Canyon overhauls the Grizl gravel bike and gives it a crazy new handlebar

Canyon has released a brand new version of its Grizl gravel bike today, and it has received quite an update.

The Grizl, Canyon's more relaxed, adventure-focused gravel bike, which sits alongside the racier Grail model, was first launched in 2021. This marks its third iteration.

It's been a busy summer for Canyon after unveiling an update to its Grail, complete with a new DT Swiss suspension fork, in May.

Canyon has leaned into the adventure USP with this latest incarnation of the Grizl. The brand's PR material asks if bikepacking adventures are pushing the limits now, and Canyon says it has created a bike to serve the 'modern day ATB (all terrain bicycling) adventurist'.

In practice, that means more relaxed geometry, the same base carbon fibre frame across the nine model strong lineup, bigger tyre clearances of 54mm, a new dynamo lighting and charging system, and another brand new mad-looking handlebar for certain models, which, while not being as polarising as the double decker hoverbar from a few years ago, is still going to divide opinion.

The new Grizl range is divided broadly into two spec lines: the Grizl OG (original graveller) models and the more adventure, bikepacking-focused Escape models.

Prices start from $2,399 for a base spec and rise up to $7,999 for a top-tier model.

In tandem with the launch of the new Grizl, Canyon has another piece of news going live today, which is the creation of its own in-house brand of carbon fibre wheels. Joining the likes of Trek and Specialized with their Bontrager and Roval lines, respectively. The new Canyon wheels will come on certain Grizl models, and will then be rolled out and added to other model ranges in the future.

There are plenty of new, interesting talking points, specs and tech on the new Grizl bikes, which we have unpacked below. We also have an Escape adventure model for a longer-term test, so watch this space on that one.

The Grizl gets an overhaul

Canyon says it has made the Grizl infinitely adaptable for all kinds of adventures. First, as mentioned, there is one Grizl carbon fibre frame across the entire range; there's no top-line CFR model, as can be found in other Canyon model ranges.

The geometry has changed; the bike is now more relaxed, wth a slacker head tube, taller stack height and with a longer wheelbase to promote confidence and comfort. For instance, compared to the Grail, the Grizl headtube is a half-degree slacker, and the wheelbase is 19mm longer.

Tyre clearance has also now been increased to allow riders to fit up to 54mm tyres. All bike specs are 1X drivetrain only to help facilitate this.

A headline-grabbing feature is going to be the new 'Full Mounty' cockpit, which is fitted to Escape Line bikes. The carbon handlebar features an incorporated mini tri bar style extension - for want of a better description - that the brand claims will provide a wider range of hand positions on long adventure rides and more real estate to affix bags, accessories, food, and clothing, etc.

The Full Mounty bar, which will also be available as an aftermarket option, has a 69mm reach, 114mm drop, 14-degree flare and comes in four sizes with 50, 60 or 70mm stems and 42 and 44cm widths. The top section uses a 31.8mm standard diameter to help with accessory mounting, and Canyon has also produced a cockpit bag and set of aero extensions for it.

The Grizl is an adventure-focused bike, as such, it comes with front and rear rack mounts, magnetic frame bag mounts, down tube storage space, fender mounts and an extra down tube water bottle mount point, and frame protection on the underside of the down tube.

The bike also features a user-friendly external seatpost clamp and round 27.2mm VCLS seatpost, which should be music to certain riders' ears, and make emergency replacements or repairs a lot easier.

The brake and gear cables are mostly internal, popping out of the bike's bearing top cover and routing internally through the headset. This cleans up the front of the bike for mounting bags and the like, but it also makes changing headset bearings more complex and costly. Canyon has specified more durable headset bearings, though, to help delay this cost.

Finally, on the topic of frame details, the bottom bracket standard is PF86 press fit, a very common standard. The brand cites tyre clearance and frame stiffness as contributing factors here.

ECLIPS Dynamo powered lights and device charging

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Canyon has also developed a new lighting and charging on-bike system named ECLIPS, which stands for Endless Charge and Lighting Integrated Power System.

The brand says ECLIPS was born out of the ingenuity that can be witnessed on the ultra riding or bikepacking scene and some of the more ingenious solutions riders have created.

ECLIPS provides an IPX6-rated dynamo-powered system that will power an integrated front and rear light as well as charge a device on the bike thanks to a neat integrated USB-C charging port that's integrated into the headset assembly of the bike, allowing riders to charge all kinds of devices cleanly on the bike as well as charge the system if needed.

The Canyon app provides the ability to check charge status, control the system, and tweak firmware.

Five components make up the system: A SON 29S front hub dynamo, a Lupine Smartcore Fastclick 3500mAh (milliampere-hours) battery, a Canyon Blackbox management system, and a Lupine Nano SL front light and C14 seatpost clamp rear light.

Canyon claims that at 20km/h, the lights can be powered in the ECO setting and charge the system. We will be testing the charging capabilities out ourselves in due course.

New Canyon carbon wheels

Canyon is now producing its own brand of Carbon wheels for the Grizl and other models going forward, as mentioned.

The Canyon GR 30 CF wheelset uses a 27mm internal rim width and a hookless rim profile. The brand says the hookless profile is optimised to avoid pinch flats, which is usually in the form of a wider, squarer profile. Canyon lists a weight of 1,525 grams per pair for the wheels.

DT Swiss 350 spline hubs will be used and DT Swiss Aerocomp spokes.

Specs and pricing

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The new Grizl range will comprise eight models: three Escape models and five OG models. Two models (one OG and one Escape) will also come with the new DT Swiss F132 suspension fork.

Most of the paint schemes use purple and slate block colours, but there is one nifty camo-style paint job for those who want to blend in.

All bikes have 700c wheels and will be available in 2XS - 2XL sizes.

Two models will come with the new Canyon GR30 CF wheels, and all bikes get 45mm Schwalbe tyres.

*At launch, only the CF 6, CF 7 ESC and CF 8 ESC RIFT bikes will be available in the US.