Van Rysel takes aim at the indoor trainer market with £240 direct drive smart trainer

It’s fair to say Van Rysel is having a bit of a moment. Finally, after much speculation, the brand broke into the WorldTour with sponsorship of the AG2R squad, who will be riding its RCR Pro bikes for the 2024 season. Sadly this is without the brown shorts, but with the brand's parent company Decathlon emblazoned across the team jerseys as title co-sponsor. 

Given the new bike will be seen in the wild at the Tour Down Under very soon (stay tuned for a full gallery) the brand has timed it well to jump into the smart trainer market with not one, but three offerings, starting at an extremely competitive £239.99 / €250.00, making it one of the cheapest smart trainers on the market, significantly undercutting models like the Wahoo Kickr Core and the Zwift Hub One that currently hold the ‘best budget option’ in our guide to the best smart trainers. 

Keep reading to get a run through of the new range, starting at the cheapest and working towards the most expensive.

Van Rysel D100 Smart Trainer

The D100 occupies the bottom of the trainer tree. Its form is similar to that of the Wahoo Kickr Core and the Zwift Hub, with a more pared back body than the more premium models. Van Rysel claims it is accurate to within 5%, and offers a maximum resistance of 600 Watts. 

While the physical form is similar to models from Zwift and Wahoo, the specs aren’t comparable. This unit is far cheaper, but the models from Wahoo and Zwift are accurate to within 2%, allow you to grind at 1800 watts, and can simulate a 16% gradient as opposed to the Van Rysel’s 6%. Pricing for the D100 is £239 / €250.

The D100 offers only Bluetooth connectivity, without ANT+, so you won’t be able to connect to both an indoor cycling app and a bike computer at the same time. 

Van Rysel D500 Smart Trainer

Being a whole 400 better, the D500 smart trainer takes a form similar to more premium offerings on the market. For the princely sum of £449.99 / €450 you get a direct drive trainer with a maximum resistance of 1500 watts, accuracy to within 2%, and able to simulate gradients up to 12%. For easy storage and transport a carry handle is added, and the legs unclip and attach magnetically to the front so it can slot away into a cubby hole. 

ANT+ connectivity is added at this tier, though a cassette isn’t part of the package so you’ll need to factor that into the overall cost. 

While the visual form here is different, the price and specification package is more in competition with the budget Wahoo and Zwift options, and on paper presents a genuine contender to those options. 

Van Rysel D900 Smart Trainer

A final jump of another 400 better, the D900 is effectively identical to the D500 in its form, but boasts better specs. For those with sprinters legs the maximum wattage jumps 500 watts to 2000, and the maximum gradient to 20%. The accuracy doesn’t change though, sticking at a respectable 2%. 

For the privilege of being able to totally max out your sprint, the D900 will set you back an extra £100, priced at £549.99 / €600. Likewise with the D500, the D900 ships without a cassette.