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| Decathlon’s new Van Rysel E-EDR AF SRAM Apex |
Decathlon has quietly added another electric road bike to its Van Rysel range, and this one makes a fairly compelling argument for anyone who wants watts on tap without paying premium-brand money. The new Van Rysel E-EDR AF SRAM Apex 1x12 lands at €2,500, and while it borrows plenty from the Shimano 105 Di2 version that came before it, there's one notable change under the rider: a single-chainring SRAM setup with a fully wireless derailleur.
If you've been watching the e-road market, you'll know the sweet spot has always been tricky. Go cheap and you get a heavy hub motor and clunky components. Go expensive and you're suddenly justifying five figures to your significant other. Decathlon has spent the last few years chipping away at that middle ground, and this bike looks like another step in that direction.
Same frame, same motor, different shifting philosophy
The E-EDR AF SRAM Apex shares its aluminium frame and Mahle X35 hub motor with the existing E-EDR AF Shimano 105 Di2 model, so nothing radical has changed at the chassis level. That's not a complaint. The X35 is a well-proven, lightweight system: 250 W and 40 Nm of torque, assisting up to the standard 25 km/h European cutoff.
Where this build diverges is the drivetrain. SRAM's Apex XPLR rear derailleur is wireless, and because there's no front derailleur at all, Decathlon is pitching the 1x12 setup as lighter and easier to live with. Fewer moving parts, less to adjust, less to go wrong on a wet Sunday in February. For a bike that's likely to be someone's first serious electric road machine, that's a sensible trade.
You also get the Mahle Pulsar One display, which handles the basics: battery level, remaining range and which assistance mode you're in. It's not a full-blown cycling computer, but it's the information you actually glance at mid-ride.
Range and spec sheet
The 250 Wh battery is rated for up to 100 km, or roughly 160 km if you add the optional range extender. Real-world figures will depend heavily on how much assistance you lean on and how hilly your routes are, but those numbers are respectable for a bike in this class.
Other details worth noting:
- SRAM Apex hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors
- Carbon fork
- 32 mm tyres, which is a welcome bit of cushion on rough tarmac
- Aluminium frame, with a medium claimed at around 14 kg
- ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity, so you can pair a phone or a bike computer
That last point matters more than it used to. Pairing with a Garmin head unit, for instance, lets you see assistance data alongside your normal ride metrics rather than juggling devices. If you don't already have one, the Garmin Edge 540 is available on Amazon and plays nicely with the Mahle ecosystem.
Where and when can you get one?
The Van Rysel E-EDR AF SRAM Apex 1x12 is on sale now in several European markets, including France, the Netherlands and Spain, at €2,500. Full specs and sizing are listed on Decathlon's product page for the Van Rysel E-EDR AF. UK availability hasn't been confirmed, which is a familiar frustration for anyone buying bikes on this side of the Channel.
The verdict, before we've ridden it
On paper, this is a smart bit of product planning. Decathlon already had the Di2-equipped version for riders who want a traditional double chainring and semi-automatic shifting. Adding a wireless 1x12 SRAM option at the same price gives buyers a genuine choice rather than a spec-sheet shuffle. The weight is competitive, the motor is proven, and the maintenance argument for dropping the front derailleur is hard to argue with.
The caveats are equally clear: hub motors don't feel like crank motors on steep climbs, 250 Wh is modest if you're a heavy user of the top assistance mode, and 14 kg is still 14 kg when the battery runs dry. But at €2,500, the E-EDR AF SRAM Apex 1x12 looks like one of the more honest electric road bikes you can buy right now, and that's a phrase you don't get to write very often.
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| The Decathlon new Van Rysel E-EDR AF SRAM Apex |
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| The Decathlon new Van Rysel E-EDR AF SRAM Apex |