Van Rysel RCR / Megane T600 - Road feel support

Feature Requests
1

Hello

I recently started using the Van Rysel RCR Turbo trainer from Decathlon (rebranded Magene T600), it came pre setup for Zwift with the cog and click.

In the official app for the trainer it supports Road feel for multiple road surfaces like cobbles, gravel, mud etc. From my brief testing the road feel works very well on the trainer, better than Tacx. Cobblestones for example vibrate the whole bike and actually feel realistic.

I previously used both the Tacx neo V1 and neo bike and both of these had road feel enabled in Zwift.

I understand these trainers wonā€™t have many users like the Tacx but it would still be great to see the road feel enabled on Zwift if it was possible.

Many Thanks

2

Iā€™ve been looking at this trainer since it came onto the market but canā€™t find any reviews about it. I was even thinking of buying one just to review it and if i didnā€™t like it send it back, but.

I have a Kickr Core (nice) and tried a Kickr V6 recently but just felt it was sluggish. How does the Van Rysel RCR feel, etc?

3

I got this trainer because I was dissatisfied with my Core 2. The RCR makes a high-quality impression; nothing wobbles, and the Bluetooth connection to Zwift works seamlessly. You need the OneLapFit app for the setup, which also went smoothly. No firmware update was available. So far, so goodā€”but the trainer has some issues, which is why I ultimately ended up returning it.

a. Accuracy: I tried everything possible, but it consistently read 6ā€“7% lower than my Assioma Duos. And thatā€™s exactly how it felt, too. The Core 2 was significantly better in this regard after I auto-calibrated it several times.

b. The so-called ā€œCompetition Modeā€ behaves very strangely. You get power spikes between 90 and 250 watts within a single (!) pedal stroke. The graph on ZwiftPower looks like a comb.

c. The Ethernet connection to Zwift does work, but then virtual shifting no longer functions.

d. The trainer is supposed to have ā€œdescent simulation,ā€ meaning the motor automatically spins the flywheel on downhills. This didnā€™t work for me either.

e. Underneath the RCR, there are LEDs that indicate your current power zone, ranging from white to red. However, because the power fluctuates so much, it creates a sort of ā€œdisco lightā€ effect. While you can turn it off completely, the feature is pointess as it stands.

Overall, it would definitely be a great trainerā€”especially at that price pointā€”but there is still quite a bit of room for improvement. Perhaps these issues will be addressed through future firmware updates. I purchased the RCR through Decathlon in Germany and reached out to their support team. They were very helpful and even called me personally because they were still waiting for a response from the technical department (likely Magene) and offered me a replacement. Ultimately, Iā€™ve gone back to the Core 2, which, depending on the day, is either spot-on or about 2.5% low. :slight_smile:

4

Iā€™ve had the trainer for about 30 hours of use now. I did a ride over 4 hours and it was faultless.

I agree with all the issues raised above, ethernet is broken on Zwift, race mode doesnā€™t work and causes massive power issues. I am hopeful these issues could be fixed if we get a firmware update.

I canā€™t comment on accuracy, I did notice against a stages left side crank it seems to read a little lower but Iā€™m not too worried about it. I think it feels okay and my HR seems to be in line with the power readings.

Even with the issues I like the trainer and am going to keep it. It is very well built, stable and extremely portable compared to trainers like the Tacx neo as an example.

I hope Decathlon take note of the issues people have raised and get Magene (the trainers manufacturer) to update the firmware. Magene make good products generally so no reason to think they canā€™t fix the issues.

It has nice ride feel on zwift and responds the gradient changes and ERG mode very quickly, even over Bluetooth. Virtual shifting works feel and feels good over Bluetooth.

It is extremely quiet and probably one of the quietest trainers out there.

5

Thanks guys for the feedback!

Iā€™d read some reviews of the trainer on Decathlonā€™s UK site (also covers Europe) and the feedback was a bit too negative for me to buy one at the moment but maybe when the firmware is updated and some more favourable reviews I might try oneā€¦ a link to the Decathlon UK site isnā€™t allowed on here!

Not desperate at the moment as my Kickr Core 1 is working fine.

