Van Rysel Just Got VERY Serious About Gravel - RCR-G & EDR-G First Look

Exciting news from Van Rysel as they announced today the launch of not one but two brand new gravel bikes, and one, as you may see, is right behind me, covered in the finest Cotswold dust because, yes, there's a review of the bike on the channel right now linked in that card up there somewhere and down below as well, but in this video, I'll give you a brief overview of the two bikes in the range and who they're aimed at and the key features and what they are all about, so plenty to talk about. They have the EDRG behind me and the RCRG, the racy one, so you probably know what sort of rider you are. If you are, let me know by dropping a comment down below whether you're a racer or whether you're a bikepacking adventure rider. Let's start with the exciting one, the fast one, the RCRG. Which looks like a RCR AHA road bike with fat tyres squeezed into it but Van Rysel is saying it's a ground up design for what a aero gravel race bike should be and needs to be. Designed for the racing where speeds are getting higher and higher in unbound and tracker and aerodynamics are becoming increasingly important. And you can see the influence of the road bike in every shape The shape and tube profile of this new bike. The very aero looking front end. The head tube, the fork design, then that heavily profiled down tube, the drop seat stays, and a one piece cockpit on the top level SRAM Red Explore model. And Van Rysel was saying in his own testing, so using CFD and wind tunnel testing, that a new bike saved 8.6 watts over its previous GCR gravel bike, which really wasn't very aero at all. I'm kind of surprised the aero saving isn't bigger than that. There's not a lot of detail on the parameters of the testing, speeds and... your angles and there's no benchmarking against other bikes either so yeah as with all aero testing data take it with a pinch of salt. As well as a focus on aerodynamics it's a focus on weight and they are claiming for a size medium unpainted frame which is cheating a bit with no paint on a frame a weight of 885 grams which is pretty good and 415 grams for a fork and they claim with SRAM Red Explore groupset a weight of 7.7 kilos, which is quite heavy compared to both a Specialized Crux, which is 7.1, and that new Giant Revolt Advanced SL, which is 7.2. Quite a bit heavier than those two similarly spec top tier race bikes. Then we come to tyre clearance and here they go for 50 mil tyre clearance front and rear, which is definitely lagging behind the 55 of the Crux and the Revolt and the 57 of other race bikes in the world right now. Definitely on the narrow side for tyre clearance. Interesting choice there. Let me know what you think down below essentially on that. Other details include We can still run two-by, where a lot of bikes like the Crux and Revolt are 1x only to allow a bigger tyre clearance, so that perhaps explains that limited tyre clearance compared to those bikes. But maybe 1x, it might be bigger than 50. There's always a bit more space for bigger tyres. There's a UDH dropout for running the SRAM Explore groupset, of course, and clearance where 1x chainring is up to 52. Some bikes up to 52. Clearance on a big chainring. So an interesting set of numbers and details on the new RC-RG. I think the tire clearance could be bigger, but might be enough for you. And the weight could be lower, but let me know what you think down below. But if racing isn't your bag and you want more of an adventure, bikepacking, versatile option, then the bike behind me, the brand new EDR-G is a better pick. I won't spend too much time on the new bike because there's a full review on the bike linked down below to see what that bike is all about and how it actually rides on my local trails, but I'll give you some brief details while you're here and watching. Basically, this one compared to the RCR-G is more versatile. So 15 mounts for mudguards and bags and fenders all across the frame and fork, got a semi-internal routing, not full integration like the race bike, and the aerodynamics hasn't been pushed as much. It's clearly not as aero-optimized in the frame design as the racing version. But tire clearance is the same, 15mm front and rear. So again, I think they could have gone bigger on the tire clearance, and on this bike, bigger tires would have made more sense, especially with that. Option to fit mudguards and a wide tire as well for some winter road riding. One key detail on this bike is the in-frame storage up in the compartment at the top of the down tube, separate from the water bottle cages, where you can house a spare tube and pump and multi-tool. And it comes pre-loaded, I presume. Mine came pre-loaded with those bits in it, which is good value for money as well, because normally they come with just a neoprene bag, which is