Van Rysel NCR CF Apex 2024

The Van Rysel NCR CF is part of the French brand's race range, yet is designed to be a bit of an all-rounder, highlighted by the choice of 1x and 2x chainset models and large tyre clearances. It's a lot of bike for the money, and a real pleasure to see a quality full-carbon-fibre-framed machine hitting the two-grand mark.

> Buy now: Van Rysel NCR CF Apex for £1,999.99 from Decathlon

You can check out how it compares with other options in our guides to the best road bikes and best endurance road bikes.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Ride

Some brands, I'm sure, would position the NCR line-up as endurance bikes, although if you look at the geometry chart they're a little more aggressive than most of those (but still a little less aggressive than the full-blown RCR range). NCR stands for Neo Racer, though, which is quite apt.

With that in mind, it's going to come as no surprise that the NCR offers a spirited ride. It feels everything a fast road bike should.

With our size medium coming with a 73-degree head angle and short 137mm head tube length, the front end is low and quick, which makes for a lot of fun in the corners, but with the wheelbase being a touch longer than most full-on race bikes, it feels a lot less twitchy.

In fact, it's a stable feeling bike that rides really well on twisty back lanes or on technical descents. I enjoyed the NCR on longer rides especially – it's one of those bikes where you can just switch off and enjoy the scenery, but then when you need it to be razor sharp and positive it does that as well. It's a good mile-muncher.

The seatpost sits at 73.5 degrees, which pushes you forward into a position that favours putting the power down. That, and the fact that the NCR's frame feels stiff around the bottom bracket area, means it is no slouch when you ask it to get a shift on. The only thing hampering overall performance is the wheels – a set of Mavic's Aksiums.

Plenty of riding on Aksiums has led me to the conclusion that they are durable and give a decent ride quality, but at over 1,900g a set they don't half blunt the performance, especially acceleration. They're also noticeable when climbing, so I'd definitely be looking to upgrade them if speed was my main focus.

Even with them, though, the 8.66kg weight (on our own scales) is still pretty impressive for a £2K bike, and once rolling it's a nippy machine.

From a comfort point of view the NCR has got a lot going for it too. At this price point you can sometimes be better off going for a higher end aluminium alloy than a cheaper carbon one, but the frame and fork here feel pretty refined. There is no plasticky, hollow feel to the frame, which can sometimes lead to a lot of resonation and high-frequency buzz from the road; generally, you are getting a smooth ride with a decent amount of feedback. And for added comfort you can run up to 35mm tyres.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the NCR CF is available in both 1x and 2x builds, and we have the former. To be honest, it didn't really work for me, although I'm not dismissing it completely.

I've ridden some bikes with 1x gearing and it's worked really well: Vielo's R+1 had a 1x SRAM Force group, but its race bike nature meant it was running quite a close-ratio cassette so it didn't feel like there were too many jumps between the sprockets and it was therefore quite efficient.

This NCR has a 12-speed cassette stretching between 11 and 44 teeth, with some big jumps between them at the mid to lower end of the ratios, and quite often I found I was between gears searching for a comfortable, efficient cadence. If I was buying the NCR CF I'd be going for one of the 2x options.

In terms of the ride, though, I was very impressed with the NCR CF. It's a good all-round road bike with great characteristics.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Frame & fork

Van Rysel doesn't go into too much detail about what grade of carbon fibres go into the manufacturing of the NCR, but given the ride feel and stiffness I'd hazard a guess that it's something pretty decent.

Weight-wise, it's a claimed 1,200g for the painted frame in a medium and 413g for the fork.

It's a good-looking bit of kit with smooth lines throughout thanks to fully integrated cable and hose routing. It hasn't gone the whole hog with an internal wedge seat clamp for full aero effect, but things like the dropped seatstays will bring a small wind-cheating bonus.

The large, chunky bottom bracket shell brings added stiffness, helped by the slab-like chainstays to make sure all of your pedal power goes through the rear wheel and onto the road.

For a bike with this 'all-rounder' kind of persona, and 35mm tyre clearance, I was surprised to not see provision for mudguards, but considering the fact that it is still a race bike it wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.

It uses a press-fit bottom bracket, which again isn't a problem from my point of view, as I think the early creaking issues of this technology are largely sorted these days, but some might still be put off, especially if this is your one bike for all-year-round riding, on sometimes wet and gritty roads.

The NCR is offered in five sizes ranging from XXS to XL, with top tube lengths of 510mm up to 585mm. This medium has a 555mm top tube.

Reach is 392.6mm and stack 548.3mm, and the fork is 380mm long with a rake of 45mm. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, check out our A-Z of cycling jargon.)

The wheelbase is 999mm and you get a bottom bracket drop of 67mm. There are no real surprises in terms of geometry.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Groupset

For this kind of money it is very impressive to see an electronic groupset, even if it is missing a front derailleur, saving a bit of cash.

It's SRAM's Apex XPLR AXS which Aaron reviewed recently and was very impressed with. It's a 1x setup only but comes with fully wireless shifter and rear mech plus a 46T (on this bike) chainset and 12-speed 11-44T cassette.

