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Which bike? Salsa Warbird CF vs Canyon Grail CF SL 7? (lemm.ee)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/bicycling

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Hey y'all! Wondering if people will share their opinions please on these two new Gravel bikes I am looking at.

First, I ride casually, on the weekends. I want to spend equal time on- and off-road; there are lots of compacted gravel and dirt roads near me I want to ride. I have a road bike now, but its 25mm wheels and its slicks don't do dirt and gravel like I want.

First, the Salsa Warbird C GRX 600 1x:
https://www.salsacycles.com/bikes/2024-warbird-c-grx-600-1x

$3300 USD MSRP but a LBS has one for $2800.

Warbird C GRX 600 is a carbon gravel bike with a few tricks you won’t find anywhere else. The frameset features our gravel race geometry, a perfect blend of stability and comfort that only comes from decades of gravel riding experience. Our Class 5™ VRS (vibration reduction system) cuts chatter — and fatigue — from rugged roads that would otherwise beat you up.

OTOH, the Canyon CF SL 7:
https://www.canyon.com/en-us/outlet-bikes/gravel-bikes/grail-cf-sl-7/3095.html

Actually a mix of GRX 600 and 800 parts and an FSA Crank.

If you need to shake up your riding routine, then gravel is the answer. The lightweight Grail CF SL 7 is a hugely versatile bike ready for all your year-round off-road adventures, and comes complete with Shimano’s GRX810 gravel groupset.

I'm leaning toward the Canyon, but would appreciate any feedback / other ideas you all have for a gravel bike in the same price range, available new in the US. Cheers!

Edited for clarity.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I just looked those up and see they're under 1000usd. Do you like yours? Do you ever avoid riding some trail because you might break something? Someone else said my two ideas were overkill for my uses.

[–] grumpo_potamus 2 points 4 months ago

I like it, but it's a complicated answer. First, I really like it as I'd been away from any kind of cycling for some years and this was one of the first bikes that had fit me for some time (not a weird size or anything, I was just riding old bikes I'd outgrown or second hand). For the price point, it was a great reintroduction.

I've had mine for a year in mid-August. I ride ~50mi/wk on a combo of paved multi use tail, gravel roads, and single track. At the moment, it's my only bike and because of that I'm also taking it places it probably shouldn't go, like rough/rocky single track. But...at the lower cost, that's something I'm more willing to do with that bike than say a $3k carbon gravel bike.

I see a lot of people out on more expensive bikes that look barely used and I'm keeping up with them just fine.

I have put some work and money into this, but nothing too outside to norm for maintenance in a year's time - standard saddle and pedal swap, tires, replaced the brake cables and re-wrapped the handle bars in the process.

I recently had a spoke break on a ride, and I think that's kind of turned my attention to wishing that there were just better components as a whole on the bike. Things like hydraulic disc vs mechanical would be nice.

However much I'd love to have a better gravel bike though, my focus is on getting a mtn bike again as I think I'm currently just treating this bike too rough. I've just found I'm really enjoying riding again and want to do it all.

If you're not sure how much you'll actually ride gravel, I'd say it's worth checking out. I believe their current line addresses some of the issues people have had with brake cables and they've moved to thru-axle as more standard, but I honestly haven't kept up with them much. It's been great for my all-around use. You just may find yourself wanting an upgrade if you get into riding gravel. But if not, at least you haven't overspent.

Hope that helps!