Canyon’s flagship gravel bike is set for a significant overhaul, with the unreleased Grail CFR making an unofficial teaser debut at Eurobike. The bike has already made the rounds on the racing circuit since early this spring. But now, we get a better up-close view – both at a race-ridden bike, and one that looks closer to production. And what I saw looks a lot like the recent Endurace CFR‘s aero redesign, just with much bigger tires and some flatter aerodynamic shapes that also seem to be Aeroad-inspired, too!

All-new Canyon Grail CFR aero gravel bike coming soon!(All photos/Cory Benson)

Canyon describes the new Grail CFR as a combination of road bike aerodynamics with tire clearance more likely to be found on a mountain bike.

And gravel race bikes certainly seem to be headed in that direction. Until the last year or two, gravel race bikes fell into two categories: the Euro-style with limited clearance as many racers on smoother tracks were on faster 40mm tires; or the American-style with clearance for up to 50mm tires, to take on rougher gravel tracks. Anything bigger than that was the purview or adventure bikepackers, and aerodynamics seemed like it wasn’t a concern.

Then, more pros started racing longer ultra-distance events or rougher tracks. And all of a sudden, combining massive tire clearance, quick-handling geometry, and fat tire aerodynamics became the new way forward.

“Fusing WorldTour aero knowhow with a new benchmark in tire clearance, this unreleased all-terrain racer was forged in our rolling R&D lab alongside the biggest stars in gravel racing. The bike that won Traka 360 before it was even launched.”

Already race-proven

Just like Ridley’s not-so-secret upcoming Kanzo Fast 2.0, Canyon’s unreleased Grail CFR was also raced at the Traka 360. And it did in fact win, under Canyon//SRAM racer Rosa Klöser. But in Frankfurt, it was another racer’s bike that I got a close-up look at. This is the bike of Juri Hollmann, a Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing athlete who has been using gravel as rehab this season, after suffering major injuries in a Giro d’Italia crash last year while World Tour racing for Alpecin-Premier Tech. His setup is a perfect example of the new fat tire aero trends.

His bike is built up with a Dura-Ace powermeter crankset with a single 48T 1x chainring, Dura-Ace road SPD-SL pedals, and the same aero post & 1-piece cockpit from his Aeroad road racing bike. But that drivetrain is paired to a wide-range MTB cassette, a set of GRX Di2 shifters (with shift buttons for both left & right hands), and a GRX Di2 1x rear derailleur. Then, he wraps 50mm deep DT Swiss GRC 1100 wheels with 29×2.1″ XC tires.

What’s new vs. the current Grail?

Without official concrete details, let’s dive into what we do know…

Bigger tires.

Canyon has said that combining fat tires and aero development, they “tested the bike at real-world speeds of 35 km/h with tires up to 57mm wide. These ultra-wide gravel tires allow higher speeds on technical terrain while reducing rider fatigue through increased comfort.” That could give the new Grail CFR the biggest tire clearance we’ve seen from a full-on gravel race bike. A massive boost from the current CFR’s 42mm max!

Hollmann’s bike had 53mm (29 x 2.1″) Schwalbe MTB tires fitted. Klöser won Traka 360 on 2.2″ (56mm) Conti Dubnitals. The other Grail CFR on display at Canyon’s Eurobike booth was fitted with more conventional 45mm Schwalbe gravel tires.

Improved aerodynamics.

This unreleased Grail CFR features all-new (for the Grail family) deep aero shaping that looks almost identical to the new Endurace CFR. The same kinked seattube cutout at the wide-set, dropped seatstays, similar extension of a wider toptube past a narrower headtube, similar transition from the fork crown into the downtube, and almost identical aero fork legs. Plus, the same flared wider downtube to shield and smooth airflow over the downtube water bottle (also much like the 3T RaceMax, too).

The new gravel bike, though, seems to get more angular edges, and taller raised stays at the dropout like the Aeroad.

Geo stats on the seattube also list a 16mm lower, more aero position than the current Grail. While reach is unchanged: Grail CFR, Size M, Gravel Sport geo, 575mm Stack, 411mm Reach.

The new gravel race bike also gets a new, more aero seatpost. The same deep D-shaped aerodynamic post from the Aeroad, then repurposed for the new Endurace. The benefit here, is you can opt for the lighter but stiffer Aeropost from the road bike, or pick the more comfy VCLS Aero version from the all-road bike with its bump-eating front cutout design.

More storage.

The Grail CFR also reshapes and relocates internal frame storage. The new bike shifts its glovebox opening lower in the frame. Now, it features a locking latch under the main downtube bottle cage. But also out of the way of a partial frame bag. The new bike keeps mounting points to a minimum for dedicated gravel racing: 2 typical cage mounts inside the main triangle, toptube bag mounts, plus 2 bolts in the upper section of the main triangle for a direct-mount partial frame bag just behind the headtube, much like in the previous iteration of the Grail.

Canyon Grail CFR – Possible options, pricing & availability?

Canyon claims complete bike weights from 7.54kg up to 9.18kg for the new Grail. That is a broad enough range to think there probably will be at least a top CFR version and a more affordable CF spec-level frame, too. (Current range goes from 7.54kg for CFR AXS to 9.26kg for CF 7.) Pricing from 6500€ though, would reference CFR only. That’s the official price of the CFR Di2 build now with these same DT GRC11100 wheels (8.18kg). While the current CF 7 is 2200€, and the CFR AXS sells for 7500€.

So when is the new Canyon Grail CFR gravel bike going to launch? That we don’t know for sure. Gravel World Champs are in Australia this year on the second weekend of October. Which might make for a nice official debut of a new aero gravel race bike, right?

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled, and ears open for more official details.

Canyon.com