Van Rysel has unveiled its first devoted aero bike on the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale group’s 2025 presentation on the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France.
We first noticed Van Rysel’s aero bike on the 2024 Tour de France, the place it was ridden by Sam Bennet and Oliver Naesen.
On the time, it appeared to be generally known as the FCR, nonetheless its official decide is the RCR-F. This takes the decide for Van Rysel’s all-round race bike, the RCR, and affords an ‘F’ for quick.
Chief of Van Rysel Nicolas Pierron outlined the RCR-F is 13 watts sooner than the RCR with a 7 per cent improve in stiffness on the doorway of the bike, prior to describing the bike as a “UFO for the following season.”
“We 3D-printed 15 frames, forks and cockpits to enter the wind tunnel”
Official particulars relating to the RCR-F are restricted at present. The bike shall be formally launched in 2025, more than likely coinciding with the Classics season. Nonetheless Van Rysel’s product supervisor for race bikes Jeremie Debeuf spoke to BikeRadar relating to the rationale behind the mannequin new aero bike.
“After we developed RCR, the very very very first thing we did was to simulate quite a few the WorldTour races to substantiate whether or not or not or not an aero-light bike or an aero bike may presumably be the perfect.
“Based completely on this take a look at, we clearly acknowledged that an aero-light [bike] is usually a pleasing reply, nonetheless on some express functions it was not sufficient – and notably on flat ranges when the tempo is above 45kph,” he says.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has had no factors racking up wins on the RCR-R – 30 all through the 2024 season, alongside 70 podium locations. Nonetheless, Van Rysel believes an aero bike is useful for functions with lower than 1,500m of elevation per 100km and Classics equal to Paris-Roubaix or Tour de Flanders.
Debeuf says the first step after the take a look at was to collaborate with SwissSide. Utilizing CFD, Van Rysel and SwissSwide outlined the primary strains and potential selections for the RCR-F.
“From that, I take into account we [3D-]printed spherical 15 frames, forks and cockpit to enter the wind tunnel,” Debeuf says.
Van Rysel used this course of to go looking out out the perfect tube shapes for its new aero bike. Definitely one in every of many principal focuses was the place the seat stays be a part of the seat tube. This be a part of is slightly just like the RCR, the place the perfect of the seat stays twists correct proper right into a horizontal aircraft.
The choice focus was the highest tube of the bike. That is notably deep to clean airflow. There’s essential shaping to mould airflow from the fork to the downtube.
Debeuf says as rapidly as Van Rysel decided the perfect shapes, “we simulated one completely different model by combining components to substantiate whether or not or not or not or not that they’d been okay altogether.
“Often while you affiliate factors, you don’t at all times get the advantages of what you wished to have, so it is essential to find out which choice [you want]after which put all the alternatives collectively.”
He affords that picks you make on the doorway of the bike can create turbulence, which might impression the rear, notably when a rider is pedalling the bike.
Debeuf components out the place the one-piece cockpit – designed by Van Rysel nonetheless produced by Deda – joins the steerer tube. He says the dimensions of the stem is prolonged as soon as extra to stay away from shedding a claimed one watt.
Expert groups inform enchancment
Debeuf says Van Rysel labored rigorously with riders to develop the RCR-F: “The aero half you’ll do with the science and knowledge. The behaviour of the bike, in precise truth, you will have numbers, nonetheless it’s elevated to be all through the house with the riders.”
Debeuf says Van Rysel labored with ten riders at first, together with Benoit Cosnefroy, to tune the bike’s truly actually really feel. Then, the bike was raced on the Tour de France, the place Sam Bennett supplied concepts from racing in sprints and the bunch which was used to fine-tune the ergonomics of the cockpit.
The RCR-F has the same geometry because of the RCR. Debeuf says that is essential for professional riders due to they are going to use the RCR on a hilly stage prior to switching to the RCR-F.
“It was essential to verify it wouldn’t take them a day for use to the mannequin new one,” he says.
That is an approach Scott has taken with its new Addict RC, which has the same geometry because of the Foil aero bike to make switching between the fashions acquainted.
Cobble-friendly clearance
The RCR-F has an official most tyre clearance of 33mm. Debeuf says the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale riders will more than likely race with 32mm tyres on the Classics and that it may presumably be doable to squeeze wider freeway bike tyres into the physique.
With Decathlon’s headquarters in Lille, Van Rysel is near the cobblestones that animate the Spring Classics.
“We do all of assessments in highly effective circumstances like that,” Debeuf says, along with {{{that a}}} bike such because of the RCR-F can play an infinite function on the Classics.
“Flanders is now 45kph… for Roubaix now, whether or not it’s dry it’s virtually 50K an hour,” he says.
“Riders are sometimes one after the other or in a small group, in order that they take lots wind. So in precise truth, this kind of bike is made to assist them to be stronger.”
Weight wasn’t an essential problem all through the enchancment of the RCR-F, nonetheless Debeuf says the bike weighs roughly 7.5kg, with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and 65mm SwissSide wheels.
“We discovered the acceptable stability between the burden and the aero advantages,” he says.