Canyon has revealed a Grizl CF gravel bike with 32in wheels, made especially for LeBron James.
The bike was designed and built in southern Germany and Wolfgang Kohl, Canyon’s lead engineer for gravel, says it wasn’t just a case of “taking the current frame and making it bigger".
“The geometry might land in the right place, but the loads don't scale the way the dimensions do. Everything needed to get re-engineered or the bike simply wouldn't function as a responsive system to the rider,” Kohl explains.
Alongside its 32in wheels, the 3XL bike uses a special carbon layup to withstand the load the 6ft 9in athlete and NBA player will put through the frame. It also has custom CNC-machined thru-axles with wider Boost spacing and a custom seat clamp.
A bespoke bike – and a familiar story
While there is a lot of hype and debate around 32in wheels, Canyon’s bike for LeBron James doesn’t mean the brand is publicly committing to the oversized wheels. In fact, it describes the bike as a “one of a kind”, even if it is “fully functional”.
This is a similar story to Scott’s recent 32in bikes, which Robin Gemperle used to win the 2026 Unbound 2026 XL race and Cameron Jones also rode on the shorter 200-mile Unbound course. However, when Scott revealed its 32in bikes, it said they were “pure prototypes” and they would never be released on the market.
BMC athletes also raced a 32in prototype at the Andorran round of the XC World Cup in July 2025, but BMC later told BikeRadar it had no plans to release a 32in bike.
So it seems that while big mainstream brands are still treating 32in wheels as an experiment, it’s only smaller bespoke companies that are committing to the size.
That doesn’t mean we won’t see the likes of Canyon, Scott or BMC eventually release a 32in-wheel bike.
Schwalbe said in January that it is “fully convinced” by the wheel size and that it would release 32in tyres next year (its prototype 32in G-One RX tyres are fitted to James' new Grizl).
Merida’s Stephan Seitz told us in March that the company is developing gravel bikes and cross-country mountain bikes with the wheel size. He also added we can expect to see 32in wheels become the performance standard by the spring of next year.
In the meantime, it’s LeBron James who is reaping the benefits of Canyon’s experimentation – and he’s probably the ideal candidate, because the general consensus is the wheel size will be ideal for taller riders.
James says: “On most bikes I've ridden, I was aware of the bike, where it didn't fit me, what I was working around.
“This is the first one that I didn't have to think about. That's what I love most about riding. It's just you out there and everything else is gone.”
