I spent 20 hours testing the brand new Van Rysel RCR-F and it’s higher than the rest the model has produced, however it’s bought one huge flaw

In model phrases, the rise of Van Rysel from value-oriented own-brand also-ran to a totally fledged efficiency outfit, outwardly untethered from its Decathlon possession, has been fairly meteoric. In the final three years, it’s gone from a standing begin to sponsoring a WorldTour squad and has simply rolled out a second top-end highway bike in as a few years. 

We have seen the RCR-F (F for Fast, to tell apart it from the lighter RCR Pro) in use way back to the 2024 Tour de France, and it’s been in use at Opening Weekend along with different early season races. It is an out-and-out aero bike, choosing up the business swing of the pendulum because it falls away from ‘one bike to rule all of them’ again to ‘mild bike and aero bike’. Is it top-of-the-line aero highway bikes available on the market? Well we’ve not taken it to the wind tunnel but, however it actually has the potential to be.

I’ve had the pleasure of testing the model new Van Rysel RCR-F earlier than the launch, clocking up 500km in a two week interval together with a 200km experience to see what it might deal with. Luckily for you, I additionally reviewed the Van Rysel RCR final 12 months, and so am completely positioned to match and distinction the 2. The prime line is that I believe the RCR-F is a greater bike. It feels higher executed, higher specced, extra thought-about, however the entrance finish of the bike is so low that I believe it’s going to alienate potential prospects and confine it to the skilled ranks solely, which is a disgrace. 

Design and aesthetics

The best method to describe the design of the Van Rysel RCR-F is to say it’s primarily precisely the identical because the RCR Pro, besides each tube is deeper. This is extraordinarily reductive, however at a look it actually provides you a flavour of the intent for every bike. Visually no less than the RCR-F has the identical stance, the identical straight fork legs, the identical prime tube angle, the identical insertion factors for the stays. The rear stays are literally essentially the most comparable bit to the RCR Pro, and whereas they’re deeper on the RCR-F, they’re comparatively svelte in comparison with the monstrous head tube, seat tube, and down tube. 

The eye goes to be drawn to that enormous head tube initially, and whereas this can be very deep I believe that is barely exaggerated by the truth that, in relative phrases, it’s a brief warmth tube too. I’ll dig into the geometry shortly although. The head tube is neatly sculpted into the fork crown, as is the customized these days for aero bikes, and the highest tube tapers right down to a flatter level in a means harking back to, however not so excessive as that of the Factor Ostro VAM. 

The deep, aero seatpost slots right into a correspondingly deep seat tube, which evenly scallops the rear wheel on the decrease reaches, and the down tube is simply… huge. There’s no different method to describe it actually. It’s not huge by aero bike requirements, however there’s loads of bike there. All of this, together with the wide-set stays on the again provides a way more muscular look than the RCR Pro, and that lowered head tube mixed with a Van Rysel-designed, Deda-manufactured built-in cockpit provides a extra racy stance. 

All these aero shapings wouldn’t be full with out some producer claims. The head tube is 7% stiffer, and I think about a few of that is right down to it simply being smaller, and in aero phrases, the bike is a claimed 13 watts sooner than the RCR Pro. It actually feels sooner, and in my testing, it’s objectively a quick bike, however a few of which may be a rise in entrance finish stiffness mixed with the spec. There’s point out of the advantages being reaped over 35km/h versus the RCR Pro, however it’s at 45km/h the place the wattage claims are made (with out bottles or cages) and when you add a rider onto the bike (which you may must do to actually really feel the profit) that determine drops to 10 watts. 

Speaking of which, you possibly can solely have Shimano, and solely electrical variations too. I examined out the model with 105, however Ultegra and Dura-Ace variants can be found. There aren’t any SRAM choices but although, that means that the underside finish of the vary is a bit more premium than that of the RCR Pro. This isn’t ultimate for customers on the lookout for cheaper efficiency bikes, however given the efficiency leanings of the RCR-F versus the extra generalist RCR Pro I believe it may be forgiven to some extent. SRAM builds are, I’m advised, due in the summertime. 

The use of a press-fit backside bracket permits for a wider, stiffer backside bracket shell, however this appears to be towards the run of play in a market shifting (fortunately for my part) again to threaded backside brackets. 

