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.

The EDR-G is taller and slacker and has the mounts and in-frame storage for gravel exploration and ultra-distance riding. The top spec has a 40mm travel suspension fork, while prices start at £2,100.

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.”

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.

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

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.

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

Van Rysel will sell the RCR-G in three specs, all with SRAM XPLR AXS 13-speed groupsets and with Continental Terra Comp 45mm tyres fitted to its own wheels, either carbon or alloy. The bike is available in sizes XS to XL.

• RCR-G Red AXS
  • Frame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbon
  • Groupset: SRAM Red XPLR AXS, 44t / 10-46t
  • Wheelset: VR 50 Carbon
  • Tyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mm
  • Cockpit: Combo RCR-R Carbon
  • Claimed weight: 7.8kg (size M)
  • Price: £6,500 / $10,999 / €6,599
• RCR-G Force AXS
  • Frame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbon
  • Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS, 42t / 10-46t
  • Wheelset: VR 35 Carbon
  • Tyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mm
  • Cockpit: VR Carbon bars on VR AL alloy stem
  • Claimed weight: 8.2kg (size M)
  • Price: £4,000 / $7,399 / €4,199
• RCR-G Rival AXS
  • Frame/fork: RCR-G high modulus carbon
  • Groupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, 40t / 10-46t
  • Wheelset: VR 35 AL alloy
  • Tyres: Continental Terra Comp 45mm
  • Cockpit: VR AL alloy bars on VR AL alloy stem
  • Claimed weight: 8.6kg (size M)
  • Price: £3,000 / $5,299 / €3,199

EDR-G gravel adventure bike

Meanwhile, the EDR-G (EDR, as in ‘endurance’) is aimed at riders looking for off-road versatility and comfort on adventure gravel rides and, Van Rysel says, is suited to gravel beginners as well as experienced ultra-distance gravel cyclists.

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.”

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.

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

• EDR-G Force AXS
  • Frame/fork: EDR-G carbon
  • Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS, 40t / 10-46t
  • Wheelset: VR 32 Gravel Carbon
  • Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R Pro 45mm
  • Cockpit: Deda Gera alloy, 24 degree flare
  • Claimed weight: 8.85kg (size M)
  • Price: £N/A / $6,299 / €3,199
• EDR-G Suspended Fork
  • Frame: EDR-G carbon
  • Fork: RockShox Rudy XPLR 40mm
  • Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS, 40t / 10-46t
  • Wheelset: VR 32 Gravel Carbon
  • Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R Pro 45mm
  • Cockpit: Deda Gera alloy, 24 degree flare
  • Claimed weight: 9.7kg (size M)
  • Price: £3,500 / $N/A / €3,499
• EDR-G GRX
  • Frame/fork: EDR-G carbon
  • Groupset: Shimano GRX 610, 40t / 10-51t
  • Wheelset: DT Swiss G1800 alloy
  • Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R Perf 45mm
  • Cockpit: Deda Gera alloy, 24 degree flare
  • Claimed weight: 8.75kg (size M)
  • Price: £2,100 / $N/A / €2,199

Availability for the RCR-G and EDR-G depends on the spec, colour and territory, and stretches from August 2026 into 2027, with dates for US sales yet to be confirmed.