Canyon already picked up the mountain bike trophy in the 2019 T3 Awards and we've also awarded the affordable but ass-kicking German brand the crown when it comes to gravel bikes. Yes, the Grail AL 7.0 SL is THE best gravel bike. Will it also win the Award for road bike of the year? (No).
Canyon has won an enviable reputation for quality, efficiency and value for money over the years, so it's no surprise that it's rapidly mastered the art of making and selling gravel bikes. These chunky hybrids are great for everything from off-roading to taking on hills to braving the dangerous, pothole-gashed hellscapes that are most British cities these days.
Canyon's Grail range is built from the ground up to be fast on the road, but gnarly off it. We have awarded this gong specifically to the aluminium AL 7.0 SL because it offers fantastic value for money, giving more thrills to the buck than any rival.
The Grail range were originally all in carbon fibre only frame, but this aluminium one is excellent, and also uses a more conventional set of handlebars than the 'double decker' found on the carbon Grails. The result is a bike that's durable, but affordable despite enviable accoutrements, including an SRAM Rival 1 groupset and 40mm Schwalbe G-One Bite tyres.
As ever with Canyon, you buy direct from the brand, saving the expense of paying a middle person/shop. When it comes to answering the question, 'what is the best gravel bike?', the answer is wholly Grail. Ba-doom-tish,
• Buy Grail direct from Canyon