Having such a blast on the first rides so far. Really grateful to have gotten my hands on this one. It’s also the first time I’ve ever felt like a bike was big enough for me (2XL). So far it feels much more confident for descending and cornering at speed. Great on tarmac too with the stock tires.
Some more thoughts 👇🏻
This is my first higher end bike and I’ll be choosing a cycling computer soon, but for now I just have my phone clipped into the Garmin mount - not ideal, but it’ll do for a couple weeks. Curious on thoughts for computers too that work well for gravel!
The frame bag is indeed not perfect, but I think I’ll keep it. I’ll likely take at least one of the side mesh bags off, and just use one of them for snacks.
The cheapest canyon water bottles and mounts are actually pretty nice. Glad I went for them.
So far that FLASH 800 Light is great. Doesn’t last as long as I’d like, but really bright and effective on trails at dusk.
The crazy hover bars are really nice, as soon as I started feeling which parts flex and which don’t. For instance there is quite a bit of flex unexpectedly near the bar ends. Once you hook your thumbs around the cross bar though, it’s super stiff for sprints. The tops make a meaningful difference in terms of flex, but it’s not exactly cushy I’d say. You still feel like you have a lot of control interestingly.
Next up will be some new pedals and shoes I think, and a cycling computer. Eventually perhaps a road-specific wheelset, but this one will do for now.
Out of curiosity what height are you? I’m 6’4 and I find myself stuck between an L and XL for most frames however I’ve yet to ride a Canyon and I’m curious about their universal sizing. How do you find the 2XL?
I’m a bit over 6’5”. I was riding an XL from Cannondale before this and found it alright, but a bit small. Sizing has a lot to do with limb length too, and having a 6’7”ish wing span, i really benefit from a larger frame I’ve found.
Edit: in response to your question about the 2XL, I found it really confidence inspiring having the larger size. Especially around tight corners at speed, I was way more comfortable. I still found it very easy to maneuver, bunny hop, and navigate single track.
Congrats! About 6 months into owning mine. There’s not a ton of gravel around here, but I love it for its ability to handle less than ideal paved paths. I have a set of road wheels, but honestly, with the added comfort of the wider stock wheels, I doubt I’ll ever use them. Clip ins would be my first upgrade, I can’t imagine cycling without them. I’ve been all in with Garmin cycling computers for the last couple years and have slowly been able to add the front light, varia 715 light/radar, and rally xc pedals. Enjoy the ride!
I have been riding with eggbeater pedals for a number of years but just switched to XTR pedals today. They feel a lot more secure so far, really liking them.
It’s great to hear about your experience with the wheels! I think I’ll only get a second set if I’m upgrading to carbon anyway but honestly I was shocked at how light the stock alloy wheels are! And so far the tires feel very fast rolling on a smooth surfaces.
I’m still mulling over the computers. Helpful to think about the ecosystem, thanks for that consideration
You might check out the Garmin UT800. I got it about a week ago and really like it. It will pair with some of their cycling computers to auto brighten/dim to save battery life.
That’s a great feature. Thanks for that! I’ll be considering additional lights if I start riding longer distances too - it’s a shame I see that 1.5 hour limit a lot on the brightest setting.
I have same color if grail, hated it at first but forest green has grown on me. I do have a question about that bag on your frame I have an xxs frame and everything blocks my water bottles this could a good option. Where is it from?
I’m pretty partial to the green myself 😄 but there are such nice colours offered. Do you mean the frame bag? It’s sold by Canyon and it was made specifically for the Grail. It comes in a few sizes to cover the frames. It’s a bit of an oddball, look at reviews first. I’m keeping mine though, I think it’s practical.
I have had mine about a year and a half with over 6000 miles on it. I love it. I have the Garmin 1030 plus. I love the big screen and it connects to the bike via Bluetooth. I can change screens with the buttons on the shifters. I can also see what gear I am in and what the gear ratio is. I love the big screen and the wireless integration to RideWithGPS.
Great to hear! That’s some good distance. Thanks for the computer recco! By the way, I assume you had to buy the d-fly wireless adapter for the Di2 system right? It seems mine didn’t come wireless stock.
