The Van Rysel NCR CF is part of the French brand’s race range, yet is designed to be a bit of an all-rounder, highlighted by the choice of 1x and 2x chainset models and large tyre clearances. It’s a lot of bike for the money, and a real pleasure to see a quality full-carbon-fibre-framed machine hitting the two-grand mark.
> Buy now: Van Rysel NCR CF Apex for £1,999.99 from Decathlon
You can check out how it compares with other options in our guides to the best road bikes and best endurance road bikes.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Ride
Some brands, I’m sure, would position the NCR line-up as endurance bikes, although if you look at the geometry chart they’re a little more aggressive than most of those (but still a little less aggressive than the full-blown RCR range). NCR stands for Neo Racer, though, which is quite apt.
With that in mind, it’s going to come as no surprise that the NCR offers a spirited ride. It feels everything a fast road bike should.
With our size medium coming with a 73-degree head angle and short 137mm head tube length, the front end is low and quick, which makes for a lot of fun in the corners, but with the wheelbase being a touch longer than most full-on race bikes, it feels a lot less twitchy.
In fact, it’s a stable feeling bike that rides really well on twisty back lanes or on technical descents. I enjoyed the NCR on longer rides especially – it’s one of those bikes where you can just switch off and enjoy the scenery, but then when you need it to be razor sharp and positive it does that as well. It’s a good mile-muncher.
The seatpost sits at 73.5 degrees, which pushes you forward into a position that favours putting the power down. That, and the fact that the NCR’s frame feels stiff around the bottom bracket area, means it is no slouch when you ask it to get a shift on. The only thing hampering overall performance is the wheels – a set of Mavic’s Aksiums.
Plenty of riding on Aksiums has led me to the conclusion that they are durable and give a decent ride quality, but at over 1,900g a set they don’t half blunt the performance, especially acceleration. They’re also noticeable when climbing, so I’d definitely be looking to upgrade them if speed was my main focus.
Even with them, though, the 8.66kg weight (on our own scales) is still pretty impressive for a £2K bike, and once rolling it’s a nippy machine.
From a comfort point of view the NCR has got a lot going for it too. At this price point you can sometimes be better off going for a higher end aluminium alloy than a cheaper carbon one, but the frame and fork here feel pretty refined. There is no plasticky, hollow feel to the frame, which can sometimes lead to a lot of resonation and high-frequency buzz from the road; generally, you are getting a smooth ride with a decent amount of feedback. And for added comfort you can run up to 35mm tyres.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the NCR CF is available in both 1x and 2x builds, and we have the former. To be honest, it didn’t really work for me, although I’m not dismissing it completely.
I’ve ridden some bikes with 1x gearing and it’s worked really well: Vielo’s R+1 had a 1x SRAM Force group, but its race bike nature meant it was running quite a close-ratio cassette so it didn’t feel like there were too many jumps between the sprockets and it was therefore quite efficient.
This NCR has a 12-speed cassette stretching between 11 and 44 teeth, with some big jumps between them at the mid to lower end of the ratios, and quite often I found I was between gears searching for a comfortable, efficient cadence. If I was buying the NCR CF I’d be going for one of the 2x options.
In terms of the ride, though, I was very impressed with the NCR CF. It’s a good all-round road bike with great characteristics.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Frame & fork
Van Rysel doesn’t go into too much detail about what grade of carbon fibres go into the manufacturing of the NCR, but given the ride feel and stiffness I’d hazard a guess that it’s something pretty decent.
Weight-wise, it’s a claimed 1,200g for the painted frame in a medium and 413g for the fork.
It’s a good-looking bit of kit with smooth lines throughout thanks to fully integrated cable and hose routing. It hasn’t gone the whole hog with an internal wedge seat clamp for full aero effect, but things like the dropped seatstays will bring a small wind-cheating bonus.
The large, chunky bottom bracket shell brings added stiffness, helped by the slab-like chainstays to make sure all of your pedal power goes through the rear wheel and onto the road.