Geometrically the RCR-F is way the identical because the RCR Pro, simply with an extended attain (399mm performs 395mm) and a decrease stack (551mm performs 572mm). The head tube angle, seat tube angle, backside bracket drop, chain keep size and fork rake are all equivalent, although the wheelbase is barely longer on the RCR-F. This is sensible for a motorcycle with racy ambitions however the stack top is actually very, very low, to the purpose I’m involved it will likely be unsuitable for a lot of riders. 

For context, the stack top (that being the vertical distance from the underside bracket to the highest of the top tube, analogous to how low the entrance finish is) in a measurement Large (the closest equal to a 56) is 14mm decrease than the Specialized Tarmac SL8, 19mm decrease than the Pinarello Dogma F, and a full 25mm decrease than the Cannondale SuperSix Evo. All of those bikes are WorldTour race bikes and provide up fairly aggressive positions. I ran the Dogma for an extended time period with a wholesome stack of spacers and that was nonetheless a fairly aggressive place to kick about in. I’m all for a racy setup, however even with 25mm of spacers above the headset cowl it was nonetheless comfortably (or not) the bottom I’ve ever run a entrance finish. This is barely difficult by the truth that I ran a Medium check bike with a prime tube size of 55.2cm, whereas I’d usually run a 56, making the entrance finish decrease than I’m used to in comparison with the fashions above. 

Is it too low? Not for the professionals, who can dedicate infinite hours to energy and conditioning work and much more hours into getting used to such an aggressive setup, however for the patron… I believe it is perhaps. If it’s on the restrict of useability for me, somebody who exams race bikes as their job, it is vitally doubtless that it’s too low to your common client, nevertheless racy their ambitions. 

In a briefing for the related bike journos we have been advised that the RCR-F is actually just for about 20% of customers, with the remaining being much better catered for by the RCR (Pro, or in any other case). Given Van Rysel’s historic status for excellent worth, creating a motorcycle that is not actually for most individuals, and really a lot catering for the WorldTour appears like a little bit of a departure, and I believe unnecessarily alienating. Sure, possibly lots of the folks using a Pinarello Dogma aren’t making absolutely the most of it, however no less than they will nonetheless match on one. 

Performance

Putting apart the extraordinarily low entrance finish for a second, the Van Rysel RCR-F is completely ripping quick. On shorter blasts at max effort, it’s ballistic. The low entrance finish actually helps right here, forcing you into an aero place, as does the cockpit with its slight flare, however it’s additionally the truth that it’s clearly a really aero bike. 

This is complemented by the wheelset, a 65mm deep entrance and rear setup from Swiss Side, shod with Continental GP5000 S TR tyres. For improved aerodynamics, the entrance is 25c and the rear is the extra frequent 28c. This is actually an enchancment when it comes to spec over the RCR I examined, however is consistent with the 105 Di2 spec model of the RCR. We have concluded in our personal lab exams that the GP5000 is the quickest highway tyre, however a 25c on British roads with a entrance finish this stiff is jarring, to say the least.

On flat and rolling terrain the RCR-F is fairly particular to bomb round on. It is rocket-fast, and proper on the cusp of being slightly too stiff. The rear finish isn’t so unforgiving that the rear wheel leaves the bottom on all-out hill sprints, one thing the Dogma usually suffered with, and whereas it’s deep, the seatpost isn’t practically so excessive (and vertical) as that of the Cervélo S5, which is considerably unforgiving. If you need a bike that’s going to allow you to lock right into a solo aero effort and encourage you to muscle over shorter rises then it’s actually an ideal possibility. 

It’s not bought that whip-sharp really feel of extra all-round machines just like the Dogma, particularly in comparison with devoted climbing bikes just like the Canyon Ultimate. It’s no slouch uphill, and truly excels on shorter, actually punchy ramps, however for protracted climbing, the package deal lacks that simple kick of acceleration you get from bikes on the UCI weight restrict. In the spherical although, this can be a sooner possibility, as on the descents you’ll go sooner. It’s additionally not prefer it’s a heavy bike, with my medium check unit clocking in at 8.53kg/18.8lbs with out pedals or bottle cages, however with tubes within the tyres. To evaluate apples with apples a Dura-Ace spec is claimed to weigh 7.5kg, in comparison with the Factor Ostro VAM which clocks in at 7.2kg. 