6

Iā€™ve been trying to get one to review. Iā€™ve been reaching out to Decathlon / Van Rysel for over six months on this. Theyā€™re were initially out of stock. Now they look to be out of fks to giveā€¦. as theyā€™re not replying to my emails. :joy:

If I can get one, Iā€™ll review it. In the meantime I appreciate owners posting their feedback online so we can learn more about this trainer.

1 Like
7

Iā€™ve had this trainer for about a month. Iā€™m new to indoor training though, and this is my first indoor trainer of any sort. So my impressions and thoughts are really only relative to what I see on youtube (re: GPLama, DCRainmaker, etcā€¦).

My impressions:

Portability: the carry handle is very convenient and the unit is much lighter weight than the Tacx Neo2t (one of my main deciders on going with the Van Rysel RCR, as Iā€™d be putting it away after each session). I didnā€™t want to spring for the Neo 3M as a first unit.

Unit stability: This may be user error. I currently have it on laminate flooring. When I sprint hard, the unit rocks forward. I need to get a mat to see if it helps. Other than that, it feels stable enough and I donā€™t think I could get it to tip over if I tried though. Iā€™m 65kg. Regular zone 2 the unit does not move and is stable. I suppose this may be the trade-off for light weight and portability. Note the rear axle is the same height as a 700c wheel and tire so no riser block is needed nor provided (vs the T600 - which seems to come with a riser and mat)

Accuracy: Iā€™m getting an ~7 watt difference between my spider power meter (magene p505) and the RCR. For the rides Iā€™ve compared. I figure it was the drive train loss and was normal (?). The peaks and valleys in the power readout seem to match. Is there an offset I can set? I havenā€™t lookedā€¦ which brings me to

Documentation: The only real documentation is ā€œIkeaā€ style manual with pictures and no words. So, Iā€™d judge documentation to be ā€œpoorā€ - but that being said, you plug it in and it essentially works out of the box (after figuring out your specific bike and software - re: Zwift hub). Iā€™ve also used the trainer with the free zwift competitor too. Tangent: I like Watopia better. Seems more 3d somehow. Have yet to try Rouvy.

Bluetooth connectivity: connects well, takes a while, but uncertain if this is due to my slow mini-pc running win11 / loading zwift takes a while. Mini PC is behind tv. I didnā€™t read the specs close enough and found out after the fact, that another difference from the T600 is: No wifi, wired ethernet only. Iā€™ve not tried the ethernet, since bluetooth works well enough. I am not a racer. The unit is primarily to help limit my winter weight gain/keep up my summer outdoor riding fitness (not working).

Road feel: I canā€™t get this to work, but have only tried a few times, and gave up, figuring it was something that was ā€˜to be completedā€™ between RCR and Zwift - but reading here, seems I may have a connnectivity issue.

Downhill simulation: seems to work - but I canā€™t say Iā€™ve tested it extensively. It seems to simulate coasting. Iā€™m almost constantly peddling in game as Iā€™m trying to finish my workout vs enjoying the scenery (that being said, max session has been less than 1.5 hours).

Sound: pretty quiet. My fan, in game music, and whatever music/video I have on easily drowns it out. My chain sound on the zwift cog is louder than the units internal fan (it runs almost the whole time I am pedaling).

Software: relies on the Magene app - Onelap Fit (as opposed to Onelap). Definitely not as polished as Garmin stuff (I use a garmin edge 840 and smart watch). I believe the Onelap app (for cycling simulation, scenery, ā€œgame playā€) does not seem to work for the RCR - it loads on my pc, connects to the unit, but then drops the connection. I am not sure if the RCR trainer is purposefully excluded from the Onelap game ecosystem. Disappointing.

TL:DR - machine feels solid and good quality. Software feels like what you would from 2020s Chinese software? Itā€™s ā€œmehā€ (I expect Chinese software should catch up sometime? Like the hardware).

User base seems quite small. Surprisingly, this unit was available in Canada earlier than the USA, at non-Decathlon stores, so that was weird. English marketing seemed limited to facebook and tiktok, prior to 2026, so that was irritating. Decathlon advertising on youtube at the time only in French. Surprised and concerned then and now that unit hasnā€™t been supplied to GPlama. We need a bigger user base for open source support (I havenā€™t contacted Decathlon or the store I purchased at though, for support, since things that donā€™t seem to work arenā€™t deal breakers for me).