For a bike with this ‘all-rounder’ kind of persona, and 35mm tyre clearance, I was surprised to not see provision for mudguards, but considering the fact that it is still a race bike it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me.
It uses a press-fit bottom bracket, which again isn’t a problem from my point of view, as I think the early creaking issues of this technology are largely sorted these days, but some might still be put off, especially if this is your one bike for all-year-round riding, on sometimes wet and gritty roads.
The NCR is offered in five sizes ranging from XXS to XL, with top tube lengths of 510mm up to 585mm. This medium has a 555mm top tube.
Reach is 392.6mm and stack 548.3mm, and the fork is 380mm long with a rake of 45mm. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about here, check out our A-Z of cycling jargon.)
The wheelbase is 999mm and you get a bottom bracket drop of 67mm. There are no real surprises in terms of geometry.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Groupset
For this kind of money it is very impressive to see an electronic groupset, even if it is missing a front derailleur, saving a bit of cash.
It’s SRAM’s Apex XPLR AXS which Aaron reviewed recently and was very impressed with. It’s a 1x setup only but comes with fully wireless shifter and rear mech plus a 46T (on this bike) chainset and 12-speed 11-44T cassette.
The shifting is great, being quick and accurate across the block, which is impressive considering some of the gaps found on the cassette. The list here goes 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-38-44. As Aaron said in his review, a 10-tooth would be better for road work, and SRAM does offer a 10-44T and 10-36T cassette in the line-up.
In use, I couldn’t really tell the difference between this Apex and the Rival AXS I have on another review bike, which is a glowing recommendation.
The stopping power is also impressive from the hydraulic callipers and 160mm rotors front and rear.
Over the years have SRAM has worked a lot on refining its brakes and it’s noticeable here on what is technically an entry-level groupset. There is plenty of feel through the lever, which allows you to control how much power you apply – ideal for loose surfaces or when riding in the wet.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Finishing kit
Bearing in mind that the groupset has an RRP of £1,262, it’s no surprise that the rest of the finishing kit is simple, but still keeping within what you’d expect to find on a two-grand bike.
The aluminium bar and stem do their job and that is pretty much all I can say about them. The shape of the handlebar gives plenty of accessible hand positions and I had no issues with it in terms of stiffness for hard efforts out of the saddle.
Both components come in different sizes depending on frame size. Stems start at 60mm for the XXS, topping out at 110mm for the XL, while handlebar widths range from 400mm to 420mm.
The saddle is definitely something I’d change, though. It’s too long and overly padded for my liking, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t work for you.
The seatpost is another aluminium affair and it has a simple-to-use seat clamp. It’s good to see a round post used as you can then upgrade to a carbon fibre one if you so desire at a later date.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Wheels & tyres
Earlier, I mentioned the wheelset and their downsides. I’m not on a complete downer on them as I have found Aksiums to be reliable and solid on previous bikes, so they are ideal for mixed terrain rides or using through the poor weather months.
At 1,905g they really do feel weighty, though, and that is noticeable when riding the NCR. You don’t need to spend a huge amount of money to get a decent set of wheels that could shed, say, 400g and make the bike feel more responsive and fun to ride.
Something like a set of Scribe’s Race-D Wide+ wheels would be a great upgrade without breaking the bank. Costing £510 when we reviewed them back in January 2023 but available now for £370, they’re alloy rimmed wheels that weigh 1,448g and their 21mm inner width will work better with tyres of up to 35mm should you decide to fit them.
As standard the NCR comes with 28mm Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance tyres, which Jamie reviewed back in 2020. He was impressed overall, finding them speedy and grippy, and setting them up tubeless was a simple operation too.
They’re £59.99 each and it’s great to see that Van Rysel is speccing good quality components where they are needed. Tyres are usually one of the areas where the budget is cut.
I like them and agree with Jamie – they’re fast rolling and grippy, just like he said – although there are more supple options out there.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Value
Priced at £2,099.99 (and currently reduced to £1,999.99), this model represents good value for money I reckon.
