Canyon Grizl CF SL review: a gravel bike with grit in its guts and adventure in its veins

The off-road cycling scene has changed beyond recognition in recent years, with the popularity of bikepacking soaring and turbo-charging the development of ever-better gravel bikes along with it, and this insatiable lust for dust is showing no signs of abating any time soon.

While the best e-bikes have been causing ripples (and emptying bank accounts) by opening up trails to more people, more affordable, purely pedal-powered gravel bikes have continued to evolve at pace and grow in popularity.

Every rider I know either has a great gravel bike in their garage next to their chunky arse mountain bike and skinny road-riding rig now, or they have their covetous eye firmly fixed on one. And such is the all-terrain versatility offered by the best gravel bikes, that many adventure cyclists have virtually retired their other steeds.

There is a bewilderingly broad range of excellent gravel bikes available on the market these days, but – spoiler alert – I believe I have recently found my perfect partner for tackling technical trails, riding rubbly tracks and enjoying lovely, long-range, lost-lane adventures – the Canyon Grizl CF SL!

Canyon Grizl CF SL review

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: price, inclusions and availability

The Grizl CF SL is available in various iterations (see below) right now. As is standard practice, the bikes come with everything you need to hit the road, tracks and trails, except for pedals, which, of course, are a very personal choice and need to be twinned with your best cycling shoes. You can only purchase the bikes new directly from Canyon in the United Kingdom (priced from £2,399), in the United States (priced from US$2,999), in Canada (priced from C$3,099) and in Australia (priced from AU$3,439) and elsewhere in the world.

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: specifications

• Weight (assembled): 9.34kg
• Frame: Carbon Fibre
• Groupset: Shimano GRX
• Wheels: DT Swiss Gravel Line
• Colours: Dried kelp / Sencha Burst

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: design and features

In case you haven’t twigged it, the CF in the name of this Canyon bike stands for Carbon Fibre, and the SL identifies it as ‘super light’. And it is lovely and light, although not quite as svelte as its newborn cousin the Grizl CF SLX [external link], which boasts a frame that weighs in at under a kilogram. At the other end of the scales, the Grizl is also available with an aluminium frame, the Grizl AL [external link], which is heavier but much more accessible in terms of cost, and arguably a bit more rugged if you like to push your gravel bikes hard on the rough stuff.

The Grizl CF SL is available in seven sizes, to suit riders ranging from 166cm to 194cm in height. The wheels are standard 700C, except on the small and extra small frame sizes, which roll with the slightly smaller 650B wheel size, and all have 50mm clearance between the tyres and the forks.

Beyond the frame dimensions and materials, there are various versions of the Canyon Grizl CF SL to chose from (too many for my indecisive mind, to be quite honest) with an array of component combinations and options, including the eTap, [external link], which boasts electronic gearing, and the Grizl Trail [external link] that features – wait for it – dynamic suspension, thanks to a RockShox Rudy front fork with 30mm of travel. (Does this mark a new dawn for gravel bikes, or is it a step too far? Discuss.) Most of the Grizl family feature a rigid carbon fork, however, which have 3-screw ‘Anything Cage’ mounting points on each side for attaching bottle cages and/or bikepacking bags.

There are several options with ‘One-by’ (1by) drivetrains, featuring a single-cog crank and no front derailleur, such as the Grizl CF SL 8 1by [external link], also available in an Ekar version [external link], armed with Campagnolo’s 13-speed Ekar gravel groupset.

The Grizl CF SL family all come with a comfortable and flexible 27.2mm carbon VCLS seatpost, held firmly in position with an integrated clamp.

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: ride performance

I’ve spent several months cycling a Canyon Grizl CF SL along the winding lanes, gravel tracks and dirt trails of Devon, and have savoured every second I spent on this beautiful bike, even the ones when I was pedalling through pouring rain and howling winds in the midst of the grizzly drizzly season. The Grizl rolls so smoothly across any kind of terrain that it forces you to have fun, regardless of the conditions.

I encountered plenty of epic mud during rides on the edge of Exmoor in North Devon, but the 50mm tyre clearance was ample, and the 700C DT Swiss gravel line wheels armed with gravel-gripping Schwalbe G-One tyres coped with the conditions in style.

Even with these reasonably knobbly tyres on, the Grizl CF SL feels every bit as light as it its initials promise it will, but it’s nimble rather than flighty, bestowing real confidence when you corner on loose dust, dirt or gravel. And, although this bike is a joy to ride during daylong blasts, or while doing loops around shorter tracks and trails, the cockpit and non-aggressive geometry of the bike is set up in such a way that I felt very relaxed and comfortable on longer rides too. It has definitely been designed with bikepacking expeditions in mind, with built-in mounts on the top tube (where I used a small bar bag to keep essentials like my phone and various snacks) and on both sides of the front forks, where three screws allow you to carry extra water bottles if you’re tackling gravel in hot conditions, or securely position ‘Anything Cages’ for stashing bags full of items such as sleeping bags during multiday missions. 

The cabling on the bike is semi integrated into the frame, which keeps things really tidy, whether you’re fanging it along some mucky lanes or strapping multiple bags to the bike and heading off for a few days of filthy fun, wherever the trails might take you.

My test rig featured a Shimano RX600 crank with two chainrings at the front and an 11-sprocket Shimano HG700 cassette at the rear. This set-up worked perfectly well during all the escapades I took the bike on, but given a choice I would opt for a steed with a one-by drivetrain, featuring a single front cog and no front derailleur, such as the Grizl CF SL 8 1by [external link]. This keeps things beautifully simple both when you’re out riding (one-hand shifting makes toggling through the gears easy, even on very technical trails) and in terms of maintenance after you get back home and have to deal with the dirt you’ve just gleefully gone through; the bike might be well splattered with mud and muck, but it’s easy enough to clear out a rear 11- or 12-sprocket cassette with a small brush, while a single-ring crank with no derailleur just requires a wipe. I’m not a full singlespeed convert, but generally speaking, the less there is to go wrong on a bike the happier I am.

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: verdict

A properly beautiful bike to behold – with sleek lines, gorgeous geometry, classy components and well-considered design elements, including internal cabling – it’s only when you get in the saddle of the Canyon Grizl CF SL and take it off the beaten track that you really appreciate how great this steed is. Delightfully light and highly responsive, it seems to skim across all kinds of terrain and feels almost power-assisted during some ascents.  

An absolute joy to ride, very capable on any type of terrain, easy to maintain, highly versatile and ideal for day sessions or multiday bikepacking adventures, the Grizl CF SL 8 1by looks about as close to the perfect gravel bike for me as I can imagine. Now I’d better start saving for one because parting with my test model was not easy.

Outrageously lightweight and nimble, the Canyon Grizl CF SL is a bike that begs to be ridden like an impatient dog itching for a walk in the woods – you can feel it calling you from the garage or shed, pleading to be taken out, and it’s relentless.

If you’re looking for a reason to hit the trails more regularly or go exploring further afield during bikepacking adventures on unsigned lanes and gravel tracks, then this exceptionally specced carbon-framed dropbar thoroughbred is exactly what you’re after.

Canyon Grizl CF SL review: also consider

Canyon Grizl CF SL – Some alternatives to consider

Another excellent and reasonably affordable gravel bike available directly from the brand is the Ribble Gravel SL Enthusiast, which has a SRAM groupset and a one-by drivechain. If electronic gear shifting excites you, check out the Pinnacle Arkose X Di2, another versatile steed with an accessible price tag. Or, if you have a bit more to spend, and you’re after a Gravel e-Bike, check out the Canyon Grail:ON.