£4,799 | Big-mile, big-power, go-anywhere e-machine

Weight 16.66kg (L) Frameset Carbon Gears Shimano GRX (44, 11-42) Wheels DT Swiss Brakes Shimano GRX E-bike system: Bosch 250W/85Nm motor and 500Wh battery Finishing kit Canyon bar, stem and post, Fizik saddle, Schwalbe G-One Bite 50mm tyres

Photography Russell Burton

The Good
Bags of power; good range; fantastic fun

The Bad
Biplane bar is awkward for accessories;

CANYON’S RADICAL GRAIL design, with its angular frame and unique ‘biplane’ cockpit, was divisive when it launched as a gravel bike. The electrified Grail: ON version, however, looks like a much more complete machine. The sculpted frame and integrated cockpit balance well with the oversized downtube that hides the 500Wh battery, while the oversized bottom bracket with its Gen 4 Bosch motor makes for a muscular-looking futuristic bike well suited to e-power.

This CF 7 build is very well thought-out. Aside from the hugely powerful motor, you get Fizik’s excellent Argo saddle sitting atop the cushioning comfort of Canyon’s own leaf-spring-like VCLS seatpost. The bike rolls on DT Swiss’ hardy HG1800 alloy gravel-specific wheels: Canyon uses smaller 650b sized wheels on the small and XS sizes, moving up to 700c wheels on the medium and above frames.

Perhaps the most contentious part of the Grail design is up front – its biplane CP07 cockpit, with a lower bar feeding into the integrated stem that anchors mid-way on the hook of the drops, while the higher ‘floating’ wing is designed to flex in the centre. Personally, I like the aesthetics of the bar on the Grail:ON much more than I did on the standard Grail. However, I do have some issues with the bar’s usability. The offset wings make it hard to fit a bar bag easily and mounting a GPS is a little awkward too. Yes, the bar does offer flex in the centre of the top wing, which is fine when you’re cruising along, but it feels just like any other bar when riding on the hoods or the drops, only a little more awkward.

Initially I thought that Canyon’s use of the simple Purion display was a costcutting measure when it could have used Bosch’s smart Kiox head unit and remote control, as Cannondale uses on its Topstone Neo Lefty – but that would have been a challenge to fit to this handlebar set-up. The Purion, mounted on the far left of the lower bar with its left-sided buttons, is within easy reach of your thumb when you’re riding on the hoods or drops. The display offers basic information, showing current power mode and battery level. On the bottom edge is a Walk+ button; activate this when wheeling the bike and it’ll give a little assistance, which is useful if you’re pushing the bike up a steep slope.

Putting aside the Grail: ON’s love or hate looks, what I do absolutely love about the CF 7 is just how well it rides when the going gets rough. The Schwalbe G-One Bite tyres in a broad 50mm width roll surprisingly briskly on tarmac, and excel on dirt and

“ The increased traction afforded by the addition of power gives you potential to ride a route you’d have to bypass on a non-powered bike”

shale. I was also impressed with the bolder tread pattern, which gives real cornering confidence in damper conditions too. The bike’s comfort levels are also great, especially at the back end where the excellent shape of the Argo saddle and the compliant seatpost combine to eliminate vibrations, jolts and jarring.

Through its four simple modes (Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo) the motor injects assistance from a gentle push in the back through to the brutal punch of Turbo, which genuinely gives you the potential to ascend steep off-road climbs that simply wouldn’t be possible on a standard gravel bike. The Eco setting provides the lowest assistance level but the highest potential range (about 88 miles according to Bosch’s range calculator) and, at the other end of the scale, the Turbo setting gives power far beyond its nominal 250W, but be aware this reduces the range to under 30 miles. If you’re looking to ride as far as possible, you should use Turbo only sparingly, no matter how much fun it is!

As with all UK-legal ebikes, the electric motor only engages when you pedal and, more importantly, it will stop assisting at 15.5mph (25km/h) according to the current law (though EU law allows a 10 per cent margin, so that could be as high as 17.05mph). The Canyon’s power delivery is impressive and the Grail:ON integrates the Bosch system as well as any ebike I’ve ridden. The range really impressed too. I maxed out the CF 7 at best with a ride of 88.25 miles/142km, which took in 3,018ft/920m of climbing on a test ride that included less than five miles of tarmac.

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The Grail:ON is yet another shining example of why e-gravel bikes make so much sense. The increased traction afforded by the addition of power means you can stay seated on steep, loose climbs, giving you the potential to ride a gravelbike route you’d have to bypass on a nonpowered bike.

The best reason for choosing the CF 7, however, is that beyond anything else it’s just a fantastic amount of fun to ride. Any bike that puts a smile on your face the moment you get on board – and has the ability to keep you smiling all day – is a winner in my book, so I’d wholeheartedly recommend Canyon’s Grail: ON.

Warren Rossiter

Verdict
Big power, big miles and even bigger fun