IN BRIEF
Canyon lifted the embargo on its new Grail on 17 September at 11am. The German brand’s race gravel bike now takes 57 mm tyres, or 2.25 inches, front and rear, with 4 mm of ISO clearance to spare. To free up that room, Canyon gives up the double chainring: the range is single-chainring only, with a carbon chainstay designed for the driveside. French prices start at €2,499 and climb to €8,000 for the Grail CFR AXS, quoted at 7.98 kg in size M.
| Price (range) | From €2,499 |
| Price (Grail CFR AXS) | €8,000 |
| Weight | 7.98 kg (Grail CFR AXS, size M, standard spec) |
| Tyre clearance | 57 mm (2.25 inches) front and rear, 4 mm ISO clearance |
| Drivetrain | Single chainring only; SRAM Red XPLR on the CFR AXS |
| Wheels | DT Swiss GRC 1100 (on the Grail CFR AXS) |
| Handlebar | PACE with Gear Groove system (Grail CFR and CF SLX) |
A few years ago, a race gravel bike was still measured by how slender its tubes were. Today it is measured by what you can slot between them. On the third generation of the Grail, unveiled by Canyon on 17 September, the figure that shapes the whole bike is its tyre clearance.
The Canyon Grail takes 57 mm tyres, with 4 mm to spare
The official spec page is explicit: “The Grail clears 57 mm (2.25”) tyres front and rear with 4 mm ISO clearance to spare.” That 4 mm margin is not a communications detail: it is what separates a catalogue figure from a figure you can still use once the mud arrives. And 57 mm at the rear, on a bike that claims to race, puts the Grail closer to a still-narrow segment of very high-clearance gravel bikes — such as the 3T Extrema Italia, which already quoted that figure in 2023 — than to the classic race gravel bike.
That clearance comes at a mechanical price, and Canyon owns it plainly: “To max out the Grail’s monster 57 mm tyre clearance, we commit to one-by gravel groupsets. An innovative solid carbon chainstay on the driveside creates ample space and strength you can count on.” In other words, the room taken by the tyre is the room the outer chainring used to take.
Canyon also claims a speed gain: according to the brand, the new Grail was tested in the wind tunnel against part of the competition and proved faster than all of it at 35 km/h — a manufacturer figure, not independently verified.
A racer written into the brief
Canyon traces the origin of that brief back to an athlete’s demand. The press release explains that if a proven winner like Rosa Klöser is asking for the clearance to run 50 mm rubber and more so she can float over rough terrain, then everyone should be able to reap the rewards. The brand presents Rosa Klöser as the winner of the Traka 360 2026 — a 360-kilometre event that serves, in gravel, as a full-scale test bench.
On the cockpit, Canyon puts forward its PACE bar, which the brand describes as “the world’s most adaptable performance cockpits” — a superlative that remains the manufacturer’s own word. MyCanyon customisation, for its part, comes to the Grail CFR: “With MyCanyon customisation now available on Grail CFR, you can build your dream gravel race bike.”
From €2,499 to €8,000
The official French price list starts at €2,499 for the range. The Grail CF SLX 7 Di2 is listed at €3,999, with the CF SLX carbon layup, mudguard mounts, carbon wheels and the PACE bar with its Gear Groove system. The top-of-the-range CFR starts at €8,000, a price the Grail CFR AXS spec page confirms.
It is on that CFR AXS that Canyon quotes 7.98 kg, while stating the reference — “Weight based on size M standard spec.” Further down the range, the official page mentions a build listed as “SRAM Rival XPLR AXS RD 13s, Carbon Wheels”.
By pushing its race gravel bike to 57 mm and locking in the single chainring, Canyon settles a debate most brands were leaving open: whether a fast gravel bike should keep a road gear range or a mountain bike’s clearance. The Grail chooses clearance.
