Canyon Grail CFR Di2 and CF SLX 8 Di2 Review: Which Build Is Worth Buying?

Introduction

The new Canyon Grail is the best gravel bike Canyon has made to date. It brings together composed handling, a comfortable ride, genuinely useful integration, and a set of thoughtfully designed accessories. In pure ride terms, it is the most convincing gravel race bike we have spent time on, and it looks the part as well.

The bike tested here is the third tier Canyon Grail CFR Di2 at £6,699, with US pricing still to be confirmed. That is not an impulse purchase. Compared with competitor bikes at a similar price, however, this build does pack a punch. As is usually the case, the strongest value sits further down the range, which is why the Canyon Grail CF SLX 8 Di2 at £4,999 deserves equal attention in this review.

What Has Changed on the New Canyon Grail

The biggest visual change is the disappearance of the hover bar. Canyon’s original design connected the stem to a secondary bar rather than clamping at the centre of a conventional drop bar, a layout intended to add front-end compliance without the hassle of suspension while creating extra hand positions. It generated plenty of attention and put Canyon firmly on the gravel map, but it also brought practical drawbacks, and it has now been retired.

In its place is the CP01 gravel carbon handlebar, a far more conventional one-piece cockpit with some clever shaping for off-road comfort. Canyon’s stated reason for the change is aerodynamic: with two bars at the front of the bike, there is simply more surface flapping about in the wind.

The details are well judged. The stem is short at 70 mm, the tops are flattened without being so broad that long hours on them become uncomfortable, and the ramps extend out to 70 mm to give a useful perch between the hoods and the corner before the hooks. The drops flare gently, carry a little down sweep, and are long enough to keep your wrists in a neutral position. Our size large test bike came with a 44 cm bar, and a narrower 40 cm aftermarket option is available for riders chasing a slipperier position.

One-piece cockpits divide opinion. They look clean, and if the fit works there is little to complain about. If the fit does not work, changing it is costly. Canyon’s interpretation is less awkward than most: it uses a standard 1 1/8 inch steerer, and while the hoses pass through the headset top bearing, aftermarket finishing kit remains a realistic option.

Geometry and Ride Quality

Geometry is the real story behind the new Grail. The wheelbase is 27 mm longer than the previous model, standing at 1,080 mm on a size large, which is notably long for a fast gravel race bike. Much of that comes from a long front centre, the distance from the bottom bracket to the front axle, while the chainstays stay comparatively short. The result is a bike that feels stable and calm at speed without turning ponderous.

On rattly gravel it ploughs through rather than skittering about, and it climbs without wanting to wander when you are out of the saddle on the bars. Dodging a last-minute puddle takes a little more forethought than on a twitchier bike, but it never feels sluggish or unreactive. At lower speeds, on steep or technical terrain, it stays amply capable, and shifting weight fore and aft or lifting the rear wheel is straightforward. The seated pedalling position is excellent.

The ride position suits a gravel race bike. Our test bike ran a few spacers under the stem and still had a small saddle-to-bar drop, and removing those spacers would produce a much more aggressive, race-ready position.

Canyon Grail CFR Di2: The Range-Topping Build

The CFR Di2 is the build we tested, and it carries the fullest integration package in the range. It includes the Gear Groove, a slot in the cockpit that accepts accessories, including an aero cockpit borrowed from the Speedmax triathlon bike with the pads spaced slightly wider to suit gravel riding. Aerobars are not universally loved or permitted in gravel racing, but for ultra endurance events they make a real difference.

The CFR also brings Canyon’s Aero Load down tube storage. The aerodynamic claims attached to the system are easy to ignore; what matters is that the compartment is well designed, neat, and quiet. Stock bikes ship with a multi-tool that slots underneath the pump, and most riders will already own the rest of what they need to fill it.

The honest caveat is price. At £6,699 this is not a bargain, and similar money buys a lot elsewhere. It is a strong build, but the value argument shifts considerably as you move down the range.

Tires, Seatpost, and Day-to-Day Details

Tire clearance tops out at 42 mm, which is narrow by contemporary gravel standards. Canyon’s reasoning is that its pro riders wanted to run road-sized chainrings, up to 52/36, and that increasing clearance while keeping those chainrings would have meant dropping or lengthening the chainstays and changing the handling. The company also argues that 42 mm is about as wide as most racers go, which matches our own experience: beyond that, a mountain bike usually makes more sense.

Most models in the range come with Schwalbe G-One RS tires, and they are excellent. The cornering lugs are widely spaced and the centre tread does not cling on to mud, so while they are not the grippiest option in wet or sticky conditions, they are very predictable. They did feel slightly delicate during testing, and on our own bike we would add more sealant and probably a tire insert.

The VCLS leaf-spring seatpost that appeared on many Canyon gravel bikes has also gone, replaced by a D-shaped post with the same profile as the one introduced on the Endurace endurance road bike. Canyon says pro rider feedback did not favour the springy feel of the old post. The new one is not as compliant on really rough terrain, but it is far from uncomfortable and still flexes noticeably. The seat clamp uses an easy-to-torque Torx head and did not slip.

Canyon Grail CF SLX 8 Di2: The Better Value Pick

At £4,999, the CF SLX 8 Di2 looks almost every bit as good as the range-topping build for a lot less money, and it keeps the two features that matter most for adaptability: the down tube storage and the Gear Groove in the cockpit. That is still a serious amount of money, but you are getting the geometry and the platform that make the new Grail so good.

The Gear Groove is reserved for the two top-tier bikes, and CF SL models do not feature it, which does limit accessory options if you buy lower down the range. Whether that affects you depends largely on whether you actually want to run an aero cockpit. For accessories such as the computer mount, there is little functional difference between the builds.

Accessories and Adaptability Across the Range

Two accessories stand out as genuinely useful rather than decorative. The first is a set of optional, fully integrated mudguards designed specifically for this bike. Very few gravel race bikes offer mudguard provision at all, let alone purpose-built guards. Crucially, tire clearance is unaffected, so a 42 mm tire still fits underneath them and you avoid a wet back on long, dirty rides.

The second is Canyon’s patented fork sleeves: cargo mounts that slide onto each fork leg and each carry three-boss cage mounts, letting you add up to 3 kg of luggage or extra water on the legs of the fork. On a bike whose primary purpose is gravel racing, touches like these make it considerably more adaptable than many of its contemporaries.

The Gear Groove completes the picture as the mounting point for the aero cockpit and other accessories, and it is the reason the top builds can be reconfigured for ultra endurance events without aftermarket workarounds. It is easy to dismiss this kind of hardware as marketing detail, but in practice these parts are well made and they widen what the bike can do.

Buying Advice: Which New Grail Makes Sense

If the geometry and adaptability of the new Grail platform are what appeal to you, the CF SLX 8 Di2 is the smarter buy. It costs £4,999, retains the down tube storage and the Gear Groove, and delivers almost the same ride quality as the £6,699 CFR Di2. For most riders, the extra spend on the top build buys specification and refinement rather than a meaningfully better ride.

If integration and accessory mounting are not priorities for you, the cheaper builds in the range should still delight, because the geometry and the broader adaptability of the platform are what make the new Grail so good. The mudguards, fork sleeves, and storage elevate it above the competition, but the ride is the foundation everything else is built on.

Conclusion

The new Canyon Grail is a well-rounded gravel bike that is more adaptable than many of its competitors. The geometry is dialled and it is a joy to ride. The range-topping CFR Di2 at £6,699 is not the build most riders should buy, but the platform underneath it is Canyon’s strongest argument yet in the gravel race category, and the CF SLX 8 Di2 brings most of that character within closer reach.