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TECH NEWS
VR ThumbVan Rysel to launch seven new bikes, including high-end race models
Van Rysel is set to release seven – yes, seven – new bikes, including some very cool-looking high-end models that break new ground for the brand. Hints from the Van Rysel Instagram account suggest that the brand could – perhaps – be lining up to support a WorldTour team in 2024. We won't cover all seven but here are the most interesting new bikes that will eventually be available through Decathlon...
Van Rysel XCR time trial bike
We'll start with the XCR time trial bike because we showed you it in Tech of the Week on Saturday when it was exhibited at the Velofollies exhibition in Belgium.
The XCR, short for Extrem Racer (that's how Van Rysel spells it), is the brand's first time trial bike .
"Tested in digital simulation and in the wind tunnel, every detail has been optimised to be as aerodynamic as possible," says Van Rysel.
Although it’s not yet on the UCI’s List of Approved Models of Framesets, Van Rysel says that the XCR is intended for time trialists as well as triathletes.
Writing on the top tube says: “UCI 2024 World Championship Ready to Win".
Van Rysel has stuck pics of the XCR on Instagram with the #uciworldtour hashtag. Does this suggest that the bike will be raced in the WorldTour next year? (The #clm hashtag means 'contre la montre' – the French for 'time trail').
The bike comes with an integrated fork crown, an integrated cockpit, and a very deep head tube.
The model on display was built with high-end components – a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and Swiss Side Hadron2 wheels.
Van Rysel says that the XCR will be available in early 2024 at prices from €5,500 to €7,000.
Van Rysel RCR road bike
Van Rysel has stuck pictures of its new RCR (short for 'Racer') road bike on Instagram but without the #uciworldtour hashtag.
“The RCR is our most advanced racing bike,” says Van Rysel. “The perfect balance between lightness, stiffness and aerodynamics. Available from April 2023.”
Again, this is an interesting bike because it looks extremely high-end, built up with a top-level Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and Swiss Side wheels.
The cables are fully internal, there’s plenty of aero-shaping on display: the fork legs are deep, the rear of the seat tube is cutaway around the leading edge of the rear wheel, the seat stays come in low, the seat post is slim and deep… all the features we’ve come to expect of aero road bikes over the years.
If we were being harsh, we'd say that it looks like many other high-end all-round road bikes that are already out there from other brands, so we'll be interested to hear what Van Rysel has to say about the RCR when it is launched.
Prices will be from €4,000 to €9,000.
Van Rysel RCX II cyclocross bike
The second-generation carbon fibre cyclocross bike is new too.
Built up with a SRAM Red groupset and wheels from Duke, it was recently ridden to third place in the French national champs by Joshua Dubau.
The Van Rysel RCX II cyclocross bike will be available to the public from May 2023 at prices from €2,000 €3,100.
Van Rysel NCR
The carbon fibre NCR, short for "Neo Racer", is designed for versatility and is said to be "as comfortable on the road as it is on trails".
It looks a lot like the existing Van Rysel EDR endurance road bike but with a less bulbous head tube.
> Read our review of the Van Rysel EDR CF 105 Disc Road 2021
You're looking at €1,600 to €2,850 for the NCR, available from March 2023,
Van Rysel RCF
The RCF is said to be a bike “for seasoned cyclists looking for an aerodynamic and rigid bike to ride on flat or hilly terrain".
We don’t know much about this one although Van Rysel suggests it’s “ideal for winning a sprint or doing a triathlon” – which is quite a diverse skillset.
Available in March, the RCF will be priced at €4,200 in a Shimano Ultegra Di2 build.
Van Rysel PNPL 3.0 concept bike
The Van Rysel PNPL 3.0 concept bike is a radical design that will not be marketed.
“It is the result of a collaboration with Autodesk, a company specialising in Generative Design,” says Van Rysel. “It allows you to explore a new way of designing thanks to artificial intelligence and 3D printing. The objective is to be able to print a component, a part or a bike on-demand and tailor-made.”