The range-topper is fitted with a SRAM Rival AXS 2x electronic groupset and Fulcrum Racing 3 DB wheels, for £2,800, although again it has been reduced and currently costs £2,700.
A 2x bike built up with Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed and Fulcrum Racing 700DB Hyperglide wheels costs £2,000, while a Tiagra build with hydraulic disc brakes and Mavic Aksiums costs just £1,600 (£1,500 currently). It has a 48/34T chainset and an 11-32T cassette, and comes in either the same Electric Blue paintjob you see here or a dark grey.
Those prices put the NCR CF in a very hard position to beat in terms of competition.
Giant’s Defy range is endurance based, with geometry a little slacker than the NCR, although it is still a racy bike by nature.
A Shimano Tiagra-equipped Defy Advanced 3 comes with a carbon fibre frameset, a carbon seatpost and an alloy cockpit, and has clearance for 38mm tyres. It costs £2,349, which is quite the jump over the NCR CF Tiagra (though it’s currently reduced to £1,879).
Canyon’s latest Endurace is available in a range of builds, with the CF 7 using a carbon fibre frame and fork with 35mm tyre clearance, 105 mechanical 12-speed groupset and DT Swiss aluminium wheels for £2,349. You do get an integrated carbon fibre cockpit, though.
I rode the top-end Endurace CFR Di2 last year when it was first launched and I have to confess it didn’t exactly blow me away. The NCR has a more spirited ride, that’s for sure.
Merida’s Scultura Endurance bikes are good all-rounders and I was impressed with the 4000 model I reviewed recently – well, with a change of tyres at least. With a 105 mechanical groupset you are looking at £2,250.
Van Rysel NCR CF: Conclusion
Personally, I wouldn’t go with the 1x option that I’ve been riding here, it just doesn’t work for me on the road. But that aside, I really like the NCR as a bike.
Considering its all-rounder kind of status, it is still very much a fast road bike and I think that sets it apart from a lot of others. It’s great to have the choice of running wider tyres and different chainset options without having to sacrifice a racer’s position or speed.
It’s also a very good bike for the money, being very impressively priced.
> Buy now: Van Rysel NCR CF Apex for £1,999.99 from Decathlon
Verdict
Impressive value for money race bike with all-rounder qualities including good tyre clearances and an electronic groupset
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Van Rysel NCR CF Apex
Size tested: Medium, 555mm
About the bike
List the components used to build up the bike.
Chainset: SRAM Apex 1x 46T
Cassette: SRAM Apex 11-44T (11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-38-44)
Rear Mech: SRAM Apex
Brakes: SRAM hydraulic, 160mm rotors F&R
Wheels: Mavic Aksium
Tyres: Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance 700 x 28
Seatpost: Van Rysel aluminium, 27.2 mm diameter
Stem and handlebar: Van Rysel oversize
Tell us what the bike is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?
Van Rysel says, “The Neo Racer Carbon Frame bike is our most all-round bike but still retains a strong focus on performance. It’s part of the Race range, with a sporty character that’s sure to appeal to performance-oriented cyclists.
Whether you’re a beginner or an old hand, you’ll love what this bike has to offer.
Every bike in the NCR range is equipped with hydraulic disc brakes to guarantee progressive braking in all weather conditions.”
It’s more performance orientated than many endurance bikes with this kind of tyre clearance and ‘all-round’ capabilities, but it works.
Where does this model sit in the range? Tell us briefly about the cheaper options and the more expensive options
This model sits mid-range. The cheapest is a Shimano Tiagra build for £1,600 (currently £1,500), the most expensive comes with a SRAM Rival AXS 2x electronic groupset and Fulcrum Racing 3 DB wheels for £2,800 (currently £2,700).
A full line-up is listed in the main review.
Frame and fork
Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?
The frame quality looks good inside and out, and I really like the Electric Blue paint job, it’s quite striking.
Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?
Both the frame and fork are carbon fibre.
Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?
The geometry is on the performance side of things, with quite steep angles and a low front end.
