French sports giant Decathlon is planning a major overhaul of its bike range with key changes to the Van Rysel line-up of mid- and high-end bikes.
Highlights include the £1,699.99 Van Rysel EDR CF carbon gravel bike with Shimano GRX and the new £999 Van Rysel EDR AF road bike with Shimano 105.
Decathlon is discontinuing the current Van Rysel Ultra AF and Ultra CF models, and a number of other new models are apparently in the pipeline, including rim and disc brake carbon road bikes, ebikes and a potentially very competitively priced titanium gravel machine under the Triban brand.
Van Rysel EDR CF Gravel: carbon frame, Shimano GRX
Gravel is so hot right now and the new £1,699.99 EDR CF Gravel looks to offer a big spec for the money, with a full-carbon frameset and a 1×11 Shimano GRX drivetrain that includes RX600 levers and an Ultegra-level RX800 series rear derailleur.
You’ll also get Shimano GRX tubeless wheels complete with tubeless-ready 38mm Hutchinson tyres, suggesting there’ll be little to upgrade out of the box.
The EDR’s geometry is fairly middle of the road, with a medium sporting 561mm of stack and 379mm of reach. Just three sizes will be available, nominally covering riders from 166cm to 186cm tall.
There’ll be a cyclocross-focused variant of the bike too, plus a more expensive model with SRAM Force eTap AXS.
The EDR CF Gravel is expected to be available around mid-February.
Van Rysel EDR AF road bike: it’s RIP to the Ultra
The Van Rysel Ultra AF (formerly branded B’Twin) has been one of our favourite affordable road bikes for years, but its tenure ends now with the introduction of the new EDR AF.
The EDR AF features an all-new aluminium frame with fashionable dropped seatstays, matched to a carbon-legged fork with an aluminium steerer.
Geometry is reasonably racy, with a medium having 551mm of stack and 392mm of reach. Unlike the gravel bike, it comes in six sizes, covering riders from 155cm to 196cm tall.
Interestingly, certain features of the EDR AF are actually more traditional than those of the Ultra.
Where the Ultra had direct-mount rim brakes (the next best thing to discs), the EDR has conventional single-bolt calipers.
The EDR also opts for fully external cabling (the Ultra’s was internal) and, in a move that will please home mechanics, a threaded bottom bracket rather than a press-fit design.
The EDR AF is available now-ish (stock is currently low but more is apparently imminent) in a £999 build with Shimano 105 and Fulcrum Racing 6 wheels, or a £1,299 build with Shimano Ultegra and Fulcrum Racing 4 wheels.
Van Rysel EDR CF road bike
Like the new alloy bike, the EDR CF is killing off its predecessor, the Ultra CF.
The EDR CF is a thoroughly modern looking carbon road bike with dropped seatstays and aero-esque styling, as well as very similar geometry to the aluminium model.
The EDR CF will come in both rim and disc brake flavours, with the rim brake version available towards the end of this year, and the disc model around February or March 2021.
Most pricing and specs are to be confirmed, but Decathlon has already listed the top-spec rim brake model on its site at £3,799 with Shimano Dura-Ace.
The medium has 555mm of stack and 393mm of reach and the frame is claimed to weigh 890g.
Built with a full Dura-Ace groupset and Fulcrum Racing Zero carbon wheels, the EDR CF is claimed to weigh just 6.6kg, which could make the bike seriously competitive against rivals such as Canyon and Vitus.
