Grail as a bike road
 

Hi there

I wanna use my canyon grail as a road bike on training and competition bike starts with road bikes on very amateur/regional level. Can we compare grail to endurance road bikes?

Not sure what you mean by "competition bike starts" - I'll assume you're looking into beginner to intermediate-level racing, group rides, etc. The short answer is "Yes" - a Grail (any gravel bike) will work fine as a road bike.... assuming you swap the wheels/tires from the 40mm to something in the 25-28mm range.

I have a handful of road bikes - one is a light, aggressive (geometry) race bike. That bike definitely feels faster than my Grail. Part of it is weight. But at 18.5 lbs, the Grail isn't a tank by any means. It's really just the aggregation of factors - the weight, the longer rear triangle (chain stays), head tube angle, bottom bracket height. They're all subtle, but they add up. So, the Grail wouldn't be ideal for Cat1... or 2 or 3 or 4 racing... or crits... But, it's not so bad that it's going to be the reason you don't get on the podium as you start out. Plus, you get to go ride gravel and single track too!

If I had only one bike - it'd be that Grail with the two sets of wheels.

What he said above
 

Mechanically it will be fine. But the geo will put you in a non aero position

Why won't he be able to get an aero position?

You will be fine with road riding, training, and racing. People have been racing RRs and crits on cross bikes for decades. This isn't all that different.

The one issue you may encounter is the handlebar - assuming you have the fancy, double-decker one. I'm not sure whether it violates any equipment rules or if the flex system will hamper you on the road.

Large stack
 

From my limited experience riding one. Its an endurance bike so you are put more upright. Stacks is put at 600+ on Cannons site

The stack on my Cervelo R3 is 605-- a scant 4mm shorter than my CX bike. I have absolutely no problems riding in an aero position on either of them. The stack on the AL framed Grail is the same for my size, 605. Maybe the OP is on aluminum.

Which means it’s gong to tend to set up in a more upright position. however with the right stem, frame size, etc, you should be able to set
it up with an aero position

Yeah ...
 

Your both right of course, but making an endurance geo more like a racing geo with stems, and offset posts etc. doesnt work so well in my experience.

OP if your not going to race you will be fine. Practice drafting and never offer to pull(!) and you will never notice the endurance geo.

The notion that the geo on an R3 is "endurance" is... not right. Could be my spidery arms and legs, but I have a zero offset post, a 110 stem... and right around 7 inches of saddle-to-bar drop.

Your build might not be an "endurance" fit, but minimizing saddle setback and using a long stem indicates that the frame itself is fairly slack and short for the build.

For example, my gravel bike, built from an old mountain bike with beach-cruiser-esque geometry:

https://i.imgur.com/XV5HZ5w.jpg

On my "normal" road bikes I don't ride with my saddle pushed forward on a zero-offset post, but because the frame is so slack, I had to do that to achieve a road-like fit.

The only thing that blue bike shares in common with an R3 is that they're both bicycles. I bet it's hella smooth and stable-- after all, you've got the wheelbase of a compact car. The R3, not so much.

https://i.imgur.com/D3eELiX.jpg?1

Since when was 110mm considered to be a long stem?
You need to consider body proportions with regard to fit and this "endurance geometry".
If you have longer than average legs like I do and obviously "Dr Isotope" does you may well need a tall stack height ("endurance") to get a "race fit".
A "race bike" is not really usable without bulk spacers, flipped up stems etc.

Huh?