Arguably one of the most controversial gravel bikes on the market, the Canyon Grail is either loved – or hated. Within hours of the bike’s announcement, the internet was covered in Grail related memes and a ton of publicity – good and bad. No matter your take on the bike, the Canyon Grail is a marketing department’s dream! JOM of the Gravel Cyclist crew caught up with Devon, Canyon’s Director of Marketing, to get the inside scoop on the Canyon Grail.
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Canyon Grail Gravel Bike Photos
Above, the Canyon Hover handlebar. You’re going to love it. Or hate it.
In person, the Hover handlebar looks sharp, but definitely isn’t for everyone.
Canyon has a history of producing clean and aerodynamic road bikes, with cables well hidden from the wind. The Grail isn’t so clean aerodynamically looking head on, and one has to wonder if they’ll clean up this area of the bike in a future release?
This variant of the Canyon Grail features the company’s VCLS 2.0 carbon leaf spring seatpost.
Watch this space. We hope to procure a Canyon Grail for a long-term review in the near future!
I don’t see integrated cockpits like this and the ones on aero bikes as very practical for someone who is not getting a new bike every year like the pros. In 10 years when you need a new bar or need to change your fit will that be possible? Not only is the stem integrated with the bars but the frame only works with these bars as well. I personally want a bike I know I’ll be able to get parts for for a long time. I’ve crashed and needed new bars and recently changed my position on my 1985 Cannondale and had no problems getting parts, I don’t expect that the same would be true for this bike.
It will still be interesting to see how you like it. If this bar idea catches on it certainly could be made so that it worked with a standard stem and avoided the issues associated with integrated bars.
I agree with the above comment; if you don’t like the bar that comes with the bike you are locked out of ever changing it. This type of non-standardized design may provide some specific advantages out of the box, but isn’t suitable for the needs of the vast majority of riders over time. Cost/benefit analysis says NO.
Also… if you are at SOC, can you just wander over to the SRAM booth and see if, you know, there is a new mountain etap group, or a 1 x 12 road group over there? No news from SRAM is quite surprising!
I can’t tell if someone was having a medical emergency in the background or if it was a rutting moose.
Probably a rutting moose having a medical emergency…….
One of the vendors was giving away vuvuzelas…
I agree – integrated cockpits suck for mere mortals. When I went to Belgium in 1962 as a 19 year old amateur to race as one of the first American’s to cross the pond after WW II, I was surprised to see older riders with road bikes with their handlebars installed upside down. This allowed them to ride in a comfortable upright position. You can do the same if you so desire — and it will cost a heck of a lot less then that Canyon abortion. BTW, I’m not liking Canyon lately. There business model is to sell online direct to the consumer in the USA. Thereby cutting out support for a dealer network. Instead, I’m told that they are flooding pro teams with free bikes and support. This raises Canyon’s market profile, and saves them the expense of supporting a bricks and mortar dealer network. In the long run, we consumers will suffer if this new business model is adopted by the industry. We all need good local bike shops!
Somehow, it doesn’t actually look as odd in video as it did in previous stills I’ve seen. Also, is it just me, or does anyone else shake their heads when they see someone wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap turned backwards?
The bike definitely looks a lot sharper in person. As for the baseball cap… each to his / her own I guess!