00:00In the world of bikes, and more specifically, world tour proven road race bikes, the world's
00:12cheapest and fastest are rarely heard in the same sentence. But the bike brand that I have
00:17underneath me might be about to change things forever. I am, of course, talking about Van
00:22Riesel. Cast your minds back to the end of 2023 and French
00:30pro team AG2R made a splash in the cycling press when they announced they would be partnering
00:36with Decathlon for 2024. At the same time, they also announced they would
00:40be riding Decathlon's premium cycling brand, Van Riesel. Now, this had some people scratching
00:46their heads as surely a more budget-orientated retailer like Decathlon wouldn't be able to
00:51match the likes of Pinarello and Colnago when it came to out-and-out performance in the
00:56world tour. Well, if the 2024 road season is anything to go by, then it looks like Van
01:02Riesel and Decathlon have done just that. At the time of filming, the AG2R team have piloted
01:08their flagship Van Riesel RCRs to 26 victories at the highest level. But perhaps the most
01:14striking thing is that you can go into a shop and buy the exact same bike as the pros use
01:20for just £9,000. Of course, £9,000 is far from cheap, but when you consider that Colnago and
01:27Pinarello's world tour race bikes cost well north of £10,000, the RCR starts to look far more competitive
01:35on price. And cyclists bought into the hype with the first batch of top-spec Van Riesel RCRs
01:42selling out within minutes when they went on sale in the UK. So, it seems like competitive pricing and
01:49high-end performance can be offered at the same time. But what could this mean for the entire
01:54bike industry? Well, you'll have to watch to the end of the video to find out. Before that,
02:00I'm going to tell you a little more about Van Riesel and why they are causing such a stir.
02:06At this stage, you may be wondering what Van Riesel is and where did they originate from? Well,
02:17Van Riesel, which incidentally translates to Made in Flanders, originated in 2019 and is
02:23Decathlon's premium bike brand. And while Van Riesel has only been in the World Tour since 2024,
02:30Decathlon has a strong history of making bikes for professional teams such as Cofidis and AG2R
02:36Provoyance in the early 2000s. It's worth mentioning that Van Riesels aren't just rebranded
02:42from other Decathlon models. They're a whole new line with a dedicated team of engineers
02:47striving to make the best performance road bikes possible. The marketing speak is all well and good,
02:53but why should you be excited about Van Riesel bikes? For me, I think there are four reasons.
03:00Number one, it's just great to see a relatively new brand on the scene that isn't afraid to shake
03:05things up and put their money where their mouth is. Sponsoring a World Tour team is not cheap and
03:12it's a huge risk for any new brand. So to see Decathlon AG2R teams doing so well aboard Van Riesel bikes,
03:19well, can only put a smile on your face. Number two, and you're going to be hearing this a lot
03:24throughout this video, it's got to be the price. As we all know by now, bikes are seriously expensive
03:30in this day and age and that isn't going to change any time soon. The fact that Van Riesel are trying
03:35to offer something at a more competitive price can only be a good thing. Number three, they're in it
03:41for the long haul. Decathlon and Van Riesel have committed to a five-year partnership with AG2R,
03:47so I'm pretty sure this won't be a flash in the pan thing. Brands making long-term commitments is
03:53great for the likes of you and me, as the tech that the pros get eventually trickles down to the
03:57bikes we get to buy in the shops. And number four, it's teamed up with some very interesting partners,
04:04including the likes of Swiss Side, Data Elementi and French aerospace research laboratory,
04:10Oneira. Now, Oneira is based round the corner from Van Riesel's headquarters in Lille, so I can imagine
04:17having such an amazing facility nearby will mean Van Riesel are in the best position possible
04:23to make good on their claim of making the fastest and cheapest bikes possible.
04:32In terms of who I think should consider buying a Van Riesel bike, well, in this video, I'm riding the
04:38mid-range Van Riesel RCR, which features SRAM's Force Axis groupset equipped with a power meter.
04:45This is exactly the same frame shape and geometry as raced by the pros, albeit with a marginally
04:51heavier carbon layup. And we're only talking about a 40-gram difference, which is barely noticeable.
04:56Van Riesel says the RCR is in their lightweight aero category of bikes, coming in at £5,000 here in the UK.
05:04With this in mind, I think a bike like this would be ideal for the amateur racer, keen sportive rider,
05:10or just someone who likes to go fast and doesn't want to break the bank. It also features zip wheels
05:16and some pretty tasty Michelin power-cut tyres, so wouldn't need any upgrades to begin with.
05:22There are different models if you're looking to spend less than £5,000, and as I've already mentioned,
05:27there's the all-singing, all-dancing pro replica model if you want to spend a little bit more.
05:33All this to say, if you're looking for a performance-focused bike that's ready to ride
05:37or race straight out of the shop, then Van Riesel should have something to suit your budget.
05:44At this stage, you may be wondering how to actually go out and buy Van Riesel products.
05:51As you'd expect, you can go over to the Decathlon website and find the bike I'm riding today,
05:56along with other products from the Van Riesel range. It's available in a range of sizes,
06:02and you can then arrange for it to be delivered to your closest Decathlon store, where you can go
06:06and pick it up. Or if you're after a more bespoke retail experience, then you can head over to
06:12Van Riesel's own concept store in London, where you can access services like bike fits
06:16and hands-on experience with their full product range.
06:27Finally, let's get onto what Van Riesel's presence in the market means for the cycling industry
06:32and you, the viewers. As we're at such an early stage in the brand's development,
06:37I can only speculate for now. And things may change, but here are my takeaways.
06:44Number one, the fact that we have a world tour team racing and winning on what are perceived to be
06:50more affordable bikes can only be a good thing. We're often sold the idea that the most expensive
06:56product is the best, so it's refreshing to know that you can buy the same performance at a more
07:02competitive price. At the time of filming, AG2R Decathlon were ranked 6th out of 21 World Tour teams,
07:09so I'd wager any concerns the riders had about racing bikes from Decathlon have long disappeared.
07:15Number two, in the future, we may see more brands leading with the affordability
07:20of their top-spec road bikes rather than their performance. Van Riesel created quite the buzz when
07:26they released the world's cheapest world tour bike, and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons they
07:32sold out so quickly, rather than any performance claims. And number three, if Van Riesel continues
07:39to build on their success of selling high-performance bikes at more affordable prices, will we see more
07:45premium brands having to reduce their prices to keep up? Again, it's just speculation for now,
07:51but my instinct says probably not. Our buying decisions are based on far more than just price,
07:57with marketing, brand history, region and after-sales support and a whole host of other factors
08:04coming into play. In short, I don't think we can expect a sub 10 grand top-spec Pinarello or Carl
08:10Nago any time in the near future. But hey, it's amazing to think that with Van Riesel we can now buy a
08:17world tour-winning race bike for well under £10,000. And in terms of change within cycling, I think
08:24that's one that we can all get behind.
Comments