Gear We Love Summer 2022: The Canyon Grizl AL

I don’t just love my Canyon Grizl AL gravel bike, I’m obsessed with it. More than a mere piece of gear, the Grizl has opened a doorway to numerous new adventures and has been a reliable partner for everything from sneaking in mid-afternoon miles on the road to exploring the numerous gravel routes around my home to tackling the area’s rugged Class 6 roads. 

The Grizl is Canyon’s “Rough Gravel” offering and it shows—it’s burlier than my first mountain bike with large 45mm knobby tires, disc brakes, and Shimano’s gravel-specific groupset. Having logged some singletrack miles on it I can comfortably say the bike is capable off-road, although I will still opt for my mountain bike when riding trails. 

Where the Grizl shines is on trips with unsure conditions. It’s competent on asphalt, eats up dirt roads, and is confidence-inspiring in unfavorable conditions—whether it’s a grinding washed-out backroad, floating over washboard, or making a speedy descent through a pothole-riddled track. It also excels on the small sections of singletrack and old logging roads that are commonly encountered when trying to link a route together. The Grizl features a plethora of mounting points for racks and bags, making it an ideal companion for long, adventurous trips and overnights.  

I bought the Grizl as a do-everything replacement for my road bike and it’s performed admirably. That said, the Grizl is not a road bike. Its wide knobby tires and low gearing make it noticeably slow on the pavement. If you’re planning on putting in a lot of road mileage, think about purchasing a second more pavement-friendly wheelset or (as I’m planning to do) add a Canyon Grail to your stable of bikes.

Not convinced you need to add a Canyon Grizl to your stable of bikes? Here are seven more reasons to get a gravel grinder.