit?

Hench AF SL 8.0, I want that name to be official 😁

There needs to be an option to get the leaf spring seat post on the lower spec models. It’s really the most important thing on the higher trim

When did 3 grand become so little money, bike manufacturers are absolutely laughing at us

Brilliant review. So thorough and professional. Give this man a promotion! :)

that paint scheme wont age well

Call me crazy, I was originally looking at the grizl but ended up with the grail - I just love the weird look of the thing, every other bike looks ancient next to it.

Total downers: 1) Classification 1 only. That's not what it's intended for in my mind. 2) 120kg max systemweight is weird, as the wheels take 130kg and have classification 2. Makes no sense to me. Bike Radar, speak up about that

Love the fact that canyon decided to ditch the double decker. Bike looks nice, groupset is groupset. What am worried about is the seat post endurance. After the aero bike handlebars and seat post problems, am reluctant to trust this manufacturer. Moreover, many in my cycling circle have suffered from cracks in the frame. Canyon was responsive I. Replacing those...I think that canyon owes us an explanation as clients

Is that the Boy Scout riding apparel?

Looks great. Love my outlandish grail though!

We hope you enjoyed the premiere! What do you think about Canyon's new Grizl gravel bike? Let the gravel bike discussion begin!

All those braze-ons are...boss 🤣

Next time try to dress the presenter in clothes in his size, looks ridicoulous 😅😬

Thanks bikeradar! Looks like I found my gravel bike!! (When it is finally available to order) :)

You are honest with the Grail and I have the same opinion as you: the cockpit of the Grail is probably a dealbreaker. Canyon should have done this one first…

OMG that kit looks like you were out for hunting but decided to go for a bike ride because hunting season is next month WAHAHAHAHAHAH

Great review! How does it ride on the road with road tyres?

Why is he wearing his dad's clothes?

Cool review. Can you add bookmarks to the videos? E.g. ride quality, components etc. :)

Skipping this one... No need for carbon gravel bike... Alu frame with Tiagra\GRX400 is good enough.

This bike can be a good endurance bike as well. Wow a bike to rule it all?

The worst part about this bike is it's name. This bike checks every box for me. That name though...

Those clothes are hilarious 🤣

That's a really nice bike

Big shout out to Freewheel...for making me look like a snowboarder 😬

I got the Grizl CF SL around 3 months ago. I was planning to use it for commuting, until after 3 weeks of use I had a minor crash with another bicycle and the frame broke. I contacted Canyon and asked about the Crash Replacement Program. Basically, Canyon offered me a new frame (fork not included) for US$ 1,600 + Tax. For now, I will store the bike and continue commuting in my old Trek mtb. If you are planning to do some adventure riding or commute, consider getting an aluminum frame, as it will be more reliable.

Bike category one!? They market it for offroad but then spec it for road? According to Canyon you wouldn't even be allowed to bunnyhop with this!

I know this is an sponsored review but between this one and the Grail which o e is better to be more time on tarmac? I would love to see a comparison between the 3T Exploro, Pinarello Grevil and maybe Cervelo Aspero (with comparable setup). Thanks.

I'll buy it for the tagline that you coined … "GRIZL. The holey GRAIL." But puns aside, I love what they did here! Especially the top of the line model. Ekar + DT Swiss 1400 Spline + Canyon S14 VCLS 2.0 CF Seatpost for €4500? Bargain! If I didn't have a lot of bikes already, this would be the next I buy! Also, by the time I'm able to test ride it the delivery dates will have slipped to the launch date of the Enterprise NCC 1701-E. 🙄

Already ordered mine

Dropper posts belong on whatever bike you want them on. If I have something steep and technical to descend on my gravel bike (yes it happens), I damn sure want my dropper post available.

Calling it now. They decided to use the same shitty design for the seat post clamp as the new aeroad. Knucklehead reviewer glossed over the problems that’s cause. Seat posts will be ground down at the insertion point in 2-3 months. Probably worse than the aeroad b/c it’s ridden in dirty conditions. Way to reinvent a new “solution” for something that wasn’t broken.