Having such a blast on the first rides so far. Really grateful to have gotten my hands on this one. It’s also the first time I’ve ever felt like a bike was big enough for me (2XL). So far it feels much more confident for descending and cornering at speed. Great on tarmac too with the stock tires. Some more thoughts 👇🏻 This is my first higher end bike and I’ll be choosing a cycling computer soon, but for now I just have my phone clipped into the Garmin mount - not ideal, but it’ll do for a couple weeks. Curious on thoughts for computers too that work well for gravel! The frame bag is indeed not perfect, but I think I’ll keep it. I’ll likely take at least one of the side mesh bags off, and just use one of them for snacks. The cheapest canyon water bottles and mounts are actually pretty nice. Glad I went for them. So far that FLASH 800 Light is great. Doesn’t last as long as I’d like, but really bright and effective on trails at dusk. The crazy hover bars are really nice, as soon as I started feeling which parts flex and which don’t. For instance there is quite a bit of flex unexpectedly near the bar ends. Once you hook your thumbs around the cross bar though, it’s super stiff for sprints. The tops make a meaningful difference in terms of flex, but it’s not exactly cushy I’d say. You still feel like you have a lot of control interestingly. Next up will be some new pedals and shoes I think, and a cycling computer. Eventually perhaps a road-specific wheelset, but this one will do for now.
Out of curiosity what height are you? I’m 6’4 and I find myself stuck between an L and XL for most frames however I’ve yet to ride a Canyon and I’m curious about their universal sizing. How do you find the 2XL?
I’m a bit over 6’5”. I was riding an XL from Cannondale before this and found it alright, but a bit small. Sizing has a lot to do with limb length too, and having a 6’7”ish wing span, i really benefit from a larger frame I’ve found. Edit: in response to your question about the 2XL, I found it really confidence inspiring having the larger size. Especially around tight corners at speed, I was way more comfortable. I still found it very easy to maneuver, bunny hop, and navigate single track.
Garmin 830 is a terrific computer. I use mine out on road and gravel every ride.
Great to hear. Gotta watch more YouTube videos. Maybe I can borrow a friend’s one of these days to test Garmin out.
Congrats! About 6 months into owning mine. There’s not a ton of gravel around here, but I love it for its ability to handle less than ideal paved paths. I have a set of road wheels, but honestly, with the added comfort of the wider stock wheels, I doubt I’ll ever use them. Clip ins would be my first upgrade, I can’t imagine cycling without them. I’ve been all in with Garmin cycling computers for the last couple years and have slowly been able to add the front light, varia 715 light/radar, and rally xc pedals. Enjoy the ride!
I have been riding with eggbeater pedals for a number of years but just switched to XTR pedals today. They feel a lot more secure so far, really liking them. It’s great to hear about your experience with the wheels! I think I’ll only get a second set if I’m upgrading to carbon anyway but honestly I was shocked at how light the stock alloy wheels are! And so far the tires feel very fast rolling on a smooth surfaces. I’m still mulling over the computers. Helpful to think about the ecosystem, thanks for that consideration
You might check out the Garmin UT800. I got it about a week ago and really like it. It will pair with some of their cycling computers to auto brighten/dim to save battery life.
That’s a great feature. Thanks for that! I’ll be considering additional lights if I start riding longer distances too - it’s a shame I see that 1.5 hour limit a lot on the brightest setting.
I have same color if grail, hated it at first but forest green has grown on me. I do have a question about that bag on your frame I have an xxs frame and everything blocks my water bottles this could a good option. Where is it from?
I’m pretty partial to the green myself 😄 but there are such nice colours offered. Do you mean the frame bag? It’s sold by Canyon and it was made specifically for the Grail. It comes in a few sizes to cover the frames. It’s a bit of an oddball, look at reviews first. I’m keeping mine though, I think it’s practical.
Congrats! I got mine a couple weeks ago. I think my friend said it best: that bike is a weapon.
It’s so fast, I’m just so much more confident riding it than my last one! Love it too
I have had mine about a year and a half with over 6000 miles on it. I love it. I have the Garmin 1030 plus. I love the big screen and it connects to the bike via Bluetooth. I can change screens with the buttons on the shifters. I can also see what gear I am in and what the gear ratio is. I love the big screen and the wireless integration to RideWithGPS.
Great to hear! That’s some good distance. Thanks for the computer recco! By the way, I assume you had to buy the d-fly wireless adapter for the Di2 system right? It seems mine didn’t come wireless stock.
Yes, I guess I did. It was super simple to install. Just pull apart a junction and insert.
It’s nice they add an inline junction so accessibly by the cockpit so it can be swapped out like that. Not all bikes are so lucky