Van Rysel RCR Pro review: Over-hyped or the Best Race Bike in 2025?

[@martinthegiraffe7924]

Just like you said at the end, the beauty of the VAN RYSEL RCR is you can get a basically pro bike with Ultegra for 5K. Just for that, the people at Decathlon deserve a massive round of applause.

[@dominicbritt]

Nonsense... Giant TCRs and Canyon Ultimates are about the same...total load of flannel...of course it's less that an SL8 - EVERYTHING is... Its a budget bike with premium components and it is NOT a proven race bike... I don't expect they're actually selling all that well as Decathlons website is full of price reductions that cannot be blamed on over production.

[@martinthegiraffe7924]

@dominicbritt Ben O'Connor smashing giro and vuelta in his best year in many doesn't prove enough for you? Aeroad and TCR with ultegra are 6.5k EUR, so 1000 EUR more than RCR. It's ok to not like decathlon, just don't justify your dislike with baseless comments.

[@Andy_ATB]

@@dominicbritt Absolute clown - give your head a wobble......

[@zegmakker010]

​@@dominicbrittbro called the 6th team in the world shit 💀

[@PhilB303]

@@dominicbritt their results compared to having supposedly superior BMC bikes in the previous year are way better. i run a teammachine and this looks a better bike all round.

[@timothychansa1157]

Great video, I’m going for the RCR with SRAM Force.

[@KoenMiseur]

21mm internal is actually perfect, stop believing the hype from Zipp and such, 21 is perfect for 25-30mm tires, anything more is better suited for gravel and only makes the wheels heavier.

[@scherzo0o]

indeed, 21 mm internal makes the perfect aero shape for the wheel with a 28mm tire. Wider makes sense only if one goes 32mm tires ( even 30 mm sit fine on 21 mm internal).

[@SaidlFilip]

Good video. These wheels are almost 1500g, if you had SRAM red version of this bike, that would be 6,7kg. Swissside/dtswiss wheels are on heavier side but have great aerodynamics according to some tests

[@vladfromfrance]

I don't believe for one second that you can "feel" the 3-4W the Aeroad has over this bike at like 45kmh, sorry. For the non-pros, this bike is way within the ballpark of non-significant aero difference with the most aero ones.

[@Roger101Watson]

It's nice just there are a number of brands offering the same equipments levels at the same price with arguably better branding.

[@cornelhughes]

Dave some interesting results considering your review of the non pro version. In that review you pointed out it was harsh on bad pavement. If the difference is not based on them using differnt components (eg the pro one uses GP5000 while the non pro one used mitchelin.

[@julianallen515]

I'd be interested to hear your long term impressions of the SwissSide Hadrons, specifically with regard to handling in crosswinds compared to other leading wheels of the same depth.

[@muratmustafa4532]

I am confused David. You said RCR which is not supposed to be as stiff as the RCR pro was very harsh and uncomfortable. And if I recall correctly, that bike also had Zipp hookless rims with wider internal diameter and lower pressure and you still said it was a harsh bike. So, how come this supposedly stiffer bike with narrower width hooked wheels is more comfortable than the former bike?

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

How's that come out at 7.26kg? That's way over the stated 6.9kg. You'd expect a bit of variation but not that much. Any thoughts?

[@edgaskarth6260]

Butyl tubes + pedals vs weighed without pedals and set up tubeless?

[@fabioqueiros9322]

@@edgaskarth6260that’s a fair guess, given that I’ve found out if i switched my Michelin Dynamic Sport tires and butyl inner tubes to GP 5000 + TPU inner tubes I could save some 300 grams…

[@mutingzhou8308]

I think the power you need for 32km/h really depends on the temperature. The air becomes thicker as the temperature gets lower. It's easy to add 10 watts if its really cold.

[@rodulfomartinus311]

The bike looks fine to me but unfortunately I can't buy it because it is out of my buget so I bought a Sava Deck model Sava Hawkeye F20 for 2100,00 euro and it ride like a well-oiled train so I am pleased and happy. Good luck to the pro-team of Decathlon and I wish them all the best.❤🎉

[@MarkLRandall]

Seems nice enough, don't love the singular color choice. Would certainly go Ultegra vs DuraAce, much better value. And, like you mentioned, that power meter is a POS by all accounts. I don't see a compelling reason to buy this instead of a Canyon though.