How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?
The stack and reach figures are typical for a bike of this size, with nothing out of the ordinary.
Riding the bike
Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.
Yes. Even though the tyres aren’t the most supple, the ride quality is good thanks to a quality frame and fork.
Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?
This is a stiff frameset, especially around the bottom bracket area, which helps it cope with sprinting and climbing efforts.
How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?
Overall efficiency wasn’t great on this model, purely because of the gappy 1x drivetrain, and the wheels are quite heavy. I’d choose a 2x setup and upgrade the wheels as soon as I could.
Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so was it a problem?
No.
How would you describe the steering? Was it lively neutral or unresponsive? Lively.
Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?
This is a quick-handling bike, but it also feels quite composed and not a handful to ride in the bends.
Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike’s comfort? would you recommend any changes?
I didn’t get on with the saddle shape, but the handlebar was fine, providing comfort at the front end.
Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike’s stiffness? would you recommend any changes?
The Mavic Aksium wheels are heavy but they don’t suffer from any issues with lateral stiffness.
Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike’s efficiency? would you recommend any changes?
Both the 1x groupset and heavy wheels hamper the efficiency of this bike overall.
The drivetrain
Tell us some more about the drivetrain. Anything you particularly did or didn’t like? Any components which didn’t work well together?
I may not have got on with the 1x groupset on the road, but the way it actually performs is very good indeed.
Wheels and tyres
Tell us some more about the wheels.Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the wheels? If so what for?
They’re good wheels in terms of durability, but their weight does hamper performance.
Tell us some more about the tyres. Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the tyres? If so what for?
Not the most supple, but quick rolling and grippy.
Controls
Tell us some more about the controls. Any particularly good or bad components? How would the controls work for larger or smaller riders?
Decent kit throughout, although I personally didn’t get on with the saddle shape.
Your summary
Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes, although I would have preferred a 2x build.
Would you consider buying the bike? As above…
Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes
How does the price compare to that of similar bikes in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It’s well priced against bikes from many brands, like the Giant, Canyon and Merida mentioned in the review.
Use this box to explain your overall score
While the 1x groupset used on this specific model didn’t really work for me, this is still a very good bike. The wheels may be heavy but they are still a good spec and the fact that Van Rysel has focused on the important bits like the tyres and electronic groupset means you are getting a great all-round package straight out of the box.
About the tester
Age: 44
I usually ride: This month’s test bike My best bike is: B’Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
11 thoughts on “Van Rysel NCR CF Apex 2024”
I’ve been riding 1x on road
I’ve been riding 1x on road bikes for 5 years now. My new bike is Force 1x XPLR 12 speed with a 10-44 cassette and 42 chain ring. It’s more than enough gearing range for the South Downs hills and I’ve never been bothered about the gaps between gears. Maybe if you are racing it might be a problem, but for me I enjoy the simplicity.
Agree with MTB Refugee. I
Agree with MTB Refugee. I made a bike with 12speed 44t x 10-44 sram Apex using Ratio’s kit, also have a commuter with 11s 44x 11-42. I haven’t been bothered by ‘gaps’ in real world use, although I can see the gap between the 10 and 12 tooth sprokets ‘on paper’. For me the benefit of not having the ‘big gap’ right in the middle of your gear range which you get with 2x where you have to do a large small chainring shift plus 2 or three shifts at the cassette is a bigger interruption of cadence and I wouldn’t go back to a 2x (or 3x for that matter…)
A question mate that also
A question mate that also applies to MTB Refugee who runs too road 1x setup:
Do you feel watts lost at extreme gears from crosschaining? Or maybe increased chain and cogs wear for the same reason?
My groupset works just fine, but getting rid some components to clean and service would seem nice in the future, so I want users opinions.
Actually I’ve found the
Actually I’ve found the flattop chain is the best I’ve used for durability. 1x splits the difference and puts the single chainring in the middle of where the two chainrings would be. 44×10 would probably measure less efficient than 50×11 but I think of those gears as downhill /tailwind use so minor loss of efficiency isn’t a big deal to me. On the other hand 44×44 feels much smoother than 34×34. So I think for climbing 1x is better, I’d admit if you’re a sprinter 2x would be smoother.
