Racing the new Canyon Grail at Big Sugar Gravel

The Life Time Grand Prix Big Sugar Gravel course in Bentonville, Arkansas is a rowdy, 104mi affair that notoriously eats tires. How did the new Canyon Grail with 40mm Schwalbe G-One RS tires handle it?

0:00 intro
2:09 storage
4:08 overview
5:28 racing Big Sugar
10:27 things I screwed up
17:15 what I liked & didn't
20:25 coming up

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The Ride is supported in 2023 by:

[kitka]

Ben, in my humble opinion you are absolutely THE BEST cycling journo out there. No bull shit, no bought opinions. Always honest, every opinion backed up by experience, TONS of racing behind your belt (with growing rate of success no less!). Seriously, all the "IS THIS THE BEST BIKE EVER THAT EVER WILL EVER..." - take note. This is how it's done. Cheers and keep on pushing!

[robbchastain]

Meanwhile, at Canyon HQ in Germany, several writers are preparing a 100-page technical manual on all operational aspects of the storage door. 😀

[bobfoster]

If you get a flat, does it become the Holy Grail?

Love the post race honesty... !! Great Job on the finish, Congrats!

[jonathanzappala]

I have one of those preset torque keys for 10nm that I use on thru axels. That way I don’t have to adjust the tourism wrench every time, and I always get the wheel done up to the right spot so the disc won’t rub. My disc will run if the wheel isn’t tight enough.

[scottatkins]

Great video Ben! I have always enjoyed reading your stuff with Velo. Now you have reinvented yourself! Awesome to see this! Keep up the great work!

[m.t.keepmoving]

Ben, that upside-down door dilemma is hilarious! thanks for not taking yourself too serious and sharing the bone-headedness that all of us participate in! Enjoy the Ride!!

[lucyphillips]

Congrats on your race! I just wanted to say I appreciate hearing things that didn’t go well or were hard. Makes the rest of us know we’re not alone with struggling and messing stuff up! Side note: I wanted a bigger cassette and wider tires last for big sugar too. Tough ride!

[gerryl]

My favorite episode yet (and I'm a hard grader!). Killed it start to finish and congrats.s on that strong finish. That's the bike got my eyes set on so you racing it in Big Sugar was perfect timing. Heading to Carlsbad to see bike in person this week. Thxs Ben!

[SteeringandSuspensions]

Thanks so much for the pic after the race, congrats on the finish, hope to see you next year

[climbslc]

Second with a totally unknown, un-shookout bike... Great job!!! Can't believe I hadn't subscribed yet but this one made me check. Subscribed.

[gibbens]

Love all your videos but this arguably is your best for content and interest 😊🚴🇦🇺

[nkantar]

Nearly tears of laughter at the last scene, fantastic work. 😂

[mles]

Great vid and ride, congratulations 🏁🏁🏁🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

[bullonabike]

Saw you on the Formula 1 pre-show at Austin this week Ben! You were pushing your bike through the paddock behind Will Buxton!!

[EricAbbottTri]

Congrats on 2nd overall. Cool lining up next to you at the start. Loving that bike, going on my short list for new bike day.

[xaviermelendez]

Great job on the Big W, and kudos on another fun video, Bennie D!!! #thepeopleschampion

[TZZZ]

Nice story Ben. You’ve clearly still got it with those podiums. Great to see so many enjoying what looks like a great event. …I rode an 80km gravel race recently and got smashed in the hills - 1450m of climbing sent my quads into cramp-lock at the 1000m mark and that was me done! ...I limped in for an embarrassing very low placed finish, dreaming of the two litres of pickle juice I should have consumed! :))

[rudyelizondo]

Great vid Bro n race, really enjoyed it all!! Nice bike but way too pricy for homeboys like me besides, I own the Diverge (poor man’s model) with upgraded wheels and Panaracer sk 38’s on it which are fine for an old slow man like me🤪 can’t wait for your vid with Alex Howe on tires.

[frienduro]

Tire clearance is technically unchanged at 700x 42 mm, but Canyon points out that’s with fenders, so the effective maximum tire size is closer to 700×45 mm (40 mm-wide tires come stock across the board). There’s also a dedicated – and impressively, thoroughly engineered – full-length front and rear fender kit