The Tour de France has just finished for another year, but you can get your hands on a complete Van Rysel RCR-F Pro bike built around the same frameset ridden in the big race for as little as £4,799. That’s still a lot of cash, of course, but we’re talking about a high-quality bike here.
The Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team ride bikes from the Decathlon-owned Van Rysel brand, and the RCR-F was introduced at the end of March this year after being ridden by the likes of Sam Bennett since May 2024, with the final version debuting at the Tour de France later that year.
The RCR-F is by no means a replacement for the RCR-R bike that has been around for a while – the type of bike that Van Rysel calls ‘aerolight’ and other brands call an all-rounder. No, the RCR-F is the aero road bike that sits alongside those models in Van Rysel’s range. Van Rysel describes the RCR-F as its fastest bike ever – although you’ll be very used to that kind of claim with virtually every bike launch.
The RCR-F was co-designed with Swiss Side, the aero-focused component (mainly wheels) brand that’s also a partner of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale.
> Why the aero road bike is making a comeback
The bike is designed to perform at its best on flat or rolling roads – especially in a race where there’s likely to be a sprint finish – and medium mountain stages with steady climbs no steeper than 5%.
Van Rysel says, “The RCR-F Pro has been designed to excel in competitions on rolling to hilly terrain. It is particularly effective on (courses) with under 1,500m of positive gradient over 100km [62 miles] with average speeds of 35 to 50km/h [22-31mph].”
Van Rysel reckons that the RCR-F is 13 watts more efficient than the RCR-R at 45km/h (28mph). In other words, it takes less power to hold that speed.
We’ve not reviewed the Van Rysel RCR-F, but our man Jamie Williams had one in for a video a while back.
He said, “It’s probably best to ignore the big shiny number above [13 watts] and focus on the next one. According to Van Rysel, the RCR-F is 9 watts faster than the RCR with a rider on it. Why is this less than the number above? Because moving legs create turbulence, and therefore the aero tube shapes at the rear make less of an impact.”
On the other hand, when there’s more climbing than that, Van Rysel says that the RCR-R is the better option.
Leveraging new UCI equipment rules, Van Rysel says it has enhanced key structural elements of the RCR-F’s frame. The head tube is said to be 7% stiffer than that of the RCR Pro, for example, and the bottom bracket has also been reinforced with the aim of converting power efficiently into speed. In terms of weight, Van Rysel says the RCR-F weighs just 7.5kg in a top-level Shimano Dura-Ace build.
This model – available in a team finish as well as in plain black – comes with Swiss Side Hadron2 625 wheels. Van Rysel says that both the frameset and components are identical to those used in the WorldTour. It’s priced at £10,000.
That’s by no means out of line with other pro-level bikes – in fact, it’s towards the lower end of the scale – but you can get better value by looking a little further down the range.
If you’re willing to step down a groupset level to Shimano Ultegra Di2, for example, the RCR-F Pro has a full retail price of £7,000, although it’s currently reduced to £5,999.
Step down another level to Shimano 105 Di2 and the full RRP is £5,000, currently reduced to £4,799.
Don’t get us wrong, Dura-Ace is a fantastic groupset and it’s certainly a little lighter than either Ultegra or 105, but the difference in performance isn’t vast. In terms of value, we’d certainly consider 105 Di2 the most attractive option here.
The last we heard, SRAM models were expected this summer although they’ve yet to appear.
As mentioned, we’ve not given the Van Rysel RCR-F a full review, but Jamie passed on a few first impressions from his time on the bike.
He said, “Is this a good bike? Yes, is the simple answer. If this was a full review, which it isn’t, then I think I’d be looking at giving the bike an 8. It’s once again proof that aero bikes are back, and there is a place for them not only in the peloton but also for us amateurs.
“If you live somewhere flat and just want to tear up chaingangs and crits, then this is an ideal bike to do it on… It’s comfortable enough, it’s well thought out, it rides really well, it’s certainly fast – and while I agree with Van Rysel that 75% of us would be better off on the RCR-R, I just think it’s great that this thing exists.”
