LeBron James' Custom Canyon Grizl CF with 32in Wheels

Canyon has built a gravel bike for a man who bends the dimensions of every court he steps on. Now, he’s bending the rules of bike design too.

For LeBron James, a standard XXL frame was never going to cut it. At 6ft 9in, the NBA star has spent years perched awkwardly over bikes that were simply scaled-up versions of regular machines. Canyon’s answer is very different: a bespoke Grizl CF with enormous 32in wheels and a frame re-engineered from the ground up in southern Germany.

This isn’t just a stretched Grizl. It’s a rethink.

Built for a 6ft 9in Engine

Wolfgang Kohl, Canyon’s lead gravel engineer, makes it clear the project demanded more than a few extra millimetres here and there. You can’t just blow up the CAD file and hope for the best.

“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,” he explains.

So Canyon created what it calls a 3XL platform, wrapped around those 32in wheels. The frame uses a specific carbon layup designed to cope with the forces James will put through it, especially under heavy acceleration or on rough gravel. The details are just as serious: custom CNC‑machined thru-axles with wider Boost spacing, and a bespoke seat clamp built to match the unique demands of the frame and rider.

The result is a bike that looks almost surreal at first glance, but has a clear purpose: make a gravel bike that finally fits one of the tallest, most powerful athletes on the planet.

The 32in Question

The wheel size is what grabs the headlines. Thirty-two inches. Oversized even by modern off‑road standards, where 29ers have long been the norm.

Yet Canyon is keeping its distance from any talk of a full production run. Internally, the bike is described as “one of a kind”, and while it’s fully functional, it’s not a signal that the brand is about to flood showrooms with 32in Grizls.

It’s a familiar pattern. Scott rolled out its own 32in machines as pure race tools, not retail products. Robin Gemperle rode one to victory at the 2026 Unbound XL, and Cameron Jones used the platform on the 200‑mile Unbound course. Those bikes, Scott stressed, were “pure prototypes”, never intended for sale.

BMC has followed a similar path. Its riders tested a 32in prototype at the Andorran round of the XC World Cup in July 2025. The bike drew attention, but BMC later confirmed it had no plans to release a 32in model to the public.

So the big players are dabbling. Testing. Winning, even. But not yet committing.

Right now, it’s smaller bespoke builders who are truly backing the size and offering 32in machines to paying riders. The mainstream brands still treat it like a lab experiment that occasionally escapes onto the race course.

Industry Momentum Is Building

Despite the caution from Canyon, Scott and BMC, the industry’s tide is quietly turning.

Tyre giant Schwalbe nailed its colours to the mast in January, saying it is “fully convinced” by the 32in format. The company will bring 32in tyres to market next year, and its prototype G‑One RX rubber already wraps the rims on James’ new Grizl.

Merida is moving too. Stephan Seitz confirmed in March that the brand is actively developing both gravel and cross‑country mountain bikes around 32in wheels. His prediction is bold: he expects 32in to become the performance standard by the spring of next year.

That’s not a fringe opinion. When tyre makers and major frame brands start retooling, it signals something more than a curiosity. It suggests that what we’re seeing under LeBron James today could be closer to tomorrow’s normal than it appears.

And crucially, the size seems to have a natural home: taller riders. The extra diameter promises better rollover, more stability and a fit that doesn’t force long‑limbed athletes into awkward compromises.

A Bike That Finally Disappears Beneath Him

For James, the project isn’t about industry politics or future standards. It’s about feel.

“On most bikes I've ridden, I was aware of the bike, where it didn't fit me, what I was working around,” he says.

Every tall rider knows that sensation: the too‑short front centre, the cramped cockpit, the odd handling that comes from pushing existing designs to their limits.

“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.”

That’s the real achievement of Canyon’s one‑off Grizl CF. The engineering, the custom carbon layup, the CNC‑machined axles, the 32in tyres from Schwalbe – all of it fades into the background when the rider stops noticing the bike at all.

For now, this monster‑wheeled Grizl belongs only to LeBron James. The question is how long the rest of the cycling world will have to wait before a wheel size built for giants stops being a prototype curiosity and starts lining up on start lines – and shop floors – everywhere.