This is a very good review, the small minute details within which are needed when a genuine consumer is in need of specific information to make the correct choice, this is covered in this video

20 minutes comprehensive presentation/ test of a gravel bike? Oh yeah!

I will not buy the spike simply because it has a one and a quarter inch steer tube. Absolutely stupid. Why?

Great review on the only gravel bike i would consider buying right now. Thanks for the perfect review of a great bike. Having said that, as a 30 year mountain biker, seeing this off road position makes me want to swallow something lethal. I just cannot imagine trying to single track swiftly and gracefully while 60%of my weight was hunched over the front wheel, and my wrists were rotated outward 90 degrees, and i was asking my triceps to take 100%of the force of the front wheel AND try and steer. Ive ridden off road on a road bike before, and drop bars do NOT work well on rough terrain. They just really don't come close to comparing to the wide flat position of flat bars...you know, the one you automatically take when doing a push up. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1X-atbNA-sw.html If Canyon sold this bike with flat bar controls, id already be riding one with a Walmer 600mm bar....and the controls on the edges of the flats...., like my old Scott AT2-LF bullhorns on my old first gen Trek Y SL 22. (First generation of carbon full suspension mt bikes.) Thanks again for the flawless review!

how tall are you if you riding the medium website says i should get small at 5ft 9 cheers

Was pretty disappointed by it -- too reachy and short for long days. Returned it

How to buy this bike: Go on holiday to Europe via the Eurostar. Buy the bike there saving 100's of pounds. Bring the bike back with you. Profit.

Love Canyons, not so keen on their new colour schemes

Bummer, no balcony handle bar for the Grizzl! There I always have 2 flower pots installed with fresh herbs for a nice jambon & fromage baguette on a gravel trip break. Canyon is speccing down their top bikes... bummer! :D))))

Due to my height I would need an XL size and I noticed that the XL comes with a 46cm wide handlebar. That seems very wide compared to the 44cm at most bars I've seen listed on other company's gravel bikes. Do they measure the width of the widest drop bar section? Thinking of getting this bike but would be a bummer if I need to swap out the bar for a more narrow one.

I have to wait till autumn before I cam get a canyon aeroad...wondering if anything from canyon doesn't come with a three month lead time right now

Love it, especially the pink colour way. I do agree with you that Canyon may have inadvertently killed of the grail.

Just bought a Focus Atlas farrk!!

available? 2023? 😜

too many ads

A bargain price

What is your height and inseam please.

Internal cord! Please!

Sounds identical to what specialized already did with the diverge... long reach, slacker headtube, shorter stem, although specialized also adjusted the trail a bit to keep steering lively

So in the UK we pay on average 46% more for the same bike compared to the US. At current exchange rate

This looks right up my street and more available than the Giant Revolt Advanced 1. Any ideas if this would do the job for summer road ring as well with another set of wheels. I’m not speedster but ride off of an ave of bout 18-19 on an aluminium Cube before selling it last year.

What is “American style riding?” If I may ask.

Love the review spot on for myself! Love the bikes, colours and specs etc etc. I definitely looks like it'll handle the gnarliest pot hole in the U.K If I had a Siberian husky......? I'll definitely take the grail! It has a more stable cockpit. GO-RIDE 😘😍❤️

Great review!!!

Lol: 'mountain bike adjacent'. I prefer 'road bike asymptotic'.😉 Great detailed review. Keep it coming. SEND IT👍👍👍👍👍🤘🤘👍🤘👍

Is there a way to get this specific build (1x and no dropper post) in the U.S.?

The Grizl CF SL 8 1By reviewed in this video costs $4,299 USD now... a $1,400 price increase?! WTF...

Balls! I just bought a Grail days ago

Isn't that seatpost clamp a variation on the problematic one used on their aero bike? I wonder if it will cause problems.