Sorry for the half baked and rambling review. Iā€™ll have to see if I can get the road feel to work via ethernet cable. And whether a trainer mat stops the sprint-rock. Happy enough so far, but may be due to lack of experience.

The lights: Neat. Work well enough. I donā€™t think Iā€™d missed them if they werenā€™t there.

8

I read the reviews on the Decathlon site and some of them ainā€™t good. More of the similar complaints hereā€¦ Not allowed links on here so just search using this topicā€¦ ā€˜ Van Rysel RCR / Megane T600 - Road feel support ā€˜

9

I changed Tacx Flux S for this RCR. Donā€™t need this, but I want something for Christmas to me :grin:. Zwift COG is the loudest part. Tried some 3D printed mods, but with the cassette itā€™s best, itā€™s extremely quiet. Iā€™ll never buy COG separately after this experience.

Road feel is only for tasting this future in OnelapFit app. Hope weā€™ll get full support in future firmware, because itā€™s working very well.

I used it only for few hours now, but the highest difference of power I got was -2% compared to Favero Assioma Pro RS-2 DUO which has 1% accuracy too. The average values I got it always lower.

Never tried competition mode. I also turned the light off, donā€™t need this. Iā€™m very satisfied with this trainer and if weā€™ll get road feel in future, Iā€™ll be extremely satisfiedā€‹:slightly_smiling_face:.

10

I just got one of these, so only a few rides on it. But four decades of bicycle racing, have ridden all kinds of trainers and far and away my favorite was a Wahoo Kickr with a VeloBike fixed gear adapter. But I was also doing sprint training, and the Kickr bearings only lasted two off seasons before they were fried. Wahoo SAYS it can do 2k watts and I guess it can, just not for very long or often.

Picked up one of the RCRs for this reason alone: It is autonomous, so I can take it anywhere and it functions fully. I ride on our terrace, and it works perfectly, except ā€¦ (more later)

Road feel is brilliant, such as it is. I have never liked the flywheel effect of the heavy flywheel trainers because itā€™s almost like an assist. The RCR feels very much like actual riding in how it powers up and down.

Riding it while looking at my Quarq, it tracks very nicely. No complaints there, but I wouldnā€™t have them anyhow because the thing about power measurements and tracking is that if something is within its own universe, plus or minus a few percent doesnā€™t really matter. Youā€™re putting in the work. So I donā€™t get too hung up on that.

Itā€™s very stable, and I say this as a 110kg rider who can put down some watts. It just sits there and ticks over. Itā€™s also light, so easy to move around. I just grab the handle and use the front wheel like a wheelbarrow to roll it onto the terrace.

It is quiet. The only sound, aside from the faint motor whine mostly on spindown, is the sound of the Zwift cog. With the terrace door open in an otherwise quiet flat, my wife said she couldnā€™t hear anything.

Setup is also easy, just take it out of the box, fold the legs out, pick your axle adapter and off you go. I am using the OneLapFit app, in which you can do probably the most important thing for this trainer, which is to turn off that light on the bottom, that illuminates different colors based on your power output. Haha, no.

Now for the but ā€¦ I am using OneLapFit because it rejects every BlueTooth connection we have tried, so no Zwift at this time. It connected to OneLapFit immediately, and the connection is stable, so no idea what the issue is with BT. Have a call out to Decathlon tech support to see if they know what the deal is.

I really like the RCR and donā€™t plan on using it with Zwift, ever. It comes with two free months, however. My principal uses are ERG and SIM, mostly because my racing days are over, so I just want to sit on something, put a favorite show on and roll along while out on the terrace, throwing in the occasional effort or hill sim. The Tacx Neo is also autonomous, but itā€™s almost twice the price of the RCR.

Every other review I read discusses Zwift, so whatever this issue is, itā€™s specific to my unit. Hopefully they can sort it, because I really like this trainer. And Decathlon was having a sale, so it was 660 Euros, which is a screaming bargain for a full-featured trainer with electronagnetic resistance and full autonomy from the power cable. Hope this helps someone.