00:06In 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
00:35with 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
00:45their 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
01:27and Pinarello's world tour race bikes cost well north of £10,000, the RCR starts to look far more
01:34competitive on price. And cyclists bought into the hype with the first batch of top-spec Van
01:40Riesel RCRs selling out within minutes when they went on sale in the UK. So, it seems like competitive
01:48pricing and high-end performance can be offered at the same time, but what could this mean for the
01:54entire bike 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.
02:10At 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,
02:29Decathlon 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 from other
02:42Decathlon models. They're a whole new line with a dedicated team of engineers striving to make the
02:48best performance road bikes possible. The marketing speak is all well and good, but why should you be
02:54excited about Van Riesel bikes? For me, I think there are four reasons. Number one, it's just great
03:02to see a relatively new brand on the scene that isn't afraid to shake things up and put their money
03:07where their mouth is. Sponsoring a World Tour team is not cheap and it's a huge risk for any new
03:13brand.
03:14So to see Decathlon AG2R teams doing so well aboard Van Riesel bikes, well, can only put a smile on
03:21your
03:21face. Number two, and you're going to be hearing this a lot throughout this video, it's got to be
03:26the price. As we all know by now, bikes are seriously expensive in this day and age and that isn't
03:32going
03:32to change anytime soon. The fact that Van Riesel are trying to offer something at a more competitive
03:37price can only be a good thing. Number three, they're in it for the long haul. Decathlon and Van Riesel
03:43have committed to a five-year partnership with AG2R, so I'm pretty sure this won't be a flash in the
03:50pan
03:50thing. Brands making long-term commitments is great for the likes of you and me, as the tech
03:55that the pros get eventually trickles down to the bikes we get to buy in the shops.
04:00And number four, it's teamed up with some very interesting partners, including the likes of
04:05Swiss Side, Data Elementi and French Aerospace Research Laboratory, Oneira. Now, Oneira is based
04:13round the corner from Van Riesel's headquarters in Lille, so I can imagine having such an amazing
04:18facility nearby will mean Van Riesel are in the best position possible to make good on their claim of
04:25making the fastest and cheapest bikes possible. In terms of who I think should consider buying a
04:35Van Riesel bike, well, in this video I'm riding the mid-range Van Riesel RCR, which features SRAM's
04:41Force Axis groupset equipped with a power meter. This is exactly the same frame shape and geometry as
04:48raced by the pros, albeit with a marginally heavier carbon layup, and we're only talking about a 40
04:54gram difference, which is barely noticeable. Van Riesel says the RCR is in their lightweight
04:59aero category of bikes, coming in at £5,000 here in the UK. With this in mind, I think a
05:06bike like
05:06this would be ideal for the amateur racer, keen sportive rider or just someone who likes to go fast
05:11and doesn't want to break the bank. It also features zip wheels and some pretty tasty
05:17Michelin power-cut tyres, so wouldn't need any upgrades to begin with. There are different models
05:23if you're looking to spend less than £5,000, and as I've already mentioned, there's the all-singing,
05:28all-dancing Pro replica model if you want to spend a little bit more. All this to say, if you're
05:34looking
05:35for a performance-focused bike that's ready to ride or race straight out of the shop, then Van Riesel
05:41should have something to suit your budget. At this stage, you may be wondering how to actually go out
05:48and buy Van Riesel products. As you'd expect, you can go over to the Decathlon website and find the bike
05:55I'm riding today along with other products from the Van Riesel range. It's available in a range of sizes,
06:01and 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 Van
06:12Riesel's own concept store in London, where you can access services like bike fits and hands-on
06:17experience with their full product range. Finally, let's get onto what Van Riesel's presence in the
06:30market means for the cycling industry and you, the viewers. As we're at such an early stage in the
06:36brand's development, I 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 sixth 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 of their top spec road
07:22bikes rather than their performance. Van Riesel created quite the buzz when they released the
07:27world's cheapest world tour bike, and I'm sure that's one of the main reasons they sold out so
07:32quickly rather than any performance claims. And number three, if Van Riesel continues to build on
07:39their success of selling high performance bikes at more affordable prices, will we see more premium
07:45brands having to reduce their prices to keep up? Again, it's just speculation for now, but my
07:51instinct says probably not. Our buying decisions are based on far more than just price, with marketing,
07:59brand history, region and after-sales support and a whole host of other factors coming into play.
08:05In short, I don't think we can expect a sub 10 grand top spec Pinarello or Carl Nargo any time
08:12in the near
08:12future. But hey, it's amazing to think that with Van Riesel we can now buy a world tour winning race
08:19bike
08:19for well under £10,000. And in terms of change within cycling, I think that's one that we can all
08:26get
08:26behind.
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