The shifting is great, being quick and accurate across the block, which is impressive considering some of the gaps found on the cassette. The list here goes 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-38-44. As Aaron said in his review, a 10-tooth would be better for road work, and SRAM does offer a 10-44T and 10-36T cassette in the line-up.

In use, I couldn't really tell the difference between this Apex and the Rival AXS I have on another review bike, which is a glowing recommendation.

The stopping power is also impressive from the hydraulic callipers and 160mm rotors front and rear.

Over the years have SRAM has worked a lot on refining its brakes and it's noticeable here on what is technically an entry-level groupset. There is plenty of feel through the lever, which allows you to control how much power you apply – ideal for loose surfaces or when riding in the wet.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Finishing kit

Bearing in mind that the groupset has an RRP of £1,262, it's no surprise that the rest of the finishing kit is simple, but still keeping within what you'd expect to find on a two-grand bike.

The aluminium bar and stem do their job and that is pretty much all I can say about them. The shape of the handlebar gives plenty of accessible hand positions and I had no issues with it in terms of stiffness for hard efforts out of the saddle.

Both components come in different sizes depending on frame size. Stems start at 60mm for the XXS, topping out at 110mm for the XL, while handlebar widths range from 400mm to 420mm.

The saddle is definitely something I'd change, though. It's too long and overly padded for my liking, but that's not to say it wouldn't work for you.

The seatpost is another aluminium affair and it has a simple-to-use seat clamp. It's good to see a round post used as you can then upgrade to a carbon fibre one if you so desire at a later date.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Wheels & tyres

Earlier, I mentioned the wheelset and their downsides. I'm not on a complete downer on them as I have found Aksiums to be reliable and solid on previous bikes, so they are ideal for mixed terrain rides or using through the poor weather months.

At 1,905g they really do feel weighty, though, and that is noticeable when riding the NCR. You don't need to spend a huge amount of money to get a decent set of wheels that could shed, say, 400g and make the bike feel more responsive and fun to ride.

Something like a set of Scribe's Race-D Wide+ wheels would be a great upgrade without breaking the bank. Costing £510 when we reviewed them back in January 2023 but available now for £370, they're alloy rimmed wheels that weigh 1,448g and their 21mm inner width will work better with tyres of up to 35mm should you decide to fit them.

As standard the NCR comes with 28mm Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance tyres, which Jamie reviewed back in 2020. He was impressed overall, finding them speedy and grippy, and setting them up tubeless was a simple operation too.

They're £59.99 each and it's great to see that Van Rysel is speccing good quality components where they are needed. Tyres are usually one of the areas where the budget is cut.

I like them and agree with Jamie – they're fast rolling and grippy, just like he said – although there are more supple options out there.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Value

Priced at £2,099.99 (and currently reduced to £1,999.99), this model represents good value for money I reckon.

The range-topper is fitted with a SRAM Rival AXS 2x electronic groupset and Fulcrum Racing 3 DB wheels, for £2,800, although again it has been reduced and currently costs £2,700.

A 2x bike built up with Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed and Fulcrum Racing 700DB Hyperglide wheels costs £2,000, while a Tiagra build with hydraulic disc brakes and Mavic Aksiums costs just £1,600 (£1,500 currently). It has a 48/34T chainset and an 11-32T cassette, and comes in either the same Electric Blue paintjob you see here or a dark grey.

Those prices put the NCR CF in a very hard position to beat in terms of competition.

Giant's Defy range is endurance based, with geometry a little slacker than the NCR, although it is still a racy bike by nature.

A Shimano Tiagra-equipped Defy Advanced 3 comes with a carbon fibre frameset, a carbon seatpost and an alloy cockpit, and has clearance for 38mm tyres. It costs £2,349, which is quite the jump over the NCR CF Tiagra (though it's currently reduced to £1,879).

Canyon's latest Endurace is available in a range of builds, with the CF 7 using a carbon fibre frame and fork with 35mm tyre clearance, 105 mechanical 12-speed groupset and DT Swiss aluminium wheels for £2,349. You do get an integrated carbon fibre cockpit, though.

I rode the top-end Endurace CFR Di2 last year when it was first launched and I have to confess it didn't exactly blow me away. The NCR has a more spirited ride, that's for sure.

Merida's Scultura Endurance bikes are good all-rounders and I was impressed with the 4000 model I reviewed recently – well, with a change of tyres at least. With a 105 mechanical groupset you are looking at £2,250.

Van Rysel NCR CF: Conclusion

Personally, I wouldn't go with the 1x option that I've been riding here, it just doesn't work for me on the road. But that aside, I really like the NCR as a bike.

Considering its all-rounder kind of status, it is still very much a fast road bike and I think that sets it apart from a lot of others. It's great to have the choice of running wider tyres and different chainset options without having to sacrifice a racer's position or speed.

It's also a very good bike for the money, being very impressively priced.

> Buy now: Van Rysel NCR CF Apex for £1,999.99 from Decathlon

Verdict

Impressive value for money race bike with all-rounder qualities including good tyre clearances and an electronic groupset