Overall
All in all, it looks like Van Rysel has made a big push in developing its range recently, with plenty of models due for official launches this year.
Could this all be simply to provide the market with high-quality options or is this coupled with the desire to support a WorldTour team soon? We wouldn't have thought this feasible just a couple of years ago but we'd say it's a distinct possibility now. Van Rysel already supports Team Cofidis with clothing but we're left thinking that it's intending to increase its involvement with a top team in 2024. What do you reckon?
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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Oh god is he still here? Still not found a publisher for his stories?
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19 comments
Class! Decathlon used to supply AG2r back in the day and Wilier, Canyon, Ribble all use the same open mould factories, as the same replacement hanger and alloy BB shell was highlighted by my local bike shop.
What difference is a sticker of branding but our own vanity?
If Merida make ALL of Specialized S works, Why do we value Specialized over Merida, when Merida are the experts in carbon technology and construction and the Specialized lads in California just send the colour they want it painted!
I don't believe its a simple as that. Specialized will have a very active and expensive R&D department which will create the bikes before sending their specs off to be built. The money goes into the design process. Hence why an S-works will cost you a lot more than an open mold frame made in the same factory.
It's not just that Merida make Specialized bikes, they actually own a 49% share of the company.
For some reason those distorted pictures really bother me!
Can call the brand what you want, but we all know you're just riding a bike from decathlon. Get serious and buy a real bike
The #smalldickenergy is strong in this one.
I vote we all ignore him. Seems to be posting for effect now including on empty comment stories to berate the site / author. Obviously someone just wanting the attention by pretending to be "a hard as nails cyclist."
Agreed. New year, new attention-seeker. Unless it's a previous one back with a fresh persona.
Already getting boring.
Call yourself what you want, but we all know you're just in insecure poser with a fancy bike. Get less serious and just ride the bike that best suits your needs and your budget.
FYI: just about every Decathlon bike tested here and on other sites get high praise for its quality and value for money, by far exceeding expectations with great ride feeling. That's 'real bike' enough for every sensible person.
Well that's the snorter off a pigs back and no mistake. What is a real bicycle now and where might one procure one?
I believe you should apply to Didi Senft:
https://www.recordholders.org/en/records/didi.html
Or if you lean in another direction (backwards):
http://www.aerovelo.com/eta-speedbike
I love the phrase but but surely it's "cow's ear off a mouse's back"?
I'm far too poor to afford any of those bicycles.
I've seen this one down by my local canal.
You're talking absolute bollox
Be interesting to see how much these cost in pounds. They look good but they need to be cheaper than mainstream brands just to negate the smaller sell on value alone
Decathlon have history in the World Tour....why noto
Why not feasible a couple of years back? As far back as 2014 when they were still badged as Btwin Decathlon were supplying bikes to the AG2R La Mondiale development squad and the French U19 national team, beautiful bikes right on the 6.8kg limit and apart from being 10sp Di2 rather than 12 they can hold their own with most bikes available today - I know because I've got one!
Exciting looking new range, I've owned a number of Decathlon MTBs, hybrids and road bikes over the years and not one has been a disappointment, they consistently match the quality of bikes 100% plus more expensive.
Why not indeed? When you look at what makes a bike, 50% is other peoples stuff, or at least a subsidiary companies stuff. The gears, wheels, even finishing kit are mostly made by third party brands so the 'bike' is only the frame and the fork. Technology has reached a point where they can be designed and tested virtually and then sent off to a factory in the far east to be built. Its really not that hard to start up a bike brand and make good quality products that can compete. When you have the finances from a popular sports retailer to help you along the way its easy to see how their bikes could eventually be raced on the world tour. If Decathlon sponsored a World tour team then its feasable. Look at some of the brands ridden in recent years. Factor are barely a decade old and have have established themselves as a high end label.