Van Rysel goes big on gravel with two new launches across both race and adventure

Van Rysel has launched two new gravel bikes. While the RCR-G is designed for gravel racing, the EDR-G is a gravel adventure bike, designed for endurance gravel rides.

The RCR-G takes tech from the RCR-R road bike, with a racy position and aero frameset, and pairs it with 50mm tyre clearance. It’s priced from £3,000 / $5,299.

RCR-G gravel race bike

Van Rysel has worked with its sponsored Decathlon-CMA CGM team to develop its gravel race bike, which it says is inspired by the RCR-R Pro road bike. That’s its aero/lightweight road bike rather than the RCR-F aero road bike; RCR denotes ‘racer’.

According to Jéremie Debeuf, Van Rysel’s race product manager: “With the RCR-G, we didn’t want to adapt an adventure bike into a race bike, we wanted to develop a true gravel race platform from the ground up.”

You may like

So Van Rysel says that the RCR-G is a blank page design, with its objective being to develop a fast bike for gravel racing. As such, there’s a low stack and long reach to allow an aero ride position. There are short 426mm chainstays, while the size M frame has a 72-degree head tube angle and a 1019mm wheelbase.

The brand has used CFD analysis and wind tunnel testing to refine the RCR-G’s aerodynamics, which it says show an 8.6 watt aero saving over its previous generation GCR model.

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Read our impressions of the new bike in our Van Rysel RCR-G review.

All specs come with a SRAM XPLR AXS 1x groupset (Image credit: Van Rysel)

It’s also built 50mm tyre clearance into the frame, which is in line with preferred tyre widths for modern gravel racing. You can fit a 50T 1x chainring or 2x chainset with a max outer ring of 52T, while three bottle cage mounts and top tube bolts offer carrying capacity when racing. The top spec is fitted with the same one-piece aero cockpit as used on the RCR-R Pro road bike.

Van Rysel says that a size M unpainted RCR-G frame weighs 885g, while the fork weighs 415g, and that its premium carbon fibre delivers both power transfer and durability. A full build with SRAM Red XPLR AXS in size M has a claimed 7.7kg weight.

What to read next

It’s not the same bike as we spotted atop the team car at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June, so there’s another road race bike in the works at Van Rysel as well.

RCR-G specs and prices

RCR-G Red AXSFrame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbonGroupset: SRAM Red XPLR AXS, 44t / 10-46tWheelset: VR 50 CarbonTyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mmCockpit: Combo RCR-R CarbonClaimed weight: 7.8kg (size M)Price: £6,500 / $10,999 / €6,599RCR-G Force AXSFrame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbonGroupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS, 42t / 10-46tWheelset: VR 35 CarbonTyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mmCockpit: VR Carbon bars on VR AL alloy stemClaimed weight: 8.2kg (size M)Price: £4,000 / $7,399 / €4,199RCR-G Rival AXSFrame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbonGroupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, 40t / 10-46tWheelset: VR 35 AL alloyTyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mmCockpit: VR AL alloy bars on VR AL alloy stemClaimed weight: 8.6kg (size M)Price: £3,000 / $5,299 / €3,199EDR-G gravel adventure bike

According to Rachel Gassier, Van Rysel’s endurance product manager: “With the EDR-G, our ambition wasn’t to create another gravel bike, it was to create a bike that encourages riders to keep exploring. Whether you’re heading out for a few hours, taking on an ultra-distance challenge or setting off on a multi-day bikepacking adventure, comfort and confidence become just as important as performance.”

In-frame storage comes with a tool roll included (Image credit: Van Rysel)

The geometry is taller and slacker than the RCR-G, with a higher stack and shorter reach, a head tube angle across the size range from XS to XL of between 68 and 71.5 degrees and a longer wheelbase of 1,033.7mm for a size M.

Van Rysel says that the new bike has been tested over 25,000km by a team of 30 test riders, as well as by ultra-distance cyclist Juliette Coqueret on a self-supported 10,000km ride across Europe.

Its carbon lay-up is designed to prioritise vibration suppression, while Van Rysel claims the geometry offers stable, responsive handling. The EDR-G offers in-frame storage that’s positioned towards the top of the down tube rather than under the bottle cage, as is more usual. Van Rysel sells the bike ready-installed with a repair pack with a mini pump, inner tube, multitool and tyre levers.

All specs of the EDR-G have Deda Gera gravel bars fitted (Image credit: Van Rysel)

That’s backed up with no fewer than 15 mounts for luggage, bottles and accessories. The EDR-G has Deda Gera gravel-specific flared handlebars with a separate stem. Van Rysel fits its VR32 carbon gravel wheelset, which has a 1,600g claimed weight, on the higher spec, while the lower spec has DT Swiss G1800 alloy gravel wheels..

There’s the option to choose the premium spec with a RockShox Rudy XPLR 40mm travel suspension fork, although the choice of a rigid or a suspension fork is only available in mainland Europe. The rigid fork variant is not sold in the UK, while the suspension fork variant is not available to US riders.

EDR-G specs and prices