Despite having primarily the identical geometry because the RCR Pro the Van Rysel RCR-F appears like a unique beast on descents. Continental GP5000 S TR tyres assist, however even after I swapped the wheels out to see the way it fared with wider rubber it held true; the entire package deal feels much more ‘collectively’, for need of a greater phrase. The RCR Pro I discovered to be a bit missing in polish, whereas the RCR-F every thing sings from the identical hymn sheet. On descents – and I took it out to some world-class roads in Wales – it was glorious. Even at prime pace it remained feeling steady and assured. 

It is stiff although. I took it out for a 200km experience with loads of climbing, and on the finish, I used to be feeling fairly beat up, and that is after swapping the wheels out for one thing shod with 30c rubber. You can match greater tyres, and if I used to be speccing it for myself I’d most likely match some pretty plush 32s, however that’s as a result of the sluggish decline of the nation means Britain’s roads have extra in frequent with a lunar panorama than one thing designed for transit. 

I do just like the cockpit, that’s undoubtedly an improve over the RCR Pro. It’s narrower for starters, with my Medium bike coming with a set of bars which are 36cm c-c on the hoods, flared to 40cm on the drops, however it’s a stiffer setup that’s way more adept at dealing with excessive wattage efforts. There’s sufficient actual property on the underside of the drops to hang around there for lengthy intervals of time (in case your backbone can deal with it) too, reasonably than forcing you up into the curve of the bars. The tops are deep. Like, actually deep. Deep sufficient that none of my clip-on lights would match, that means I needed to resort to slinging one thing beneath the included outfront mount. 

This laptop mount is injection moulded plastic and is completely able to holding a small laptop just like the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, however not more than that actually. I attempted it with the Wahoo Elemnt Ace and it was bouncing up and down a lot I actually didn’t have any religion it it long run. Even with a Bolt and a lightweight it is vitally bouncy over rougher tarmac and, should you do purchase one in all these, I counsel you to improve to one thing extra stable just like the CNC machined Ok-Edge models. That means you’ll have the ability to run correct lighting in a beautiful clear setup with out continually worrying if the entire thing goes to snap and profession down the highway.

Finally, the Van Rysel RCR-F does embody an influence meter, even at 105 stage. In my case, it’s a single-sided, left crank primarily based INPEAK possibility, however alas, the charging cable didn’t ship with my check unit so I can’t cross touch upon its reliability or accuracy with any nice authority. Generally talking, I believe it’s a great factor {that a} bike with as racy an MO as this comes with an influence meter as commonplace.

Value

My check bike with 105 Di2, which I think is probably going going to be essentially the most interesting of them to a lot of you, is priced at €5,499 / £5,000. It is not obtainable within the USA for now, so I can not offer you it in bald eagle foreign money. 

This worth places it in the identical type of bracket as different value-oriented aero bikes just like the Ribble Ultra SLR, although right here you get a greater set of wheels (deep Swiss Side performs comparatively shallow Mavics). 

A sticking level right here is that it is £400 dearer than the Canyon Aeroad SLX 7, which is 105 geared up and comes with an influence meter too. I believe the Canyon is a greater purchase, not solely since you get primarily the identical package deal for much less cash, however I think it is also extra doubtless to suit you.

The RCR-F, just like the RCR, is not truly that good worth except you begin evaluating the very top-spec builds. At the extra consumer-friendly finish of the spectrum, it is fairly center of the highway, providing a lot the identical worth (nonetheless fairly respectable) as direct-to-consumer manufacturers elsewhere. 

Verdict

While the general rating is decrease than that which I gave to the RCR, I nonetheless suppose the RCR-F is a greater bike, as a result of I used to be (simply) in a position to experience it. It’s stiffer, sooner, higher put collectively, with a greater construct, however in the end I do not suppose it is going to be a motorcycle that fits many shoppers due to the low entrance finish. This is echoed by Van Rysel itself, with it successfully saying it is only for racers. 

The worth proposition is respectable however bested by the Canyon Aeroad. If this bike matches you and fits your wants I do not suppose you may be upset by any means, however simply make sure that it matches first, please. 

The full vary

In addition to the 105 spec machine I’ve examined the next choices can be found, with SRAM geared up models to observe later. 

• Ultegra Di2, Flow Purple paint (€6,499 / $7,999 / £7,000 / ¥46999.9)
• Dura-Ace Di2, professional duplicate (€9,499 / $11,999 / £10,000 / ¥69999.9) 
• Dura Ace Di2 Signature (Raw body, gloss laquer) (€9,499 / $11,999 / £10,000 / ¥69999.9)