Driving Impressions
I’ve received round 300 kilometers on the Grizl, so it’s early days, however my preliminary ideas are constructive. I’m having fun with the geo and body up to now; it’s a “racier” match than my private bike (nonetheless it is much less racy and aggressive than Canyon’s gravel race bike, the Grail, with its polarizing handlebars), however not uncomfortably so. It is a bike that is very snug and snappy on highway however actually begins to really feel at house when you hit dust. This bike is quick – no, comfortably quick – and feels premium.
Canyon’s overly sophisticated and elegantly named S15 VCLS 2.0 CF seatpost and 30mm of air-sprung journey supplied by the Rudy up entrance present a big quantity of separation between rider and Earth, doing a really noticeable job at smoothing out the tough bits. Does this translate to extra velocity, extra consolation, or each? Maybe. The seatpost flexes sufficient that you simply’re in a position to keep seated, hold spinning, and hold energy down. I am much less offered on the suspension fork at this level – it is heavy and costly. However we’ll see – I do take pleasure in among the journey traits it gives, however I have not decided if it is value among the tradeoffs, at the least for the way I journey.
GRX shifts very properly, and the brakes are unbelievable, nonetheless except you’re within the professional peloton, entrance derailleurs simply must die already. I am completely able to performing the dance with each palms, however right here in 2022 there’s virtually no want for this. Give me – and particularly each begintermediate rider – simplicity, please. That stated, regardless of having each main choice from SRAM and Shimano, there’s at the moment no inventory Canyon Grizl construct that completely fits me (I might wish to match the vary supplied by the Ratio Know-how hacked Pressure 11 x Eagle X01 drivetrain on my Bjorn). If it had been mine and I had the dough, I might be constructing a mullet AXS setup; as Pete refused my request for 1000’s of {dollars} in mod price range, we’ll strive another extra budget-friendly choices to ditch the entrance derailleur and hold loads of vary.
