Hardly any gravel bikes have caused as much of a stir as the Grail CF SLX did since the day of its official launch — its handlebars are mainly responsible for this. But can the Canyon Grail CF SLX Di2 offer more than a futuristic Star Trek-like handlebar?
The Canyon Grail CF SLX in detail
When the first snapshots of the Grail hit the net the racing bike forums went ballistic: “It must be an April fool’s, right?”. No, it isn’t. € 4,499 will buy you Canyon’s very own 8,2 kg idea of a modern carbon gravel racer — the bike is actually more of a grand tourer than a racer. The one thing that caused true havoc besides the unusual frameset, is CANYON’s wide 430 mm to 475 mm double-decker handlebar. This consists of a flexible top link, a stiff stem/centre section and the drops. The flexi bar tops are designed to provide the necessary compliance while the stem/handlebar-combo helps transferring the strength of your upper body onto the road. With this unusual double-decker design, the tops and mid-section of the handlebars are merging just below the shifters. This gives you extra room to securely hook your thumbs when riding in the drops — a rather unusual feeling at first.
The aggressive but harmoniously-shaped slope in the frame merges flush into the stem/bar section. As the name suggests the CF SLX 8.0 DI2 features a reliable and precise Shimano ULTEGRA Di2 groupset. Shimano’s revised ULTEGRA R8070 disc shift/brake levers work superbly and feature a new, very impressive ergonomic design. The 50/34 ULTEGRA chainset runs on an 11-34 t cassette.
This setup allows for steep climbs as well as fast descents. One more encouraging detail: the 2x setup gives you just about the same bandwidth as a 1x setup — only the gear jumps are much smaller. Cadence is king! The Canyon S15 VCLS 2.0 CF seatpost features a leaf suspension-system which offers enormous comfort at the back. The relatively stiff Reynolds Assault ATR Disc Carbon wheels provide good acceleration and the 40C Schwalbe G-One Bite tires offer good grip on gravel paths.
First riding impressions
At first, we were unsure what to think about Canyon’s unusual concept: “What is it? Where does it belong?” Having said that, we don’t like judging a product by its appearance before actually testing it to find out how it performs. So we took the Grail CF SLX to the road and let it tell us its own story. The Canyon feels agile right from start-up and maintains the speed once you get there. Unfortunately, it didn’t take too long before we realised the Grail CF SLX lacks a certain something: temperament and liveliness. It implements each crank spin efficiently and consistently and always feels predictable and reliable – but at the end of the day, it just feels a little too smooth and a tad sleepy.
Canyon’s H36-Aerocockpit for the ultimate racer-fit
Neater cable routing
Once we turned off the forest path into the trail we were truly surprised. Despite the unfamiliar concept you quickly get used to changing from the tops to the drops – unfortunately, we can’t say the same about the massive blows the bike passes on from the trail. It’s a huge contrast between the comfortable rear-end and the rodeo-like jolting in the drops: “Party at the front, business at the back”. For the sake of both safety and stability, a lot of material went into the intersection where the two bar levels merge. However, this much material in one area results in a lack of flex and means you will feel every single bump of the trail in your forearms. At first, you might perceive this as “being connected to the trail” but the feeling quickly turns into a desperate attempt to hold on to your bars. In the tops, however, things look slightly brighter. The flex zone in the mid-section of the bars works well and delivers what it promises: compliance and comfort for slight bumps on gravel roads.
The handlebars also act as an ideal attachment point for bags, provided you take care of the Di2 cable clutter that erupts between the two handlebar-levels. Here we would have loved to see a tidier solution, especially considering how much importance Canyon gives integration when creating their handlebars. The German manufacturer also offers a bag-set for the Grail, a way to show us in which direction their new bike points: long off-road rides with moderate off-road sections to break the monotony. In this sense, the Grail is a successful cocktail of a rally car and Gran Turismo coupé. What underlines the GT character of the Grail, even more, is its handling: good-natured, straight-lined and somewhat sluggish in corners. But the Canyon is also a good companion for long distances — one that inspires confidence and trust. The Schwalbe G-One Bite tires reinforce this feeling even more by offering more grip on the trail than we’d have expected. This gives even off-road rookies a great feeling of control when the trail gets tricky.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for performance on long gravel rides and also have a weak spot for polarizing designs the Canyon Grail might be the right bike for you. It does a lot more than just look superb and is great value for money. The good-natured character and predictable handling make the Grail CF SLX 8.0 Di2 the ideal off-road tool for rookies but also an inspiring trail-rig for experienced roadies.
Strengths
- Cockpit integration (attracts attention everywhere)
Weaknesses
- Cockpit cable routing
Price: € 4,499
Weight: 8.2 kg size L
Info: canyon.com
Here you’ll find our current group test on the best gravel bike.
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Words: Photos: David Rösler, Valentin Rühl