Why don't you review the budget AL models instead of the top of the range carbon models

Would this bike also be good for endurance road riding with a different wheelset? How different would this(in the 2× version) be from the Canyon Endurace besides the wheels and slightly lower gearing?

Outstanding review. Thorough, thoughtful, it's another spot on effort by Bike Radar. It almost made me ignore that you Brits still can't pronounce aluminum. :) Love ya', (Even if you did burn the White House. Such poor manners.) :)

Respect for properly pronouncing "Schwalbe". Ride safely.

Headangle 72.5 degree. Stack to reach 1.45. Iam from Germany like Canyon, but i don't understand the geometry. It is supposed to be an adventure bike but the geometry is very racy.

This looks so fun! I’d take that thing full speed straight to the sand! Thanks for the review. I was under the impression this was some sort of e bike. I’m glad it’s not.

system weight 120 kg. bikepacking is not possible. i already weigh 113 kg myself.

Can you please share your height details? I'm between M and S. What would you recommend me?

Newer seen such a marketing product like this. Bike for everything. Fast road bike that also MTB'sh but for bike touring eh(

Great bike. But oh boy Canyon has always had disgusting colors and color schemes for their bikes... Just terrible. You'll have to spend huge efforts and money to repaint it yourself.

What about rear rack attachments?

Is the Grizl suitable for a second wheelset for road bike matters?

this morning, I clicked your link and an obnoxious food ad came up. You may think that's ok, and go ahead. Usually, when I click a bike link I see ads specific to the sport or fitness...but not here. It's the reason I won't be watching your content today, or revisiting, however. Just thought I'd let you know that.

Hi, this is a nice bike that I am considering to buy. I only have two worries. I ride long tours, and take about 20-25 kilograms of luggage in the winter and about 10-12 in the summer. And I'm afraid that the carbon frame won't be able to withstand it. And then I stand there and cannot repair it in a workshop. Otherwise a very good bike it seems. And that 50 tires can be installed is very good. But this specific model is no longer on site, onley with suspension. I don´t like that.

For that size tire, you’re about 10psi high! IMHO… Did you say the top of the steerer tube is 1-1/4” or is it tapered 1-1/4” bottom to 1-1/8” top? The reason I ask is that Giant SLR bikes are tapered 1-1/2” to 1-1/4” and stem options in 1-1/4” are very limited…

Awesome bike gonna buy this.

The only reason I want Aluminium is because I fly a lot with my bikes and it seems like they just throw them accross the room every time. Can't imagine carbone. I've seen so many horror post about cracked carbone frames.

How does this bike compare with the Pinarello Gevil or Colnago G3x? I’m looking at these 3 bikes for 4 season road with some gravel riding.

So it's cheaper in US$ than GB£! what the fuck Canyon!?

What about dynamo routing?

Had a Canyon once, never again. Terrible support, bike was broken every 3 months, overall an awfull experience. never ever again!

Meanwhile I’m out here riding single track on 28 ultrasports

I wish they had a different color on the SLX for America, grape is terrible.

What's your height? At 173 cm tall with 78 cm inseam, I'm right between XS and S. Just got the size S and so far it seems a little too big for me.

Yeah we get it, it has a normal handlebar. Man, for years i keep hearing the hideous hoverbar was a great feature and now a normal handlebar is the holy grail lol

how is the dollar prices cheaper? So its cheaper to go on holiday to yankee town and import the bike from there

Guys... that hole on the back of the bicycle should be closed. There is a rubber plug... put it in! lol

Carbon 1x, for what. Going to the gym and back. Bs

Nice bike, it remains me of the Felt Breed 20 shape of frame ? I have to get a gravel bike and this one, Trek, Cannondale Topsstone carbon 6 and the Jammis Renegade are on my radar .. the Cannondale is an awesome bike as well !! Decisions decisions ..

why no SRAM AXS 1 BY

weird that its cheaper on usd than uk pound price…