[@Andy-co6pn]

Canyon still has the same problem as all the direct sales brands, any warranty issues are a complete pain

[@andrewmurgatroyd9214]

Must have been difficult riding it without pedals.

[@casasecranks]

I tested the top of the range madone gen 8 and it was 7.2kg without pedals on our scales. And it’s not a full aero bike either The real competitor for Canyon and Van Rysel is the new addict Rc pro at 9k eur weighing in at 6.5kg. Why would someone get a VR for the same price ?!!?

[@davidarthur]

Interesting thanks for sharing. The Madone is "probably" more aero than the Addict though don't you think? Seems like the new gen 8 Madone is more Madone than old Emonda

[@casasecranks]

@ yes. It’s has more Madone DNA than Emonda’s. The weight difference for the Tarmac must be the frame because breaking down the weight of every component they are pretty much on par We also have some interesting Cube models at amazing price points with full DA builds and top of the range Newmen wheels. Trying to get hold of on for a review but there’s some stock shortage at least in Portugal

[@casasecranks]

@ indeed the trek seems to be a bit more aero than the scott. But at the price point of 12k (give or take) we have their top of range models with more than a kilo of weight difference. Aero suddenly becomes a bit overrated for most ;) Thanks for replying and keep up with the excellent work.

[@davidarthur]

Cube do look very good value for money and there are models incoming for review soon :)

[@casasecranks]

@ awesome. Will await for it!

[@Nick-cs5yc]

Image a bike designed to do both a road race, then transition to an off road gravel section, without switching bikes or wheels, that would be an awesome blend of both worlds👍

[@anterrickson2585]

Don’t get me wrong $10k is still ridiculous! If they can get this high end of a bike under $10k, so can every other big brand. Vote for these bikes with your money people, it will affect us all. The more you buy the higher end at high end prices, the more they will keep gouging us.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

Wow! Costs less than a Big-T or Big-S WT bike! BFD - it's still made in China like the rest of the disposable (by the teams) bikes used in the WT. Do rational people REALLY pay this kind of dough for these things? Would they pay the same if the sticker was BTWIN like the last time Decathlon sponsored a team?

[@miosina_629]

what is your height?

[@johnflynn4923]

How would you say it compares to your CAAD 12 budget (let's face it - beer money when you take into account the current pricing of top end bikes) superbike?

[@davidarthur]

that's a really intriguing question - maybe I should do a comparison and find out?

[@johnflynn4923]

@@davidarthur would be much appreciated - most of us can afford a CAAD 12 with some decent upgrades and without stretching the budget or leaving the kids go hungry for a month whereas the top tier bikes are realistically out of the reach of many. Basically does 5 times the price give even 1.2-1.5 times (as it will never give 5 times) the performance return in the real world.

[@rosscopantani4678]

I nearly purchased one but decided to buy the canyon aeroad cf slx instead

[@TESTA-CC]

It's a giant propel advanced pro frame 2023 frame design, head tube and frame is exactly the same. Tut tut van rysel!

[@UltraLord5850]

Not really, but keep on hallucinating...

[@GarethHailes]

How much extra weight was the mud when you weighed it?

[@MichaelRiffe-t2h]

It seems like you're not happy unless you're reviewing the top of the line bicycles. Give the little guy a chance.

[@Nick-cs5yc]

RIDE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT😁😁

[@concernedcitizen939]

Press-fit BB is a deal breaker for me. It will eventually have problems.

[@michaelmechex]

That couldn't be farther from the truth. A well made press fit bb works flawlessly and is way more reliable than a bonded aluminium insert with threads. Bearings are held in by a press fit for literally every single use case in the world, and that's for a good reason.

[@owenanstey436]

Looks let down by cheap looking graphics.

[@thejeffinvade]

If you don’t post this video now, their new bike RCR-F is gonna beat you to it😂

[@davidarthur]

Haha 😜