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VAN RYSEL · DECATHLON UK SALE
Three platforms. Significant Discounts. No Excuses Left.
I've ridden all three. I've written about all three. And right now, they're all on sale at Decathlon. Here's the short version of what each one does and why any of them might be the best value carbon road bike you can buy right now
ALL-ROAD · ENDURANCE
Van Rysel EDR CF Ultra
I was a sceptic on "all-road." Genuinely. It sounded like a marketing term invented to sell road bikes to people who occasionally wander off tarmac. Then I actually rode the EDR CF Ultra, and I had to reassess.
The 830g carbon frame has clearance for up to 40mm tyres (officially 38mm, but I've verified the extra two), mudguard mounts for the grimmer months, and endurance geometry that manages to feel agile rather than slack. I've run it with Pirelli Cinturato 40mm off-road and Continental GP 5000s on road, and it handles both without feeling like a compromise. It's the bike for people who want one machine to do most things well long days, mixed terrain, bikepacking prep, year-round riding.
If a UK winter and a loaded bikepacking trips don't break my enthusiasm for it, nothing will.
Read the full review: https://www.ascnd.cc/van-rysel-edr-cf-ultra
LIGHTWEIGHT ROAD · CLIMBING
Van Rysel RCR Pro
I'd all but given up on carbon race bikes. That's not a pose I genuinely believed I didn't need one and, if I'm honest, was slightly snobbish about the whole thing. The Van Rysel RCR Pro has spent the past year systematically dismantling that position.
At 6.7 kg with pedals and cages, it's in proper lightweight territory. On climbs it's responsive and direct in a way that makes you ride better than you probably should. I returned to Mont Ventoux on it and went eight minutes faster than my previous time on weighing more and less training. That's not nothing.
Over eighteen months of real riding, climbs, long days, and an 800 km loaded trip through the Maritime Alps it didn't want to do but handled anyway the RCR Pro has proved itself as the most balanced bike I've ridden. Not the most aero, not the most forgiving, but the one that just fits.
Read the full review: https://www.ascnd.cc/van-rysel-rcr-pro-1
AERO · RACE
Van Rysel RCR F
Not very me, I know. I don't race. I'm rarely above 40 kph unless gravity is doing most of the work. The RCR-F is a bike I had absolutely no business enjoying — and yet.
Developed with Onera (the French space agency), Swissside (fifty-plus years of Formula 1 aerodynamics), and Deda, it saves 13.6 watts over the RCR Pro at 45 kph and 20.1 watts at 55 kph in wind tunnel testing. It's being raced by Decathlon CGM CMA in the pro peloton, has already won bunch of races with Paul Siexas on board, and is, by any reasonable measure, a serious racing machine.
What I didn't expect was the ride. I'd pre-judged it as stiff, heavy, and probably a bit boring. Instead I found myself regularly checking whether I'd slowed down, only to see I was cruising at 40 kph without trying. The front end is absolutely planted; the rear end just keeps moving. If speed is your priority and you want the Strava segments to know about it, this is the one.
Read the full review: https://www.ascnd.cc/van-rysel-rcr-f
Browse the Van Rysel sale at Decathlon UK
I've ridden all three bikes extensively. None of them are here because someone asked me to put them here — they're here because they're worth your attention, and right now, at sale prices, the value proposition gets harder to argue with.
If you want the most versatile all-rounder that'll handle roads and light off-road with ease, the EDR CF Ultra. If you want a proper road weapon that rewards climbing and hard efforts, the RCR Pro. If you want the fastest thing in the range and you want every flat segment to feel like a tailwind, the RCR F.
Use this link to get to the Van Rysel range at Decathlon UK:
It's an affiliate link — it costs you nothing extra, and it helps keep ASCND and The Road to Respair podcast running.
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Advertisement. This post contains affiliate links to Decathlon UK. All opinions are based on personal, long-term riding experience. I work with Van Rysel but have aimed to be objective throughout.