empty. You have to buy your own tools. And getting tools small enough to fit in a frame can be quite tricky sometimes. So nice detail that it comes with that. They're also offering a version with a RockShox Rudy suspension fork if you want more cushioning up front as well, which you might do with narrow tires, and this bike ships with a 45 mm wide tire as well, and also the company's own 1,600 gram carbon fiber wheels, the VR32, so another brand like Canyon moving into their own wheel branding game. where we are seeing lots of big bike brands have their own wheel brands. Roval, Specialized, Bontrager, Trek, and yeah, they all have their own wheel brands and more companies are doing the same as well. So if I clear more about comfort, exploration, adventure, carrying stuff, and Van Ryser says they spent two years developing the new bike with 30 riders covering more than 25,000 kilometers of testing. So yeah, very impressive indeed. And it was even used for an unsupported 10,000-kilometer ride across Europe before they did that final sign-off on a new bike. For prices and specifications in your region, whether you're watching in France or the US or UK, I'll put a link to their website down below because the prices weren't all finalized at the time of making today's video. Head to their website down below, get a price in your region. Pricing as with Van Ryser road bikes are very keen indeed and very competitive with one starting at at just over £2,000. So with a Shimano GRX groupset. So yeah, very good prices and I can't wait to see how the prices shake out in the long term and how it compares to other bikes. I'll do a more in-depth review on the race bike in the future, hopefully, and do an update on this one in the future and see how it does really compare. The launch of the tube bike today does make me ponder the right approach for a bike company launching a gravel bike or two. Gravel has exploded in the last 10 years. We're seeing the whole racing scene go bananas and more people doing bike packing adventures, whether a race like Badlands or Silk Road Race or unsupported adventures like the King Alfred's Way here Here in the UK, a very popular three-day route. And some brands go for one bike, that can do all that. And increasingly, most bike brands go for two, some have three bikes that can cover that wide Range of riding, because a bike designed for racing might not be any good for bike packing, and a bike for bike packing might be too adventurous for racing. And with racing getting faster, the speed is higher and more aerodynamic, and those riders wanting very aggressive positions, that set of data points doesn't really mix with what a adventure-seeking rider wants, where comfort is a priority, you're in a more upright position, you want more mounts for luggage and cargo capacity. There's no right or wrong way to launch gravel bikes and what works for you might not work for someone else and so on. I do think it's probably the most sensible approach to covering all the requirements of gravel cyclists these days to have two bikes rather than one bike trying to do both. So I do think Van Rysel's decision to have two bikes, very distinctly different, makes a lot of sense in today's market. You could use this EV-RG for racing and the racing one for bike packing, but you probably wouldn't. But where it does get a bit tricky is for somebody like me, and hopefully lots of people watching as well, is if you're a sort of person who likes going bikepacking, whether unsupported or doing an event one weekend perhaps in the summer, but also likes to go racing, do tracker or unbound on weekends, having one bike that can do both, it's quite tricky with a two-bike approach because this bike would be perfect for bikepacking and just fine for racing, but if you are going racing and taking it very seriously and yourself very seriously, you want that race bike for the The aero optimization. But that bike might not be so suitable for bikepacking with a lack of mounts and in-frame storage and that aggressive geometry. That's where I think the two-bike approach doesn't make so much sense, whereas one bike, like say, for example, the MV Mog, is pretty good at doing both really well, or something like a Fairlight Secan, if you go away from carbon fiber to steel. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. I think it's a really interesting one, personally. Anyway, let me know your thoughts on the one bike versus two bike, and what sort of gravel cycling you are doing, and whether you're leaning towards racing or bikepacking by dropping a comment down below. But that is all for today. Quick news story on the two bikes. All the details at the website link down below. And of course, a full review of the bike is down below as well. But that is all for today. Thank you so much for watching. See you again very soon.