Van Rysel EDR CF 105 Disc Road 2021

The Van Rysel EDR CF 105 Disc is part of the Decathlon brand’s new endurance line-up, but don't go thinking that it has some kind of relaxed, upright, soft riding style about it. This bike still focuses on performance, and thanks to some well-sorted geometry you end up with a machine that can be ridden hard and fast regardless of your skill level.

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EDR stands for EnDuRance, but I'm going to say that it sits very much on the boundary of what most people would expect an endurance bike to be. With its riding position and performance from the frame and fork, it'd put some brands' race machines to shame.

Ride

I'll go into the full geometry in a bit, but it's safe to say that Van Rysel has kept this bike very much on the aggressive side of things when it comes to the numbers.

First up, the angles are relatively steep and the wheelbase has been kept to well below a metre which keeps things nimble and reactive. The shortish head tube also gives stack and reach figures with a ratio of 1.41 (size medium) which is very much at the racy end of the scale. Most endurance bikes are around the 1.55 mark.

So, you might be thinking that the EDR isn't going to be the ideal choice for those longer, less challenging rides.

Well, the Van Rysel designers have taken the EDR as close as they can to a full-on race bike without letting it cross over into becoming too extreme or a handful from a steering point of view.

The balance of tube lengths meant that I could achieve a decent aero position on the EDR thanks to a plentiful drop in height from the seatpost to the handlebar, without ever actually feeling like I was having to stretch too much.

Even in the drops I felt comfortable, and that means efficiency.

The handling is quick but not over the top, so when I'm barrelling downhill in the drops, the Van Rysel never feels out of control, or like it is dictating you through the bends when the road surface or camber isn't perfect.

The stiff frame and fork provide plenty of feedback without road vibration or harshness muting the signals, which I found gave me plenty of confidence to push on and find the EDR's handling limits.

Thanks to that hint of neutrality in the handling, you find the edge of those limits progressively rather than like a slap in the face as the steering bites back.

All of this, along with the position, means the EDR isn't a difficult bike to ride fast.

For a frameset with such high levels of stiffness, the ride quality is good. It's not the most supple I've ridden, but it's never a bike I'd consider uncomfortable. It's a performance road bike after all – a bit of bouncing around on crappy tarmac is par for the course.

The frame and fork will take up to 30mm tyres, so if you want to bring in a bit more cushioning you can.

The finishing kit here isn't massively high spec, and the Fulcrum wheels are on the weighty side, so it's impressive that this EDR only weighs 8.13kg (17.9lb). It's not going to trouble a similarly specced rim-braked offering, but for this sort of money that's a decent weight.

You can tell that out on the road, too. It's responsive under acceleration and it climbs well, too, whether in the saddle or out of it.

With a lightweight set of deep-section carbon test wheels fitted the EDR really showed what it could do when not hindered by heavy wheels, and the performance was very impressive indeed.

Frame and fork

Made from high modulus carbon fibre, this medium size frame has a claimed weight of just 890g, according to Van Rysel, and it comes with a confidence-boosting five-year warranty too. The full-carbon fork comes with a two-year warranty.

The EDR's design follows a current trend of oversized head and down tube with a large bottom bracket junction incorporating PF86 internal bearing cups.

The chainstays are chunky to resist the drivetrain and pedalling forces, while the slender seatstays are dropped much lower than the top tube's junction with the seat tube.

You get twin bottle mounts, flat mount brake calliper points and 12mm thru-axles front and rear.

Unlike other race bikes in its catalogue, the EDR uses a standard round seatpost and an external clamp. It's not quite as smooth looking as an integrated seatpost clamp like those found on some aero bikes, but at least you can upgrade the post should you want to.

All cable and hose routing runs internally, plus the frame is completely compatible with electronic groupsets.

Overall, the quality looks and feels to be very good throughout the bike. A glance inside the frame with a torch shows no rough edges or burrs from the carbon layup, and the paint job seems to be tough.

I'm not so sure about the black colourway, though; I'd like a bit more colour in my life.

The bike is available in five sizes, from XS to XL, so our medium test model sits bang in the middle.

Those geometry figures I promised you are: a top tube of 555mm and head tube of 150mm, with angles of 73 degrees for the head and 73.5 degrees for the seat tube.

The wheelbase is 990mm, with 408mm chainstays, and the stack and reach figures are 555mm and 393mm respectively.

Groupset

As you can tell by the name, this EDR comes fitted with a Shimano 105 groupset. I won't go into huge detail because Dave already has in his review of the latest R7000 group and the R7020 shifter/brake levers this hydraulic setup uses.

In a nutshell, it's a groupset that you really can't fault, balancing the shifting and braking qualities of Shimano's top tier groupsets at a competitive price.

As for the fixtures and fittings, Van Rysel has specced an 11-28t cassette with a 52/36t semi-compact chainset. The perfect gears for this style of bike, in my opinion.

Braking-wise, there is a 160mm rotor up front and a 140mm at the rear.

Finishing kit

The rest of the finishing kit is Van Rysel branded: an alloy handlebar, stem and seatpost. It's all decent enough stuff while not really setting the world alight.

The drop of the handlebar is pretty shallow, making it accessible to pretty much all of us.

The Van Rysel saddle is on the large side with a fair bit of padding. I got on with it okay, but I'd probably switch it out for something a little leaner if the EDR was mine.

Wheels and tyres

The EDR CF 105 comes with a set of Fulcrum Racing 700 DB wheels, which are basically OE versions of the Fulcrum Racing 7 DB.

They're a tough set of training wheels that'll stand up to plenty of abuse, although their 1,750g weight does take the shine off the bike's performance.

With a 22mm-deep alloy rim there isn't anything to be had from an aerodynamic point of view, but they are tubeless ready, so if you want to ditch the tubes you'll just need some tape and valves to make the transition.

You won't even need to change the tyres as the Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance tyres are tubeless ready too.

As you can see from Jamie's review, they are decent performers across the board, although I agree with him when he says they aren't the most supple tyres out there. They are durable and robust, though, for such a lightweight and quick model.

Value

When it comes to pricing, the EDR CF 105 sits well alongside some well-known competitors.

This model is £2,229.99, which compares well with Trek's latest Emondo at £2,275 for the SL 5, which uses the same frameset as the SL 6 Pro model I tested recently.

Cannondale's Supersix Evo Carbon 105 is a touch more expensive at £2,400 for a similar build, and so is Specialized's Tarmac SL6 Sport at £2,750.

> Buyer’s Guide: 17 of the best £2,000 to £3,000 road bikes for 2021

A bike with the same kind of identity as the Van Rysel EDR is the Orro Pyro Evo, which I reviewed back in 2020. It's been replaced by the Gold Evo for 2021, and while we haven't tested one yet (it's not available just yet), the 105 build does look very good value at £1,999.99.

The only thing I don't quite get is why the women's version of the EDR Disc 105 is just £1,799.99 for what looks to be an identical build.

Conclusion

On the whole, the Van Rysel is a great bike to ride; it's as close to a race bike as you can get without actually getting a race bike, if you know what I mean. It balances performance and comfort well, although I'd say it is crying out for some better equipment – but then, many bikes are at this price point.

Verdict

An endurance bike that thinks it's a race bike, with fun handling and plenty of comfort