Van Rysel EDR CF ULTRA
All road is dead, long live all road.
An initial review of the Van Rysel EDR CF Ultra Review: The Ultimate All-Road Endurance Bike?
Now, I’ll let you all jump to your own conclusions. Maybe I need to preface this for those who are new here, but for those who already know me, you’ll know what a massive cynic I am.
The phrase “all-road” has always been one I’d struggled with. No matter how many bikes or styles of bikes I rode, “all-road” seemed like something some lucky bastard who lives in California and works in the marketing department of a cycling company came up with. They probably ride somewhere with stunning roads and gravel (wait, what?) trails where they can mix and match the surfaces. In fact, having worked with Cervélo and talked to that lucky person, I can confirm that that’s why they came up with the Caledonia and Aspero.
Now here’s the reality check, I live in London, but I’ve ridden and raced both MTB and Cyclocross and for a few seasons I was a guide in Sierra Nevada where we were all riding trail bikes with a 140 - 160 mm travel, but that was a lifetime ago. As a kid I’d ride and train on my cross bike on the same trails we now ride our gravel bikes on. I’ve kind of come full circle, I still nip off road on my road bike in the summer when the trails are dry enough. There’s something about being on the wrong bike in the wrong environment that I really enjoy, being on the edge and slightly out of control. I’m still drawn to the same trails but in reality they only make up about 20-30% of any ride. I have no need or desire to race, I won't be travelling to places to ride #EPIC gravel, so I don’t need a gravel bike that can take massive tyres and a recent trip to The Lake District confirmed i still have a bit of a thing for Mountain Bikes and bigger technical rides where gravel bikes just don’t cut it on the big rocky descents. I still love the peace, tranquility and getting a bit loose and dirty that this kind “all road” riding offers.
I previously wrote about my Standert Pfadfinder, my Swiss Army knife of a bike. It was my winter bike that could take mudguards (fenders), it could take a knobbly tyre, up to 35mm and I regularly loaded it up and went bike packing on it. I loved it but its only downside was the weight, it was heavy compared to my other bikes (inc other steel ones). It was maybe the bike that first convinced me that “all road” had its place. That bike racked up thousands of KM’s, it gave me a sense of freedom unlike any other and for me that’s what I want from a bike and why I now think the term “all road” works for me.
The latest addition to the line up is the Van Rysel EDR CF Ultra. The frame is carbon, and weighs 830 grms. It has mudguard mounts, clearance for officially 38mm tyres but I fitted some Pirelli Cinturato M 40’s for mud and I still had plenty of clearance. For bike packing and general use I’m running Pirelli Cinturato Adventure 40mm and Continental GP 5000 AS TR 32mm for road duties. I also swapped out the chainset from a compact 50/34 to a 48/35 and a 10/36 cassette, keep the road bias but making the off road a bit easier. It’s definitely not a bike where I feel there’s a need for 1X gearing.
I’ve been waiting for this bike for a year since I first saw it. Light enough for all my road duties, tall enough for any endurance and bike packing duties and mounts for guards. Designed with maybe a 70/30 mix of road and off road in mind and squarely aimed at Ultra Distance and Audax riders but in reality the geometry is what most of us “should” be riding. It is not a gravel bike and I suspect the more adventurous riders will want more mounts and greater clearance, this is Endurance road or what I now am happier calling “All Road”.
I’ve only been riding this for a few weeks with two sets of wheels, road and off road. It works. I don’t feel like I’m dragging it around and I don’t feel too upright or compact. It’s agile and off road feels more like a cross bike.
I’ve planned a bike packing trip so I can give a fuller review of how it coped and with a UK winter ahead I’m hoping this will rack up thousands of KMs. I think over the last couple of years I’ve wanted my bike packing trips to be a bit faster and wanted a lighter set up. I’m hoping this is going to work really well. It’s a good 2.5 kg lighter than my Standert set up.
I’d also like to add I’m stoked to see that this bike looks a bit more traditional, the seat stays aren’t dropped and the top tube doesn’t slope too aggressively. On the flip side I also love the clean looks of the Deda DCR stem and the super ergonomic custom to Van Rysel bars with an 8 degree flare, personally i would’ve preferred nearer 12 - 15 degrees for when I’m off road but that’s nit picking and like I’ve said before it’s not a gravel bike. It also has a round 27.2 seat post aiding comfort for those longer rides and with a traditional seat post clamp making it easier to live with (I hate wedges).
I’ll add a full review after living with this for a few months. Nothing like a UK winter with all that slop and grime and hopefully an early season bike packing escape to put this through its paces. I may head out in Los Angeles in December and I think this will be the bike I take so I can ride as much varied terrain as possbile.
Any questions please do drop me a line.
A few quick key points
✅ Lightweight carbon frame (830g)
✅ Fits up to 40mm tyres (officially 38 mm)
✅ Mudguard mounts & endurance geometry
✅ Ideal for all-road, ultra-distance, and light gravel.
A couple of foot notes. This build isn’t an option, I went to town on it with a couple of sets of Chris King wheels and SRAM RED AXS, I couldn’t help myself. Secondly I work for Van Rysel. So these posts, while hopefully honest, will always have a bias.
A link to the Decathlon site and my affiliate link can be found HERE
Below is a film from GCN, a 500 km ride through The Alps in 24 hours on the Van Rysel EDR CF Ultegra.