Attention, here comes one of the most exciting bikes of 2026. Yes, we know, the year has only just begun. Nevertheless, the Van Rysel FTP² will most likely also appear in our top ten in December. It simply breaks too many conventions that have seemingly applied to ebikes up to now to be forgotten in the next twelve months. At the same time, it could be one of the biggest disappointments of the year for you. You’ll find out why in the next few minutes.
1. The best of the best – and more
2. Van Rysel FTP²: a laboratory on two wheels
3. Feeling like a professional cyclist
4. Too powerful for practical use?
5. Price for the Van Rysel FTP² beyond 20,000 euros
6. Concept bike instead of production model
7. What was the biggest challenge for drive supplier Mahle?
8. Insights for future drive systems and integration tasks
1. The best of the best – and more
The frame made of high-modulus carbon. Enclosed within the Mahle M40 mid-drive motor, presented as a world first at the last Eurobike in Frankfurt. Its ebike system powering, among other things, Sram’s currently most expensive in-house electronic derailleur, the Red AXS. To move forward, you turn carbon cranks from Praxis Works. The premium brand Swiss Side contributes a high-end wheelset with 850-millimetre-high aero rims. Manufacturer Van Rysel combines all of this into an e-road bike that he could just as easily have called Wind Tunnel. Every detail here screams aerodynamic optimisation. So loudly, in fact, making any question about the deeper meaning of FTP² prohibitive.
However, that sounds a bit harsh and doesn’t do the project justice. After all, the concept bike that Van Rysel is presenting at the VeloFollies bicycle fair, which begins today in Lille, France, does indeed serve a purpose. All of the partners want to gain experience in pushing the limits. Simply to explore what is feasible. To this end, they have designed a bicycle around an e-drive that would probably never have been built otherwise. And, in our opinion, it will probably never be transferred to a production model – neither by Van Rysel nor by any other brand.
2. Van Rysel FTP²: a laboratory on two wheels
So, what happens when you integrate a mid-drive motor like the Mahle M40 into a high-end sports device like this time trial bike? How does such an ebike ride? What stresses must components withstand that in many cases are not used to the additional forces and weights of an ebike motor? What are the benefits of such a high-quality aerodynamics package for an ebike? We don’t know. Van Rysel, Mahle and Co., on the other hand, are now certainly a lot smarter. It’s not for nothing that Mahle refers to it as a rolling laboratory.
According to their own statements, the participants wanted to investigate extreme speed scenarios by combining rider and motor performance. A particular focus was said to have been placed on aspects such as aerodynamics and system design. The data collected with the FTP² could help in the development of future e-road bikes and similar high-performance ebikes and be incorporated into practical applications.
3. Feeling like a professional cyclist
According to Mahle, several years of joint work have gone into the prototype. Its name says it all, by the way. The Van Rysel FTP² is designed to enable riders to double their functional threshold power (FTP) with this ebike, allowing them to feel almost like a professional cyclist. Hence the superscript two in the concept bike’s name.
For those who have been riding without a power meter on their bike and don’t spend the winter on a smart bike trainer, here’s a quick explanation: the term Functional Threshold Power (FTP) comes from sports science and was introduced in 2006 by Dr Andrew Coggan and Hunter Allen. It describes the highest continuous power you can maintain for one hour at a steady state. The FTP value is comparable to the anaerobic threshold, the lactate threshold, the ventilatory threshold and the critical power. The absolute value is particularly relevant in time trials.
4. Too powerful for practical use?
When it comes to the specific reference to the FTP value, we have a few questions. Imagine this scenario with us. Let’s assume that your FTP value is 150 watts. You now receive a Van Rysel FTP² and can attack your best value. This means that you pedal constantly at 150 watts for an hour and receive support from the Mahle M40. At peak performance, this amounts to 400 percent. If you ride at the highest support level and thus quadruple the 150 watts, this would result in a total of 600 watts. Theoretically, this would mean that the goal has been achieved.
In practice, however, the motor reaches its absolute maximum at 850 watts. It will never perform better than this, even if, for example, you can maintain 250 watts for an hour. From that point on, the calculation no longer works.
Furthermore, the speed limit of the motor was removed in the project. Otherwise, at the limit of 25 kilometres per hour or, in the case of an speed pedelec, 45 kilometres per hour, the motor would have stopped providing assistance and the entire test setup would have only determined values for pedalling power generated purely by a human being. But instead, this special trick was used.
5. Price for the Van Rysel FTP² beyond 20,000 euros
Essentially, an ebike of this technical standard is unlikely to have a future as a production model. The price would be prohibitively high. It might even come close to the value of the time trial bike ridden by Swiss professional cyclist Stefan Küng in the 2024 Tour de Suisse. According to Rennrad News magazine, his version of the Wilier Supersonica SLR would have cost 27,400 euros in the shop.
It is also worth asking about the deeper meaning of such a project. Does a bicycle that weighs perhaps the minimum 6.8 kilograms allowed in races such as the Tour de France need an ebike motor? Presumably, many people would be able to accelerate such a bicycle to a maximum speed of 25 kilometres per hour with manageable effort. Anything above that would be hardly significant, as the motor would then no longer be allowed to assist, as is the case with any other pedelec.
Perhaps just as interesting: How many people would even want to ride an ebike with this seating position?
6. Concept bike instead of production model
However, the project partners also take a realistic view of the Van Rysel FTP². On the one hand, they all agree that models like this are primarily intended as test runs. To observe theoretical concepts in practice. To inspire and motivate both themselves and others to put something into practice that may seem crazy at first glance. In addition, the accompanying press release emphasises that commercial implementation at a later date is out of the question. What a shame. We would have loved to have come along for a test ride. 😉
7. What was the biggest challenge for drive supplier Mahle?
When asked by us what the biggest challenge was in this project, Mahle pointed to the exploratory nature of the work. Working on a prototype that combines a unique frame, advanced aerodynamics and unconventional components meant working outside the usual parameters of a commercial ebike. This required adapting technologies, processes and integration approaches to a new context, while maintaining safety and technical coherence at all times. Therefore, the challenge lay more in the experimental scope of the project than in any single element.
8. Insights for future drive systems and integration tasks
In addition, it was particularly valuable for Mahle to observe how different elements interact when usual industry constraints are removed.This type of collaboration helps to broaden the understanding of possible integration pathways and technical considerations that may be relevant for future developments. In this way, Mahle gained insights into how electric assistance and system integration could develop in the long term.
Further products related to the presentation of the Van Rysel FTP² prototype
