Custom Grizl CF

Had this bike for a couple of weeks now and thought I'd share some snaps of it!

Grizl CF 6 – Lavender Gelato
Sram Rival E1 XPLR AXS
Zipp 303s
Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 40c

Bit of background as to how this bike came into my life. My previous bike was a 2021 Topstone 2 in Rainbow Trout which I adored – Brooks B17, Challenge Getaway Pro 45c tyres, 2×10 GRX 400/600 groupset and of course the colour!! On Good Friday (a bad one for me) I had a big crash in a remote location (on gravel) and had to abandon the bike to get to hospital for surgery on a badly broken collarbone – the surgeon said "you've done a proper job on that". Alas, the bike was not there upon collecting it… so after some back of forth from the insurance company I got a pay out. A silver lining!

The following weeks whilst recovering I looked at bikes, bike geometries, gear calculations and YouTube pretty much every day (and watching The Wire). I wanted to replace the Topstone prior to accident due to it feeling a bit sluggish since moving from Birmingham to The Cotswolds with all the hills. Having previously owned a second hand Neuron 5 and now a Spectral CF 8, the CF variants of the Grizl and Grail were top of my list.

It's fair to say there are A LOT of bikes catering for bikepacking, racing, CX, all road, endurance etc and as someone who doesn't like choice it was overwhelming and there is always something to sacrifice or compromise on!

For reference I wanted a bike to cruise around and explore The Cotswolds; long winding roads, bumpy lanes, farm tracks, bridleways, single track and anything else I came across with a bit of pace if required. (I even took the Topstone down trails at FOD). I initially narrowed it down to the Grail CF 7 and SuperX Carbon 3 based on the Topstone feeling slow, and so ordered the SuperX. I've always liked the look of a racey Cannondale and felt it could be a good fit in terms of speed, lightweight, tyre clearance, a newer frame and a solid 2by package.

The following day I cancelled my order…

I realised that I wanted versatility… in frame storage (sounds silly, but I don't like the look of a saddle bag), ease of attaching bags for longer exploration days and as a photographer, the ability to have a rack to affix my camera bag. I wanted a bike I could hang out with, have a beer and use it for different applications over the next 5, 10 years.

I was also looking at the 2by vs 1by and the 1by Grail / Grizl's did tickle my fancy for simplicity and 'work with what you've got'. So the Grizl became the choice – frame bag, front rack, all the tyre clearance needed, easy to get over the shoulder to go through kissing gates and the colour… personally a big fan. One thing I will say is Canyon and other platforms push the Grizl as an off road adventure bike and the Grail as a race all road gravel bike. This can leave people thinking, the Grizl is 'too much' for ones needs but the reality is it's all marketing. The Grizl is perfectly at home on the road as it is on a mountain in my view and 80% of the time it will probably be on the road.

However, if I was getting a new bike, I wanted to future proof it and Sram's new 13s groupsets seemed perfect with tighter gears at the top end making cadence less of an issue. The only bike at a reasonable price point with Rival that I could obtain was the Trek Checkpoint SL6 with 20% off for £2720 (via Vitality Health Insurance). But being someone who appreciates good design and 'less is more' I couldn't gel with it compared to Canyon's design philosophy and branding. Why they didn't have a non rift version with Rival or Force I do not know. And then the stars aligned… I decided to cost up a custom Grizl and it all made sense. It's fair to say, had I not received a payout from the insurance I would not own this bike, and I certainly would not have carbon wheels on it!

Bike costs
Grizl CF6 – £1804.05
Sram Rival XPLR – £995 (LBS)
Bartape – £25
Fitting – £120

Sold (take off)
Sram Apex 12s – £350

On stock wheels the bike with Rival was £2594 which I think is good value.

I planned on adding carbon wheels at a (much) later date but the bike shop said I needed a new freehub from HG (Apex) to Xdr (Rival). It seemed pointless spending money on a freehub for wheels that I would eventually replace. So you know what happened next? Hunt 35s were my original choice but I found a ridiculous deal on new 303s with lifetime warranty so bought them.

Wheel costs
Zipp 303s – £675.75 (yes I know, it's ridiculous)
G-One RS Pro – £96

Sold (take off)
Gravel LN wheels w/ tyres – £250

Total bike cost: £3115.80

Which for a bike of this spec, I think is pretty decent – I also offset insurance money against it too. I love the bike, the colour, how it rides, and most importantly, the itch to get out on it most days… which after 2 months of not riding a bike has brought absolute joy. I will likely add a cheap second hand wheelset with 50s but for now, as an all road and light gravel bike it's perfect. Roll on the adventures!