If you’re a large bicycle manufacturing company and you offer multiple models aimed at roughly the same audience, creating some obvious differentiation is the perfect way of helping your customers find their perfect bike (and hopefully persuading them to buy different bikes for different niches…) Canyon have just launched the latest version of their Grizl adventure gravel bike and there’s certainly plenty of unique selling points to talk about. Read on to find out more.
“Surely you know we've got some form when it comes to handlebars...” was one of the lines in the press release from Canyon announcing the launch of the latest generation of their Grizl adventure bike. When Canyon launched the Grail, their gravel race bike, way back in 2018, it came equipped with a ‘double decker’ carbon fibre hover bar. Whether the hover bar was just a piece of marketing genius (due to sheer amount of editorial and social media coverage it generated) or some super clever engineering (having ridden it extensively, we’re in the latter camp), it certainly created a buzz. When Canyon launched the V2 Grail in 2023, it came fitted with ‘double drop’ bars which promised to offer the goldilocks combination of comfort and better aerodynamic efficiency. It was pretty much guaranteed then, that the launch of Canyon’s new Grizl would also see the arrival of a new piece of cockpit engineering from the handlebar masters. With their newly announced “Full Mounty” cockpit option, Canyon seem to have done it again.
Of course, the newly updated Grizl has more than just an interestingly shaped handlebar to help generate excitement among future customers. Canyon have split the Grizl in to two subtly different models - the OG, which they describe as being “closest to Canyon’s original super popular, party-paced adventure anarchist. It’s designed and detailed for riders who want their far to be as much fun as possible” and the Escape, which they describe as being an “ultra bike for multi-day horizon hunters who want the ultimate partner for pushing limits and finding peace in wild places.”
So, what’s changed with on the updated Grizl? The new R126 frame, which is shared between both the OG and Escape versions, has had some significant updates – there is now clearance for 54mm tyres, the headset has been reduced to the “industry standard” tapered 1.5” – 1 1/8” size, the geometry has been updated (slacker head angle, taller stack, shorter trail, longer wheelbase), there’s an in-frame storage compartment, the seatpost binder clamp is now external and there are mounts for a front/rear carrier rack, mudguards, cargo cages and fidlock mounts inside the frame. Finally, the new Grizl comes fitted with “high quality, corrosion resistant, stainless steel, triple sealed headset bearings” which come with a really interesting claim from Canyon – “the average customer should not have to swap out their headset bearings during the lifetime of their Grizl. That’s the goal.” But, in less-good news for some of us, the new Grizl is now 1x only. Whereas previously you could buy both 1x and 2x equipped versions of the Grizl which catered for both the racers and the party pacers, the new model has gone 1x only in order to make it compatible with bigger 700x54mm (29x2.1”) tyres. Insert sad face here.
While the Grizl OG comes fitted with a conventional bar/stem combo and wide-range 1x gears “for road speed and off-road attitude”, we suspect it will be the Grizl Escape which generates most of the interest. The Escape is fitted with a mullet groupset (a 40 tooth chainring up front and either an 11-51 or 10-52 cassette at the back) for “heavy loads, tired legs, giant climbs, or all of the above.” But perhaps more interestingly, Grizl Escapes come complete with new Full Mounty bar. The new bar is designed to offer “next-level modularity, free-hands control, next-level ergonomics” and will give riders the chance to “unlock new positions.” The Full Mounty bar has a standard round 31.8mm ‘top bar’ (for fitting lights/bike computers etc), offers 128mm of space beneath the bars for fitting a cargo cage and there are optional mounts available for aero extensions and a Load cockpit bag.
You might have thought that launching two differing versions of the Grizl would have been quite enough work for their product development team, but Canyon wanted to really push the boat out for adventure riders so have also announced the launch of a new fully-integrated ECLIPS (Endless Charge and Lighting Integrated Power System) lighting and battery charging system too. Canyon describe ECLIPS as “the best of a dynamo and the best of a power bank . Your lights keep running and devices powered up even when you’re not moving and it charges itself when you’re rolling.” Two versions of the Grizl Escape will come equipped with the ECLIPS system.
ECLIPS is made up of five key components:
- The Dynamo - Hyper efficient, super sleek 29 S model from SON.
- The Battery - Proven Lupine Smartcore Fastclick battery, good for 3500 mAh.
- The Lights - Lupine Nano SL front with 3 beam settings, Lupine C14 rear, all STVZO-approved.
- The USB-C Port - Input and output. Charge your devices from it , charge the system through it.
- The Black Box - Canyon BlackBox management system sends power where it’s needed.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, Canyon are also launching their own range of carbon fibre gravel wheels with the new Grizl. Developed in partnerships with DT Swiss, the snappily named GR 30 CF wheelset use DT Swiss 350 Spline hube and DT Swiss Aerocomp spokes, but with Canyon’s own design of rim which features a hookless design and an internal width of 27mm which according to ETRTO guidelines means they are perfect for gravel tyres wider than 35mm. Two versions of the Grizl, an OG and an Escape, will come fitted with the new GR30 wheels.
In a surprise to no-one after the launch of the Canyon Grail RIFT recently, Canyon have also produced an OG and an Escape version of the new Grizl which is equipped with their RIFT suspension forks.
Canyon’s new Grizl range will be available from Tuesday 1st July onwards and prices start from £2099/€2399. You can find all the details on their website.