My experience is pretty much
My experience is pretty much the same experience as Aluminum Can, I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed any loss from extreme ends of the gear range. The chain is certainly at a greater angle than might otherwise be the case, but you aren’t anywhere near the limit of how far it can go. You can tell by the noise or lack of that any losses are minimal. Good lube probably helps here. The cassette on my old bike has done 20k km and I’m on chain no.3 in mixed conditions on and (a bit) off road (it’s a gravel bike with 2 sets of wheels). The XPLR with flat top chain on the new bike feels even smoother.
I understand that you do not
I understand that you do not find any significant issues regarding crosschaining, so they may have been overstressed by various pros/cons articles I have read.
Thanks for the feedback guys, enjoy your rides!
As you might guess from my
As you might guess from my profile name, I’m from a mountain biking background. Typically the MTB community are much more forward thinking and accepting of new ideas and technologies. Think disc brakes, 1x, wider tires, tubeless etc. The road bike community tend to be much more conservative and it often takes a long time for new ideas to stick. It also takes a long time to overcome perceived knowledge, tubeless doesn’t work, narrow tires are faster, cross chaining costs many watts etc. The truth is, all these technologies work great if they are well implemented and the bike is setup by someone competent. I build all my bikes from a frame and a pile of bits so know exactly how they fit together and never have any issues.
Do my eyes deceive me or is
Do my eyes deceive me or is the front brake post mount?!? On a road bike designed for release in 2024? Decathlon often make a bizarre decision when designing bikes and here we go. Does make a groupset upgrade more annoying despite the reviewer stating the frame is very upgradeable.
My winter/rain bike is built with a 46t chainring and a 10-44 12 speed cassette. Contrary to the other commenters I do notice the gaps sometimes, that feeling of not having quite the right gear for a certain road which you never get with a close 2x set up.
However, it’s not a bike I’d ever race on and I knew this would be the case when I built it. I like the mechanical simplicity of it, only 1 gear cable. I also used a Ratio upgrade kit.
Joe Totale wrote:
It’s actually a flat mount caliper with a post mount adapter; Mat theorised when the bike was launched in May 2023 that maybe Decathlon had a batch of old forks they didn’t want to throw away…anyway, with the post mount adapter you should be able to fit any compatible flat mount caliper on there, so as long as you don’t mind the slightly less sleek looks and the 0.003% increase in aerodynamic drag it wouldn’t be a problem. More to the point, why would you buy a new bike and then go about upgrading it with a different groupset? Why not just buy one with the groupset you want in the first place?
Rendel Harris wrote:
It’s actually a flat mount caliper with a post mount adapter; Mat theorised when the bike was launched in May 2023 that maybe Decathlon had a batch of old forks they didn’t want to throw away…anyway, with the post mount adapter you should be able to fit any compatible flat mount caliper on there, so as long as you don’t mind the slightly less sleek looks and the 0.003% increase in aerodynamic drag it wouldn’t be a problem. More to the point, why would you buy a new bike and then go about upgrading it with a different groupset? Why not just buy one with the groupset you want in the first place?— Joe Totale
Why build a new bike and then buy components that don’t fit, adding the need for an adapter?
wycombewheeler wrote:
Post mount calipers aren’t readily available for road & gravel applications anymore, they’re more prevalent in the MTB world. Whilst you can technically run MTB calipers with road/gravel levers, the hoses & connectors may not be compatible and need further adapters. Probably easier to use a post mount adapter with the flat mount brake caliper, if the bike has post mount forks.
There was a period around 2014-15 where there was a crossover with road disc, with the non-series Shimano RS785, these were road brakes based on MTB XT, they used post mount (road bikes also had 135mm rear dropout with QR), by 2017, the road disc standard had evolved to flat mount with 142/100mm thru axles.
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