Your choice of virtual bike frame influences your Zwift speed significantly. And Zwift’s Drop Shop gives us access to a pile of bikes: over 125 if you include the Tron, TT, Gravel, and mountain bikes!
At Zwift Insider, we’ve tested every Zwift frame and wheelset using an accurate, repeatable procedure to determine how it performs in game.
Based on those speed tests, we’ve chosen the 10 best overall road bike frames in Zwift today. This isn’t just a stack rank of the most aero bikes in the game – we took into account how each frame performs across a variety of routes, and how they perform in their un-upgraded vs fully-upgraded states (read more about upgrades here).
Without further ado, let’s get to the list! Drumroll please…
The Best Road Bike Frames in Zwift
Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9
1,900,000 Drops, must be level 40+
The best climbing all-arounder in game, the SL9 manages to be both super aero and super light. It’s the “do everything” bike for Zwift road racing.
Why it’s a winner: top un-upgraded climbing frame coupled with very strong aero performance.
Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
1,750,000 Drops, must be level 40+
The S-Works SL8 is only bested by the SL9 in all-around performance, even then, it’s not by much. (Only two bikes, the Aethos below and the Trek Emonda, clearly outclimb the S-Works SL8 when comparing fully-upgraded versions of the frames.)
Why it’s a winner: former top un-upgraded climbing frame coupled with very strong aero performance.
Cannondale SuperSix EVO LAB71 Team
1,750,000 Drops, must be level 40+
This frame does everything the non-team edition does, but better. It’s a bit more aero, it’s a bit lighter.
Why it’s a winner: strong all-arounder bested on the climbs by only the S-Works Tarmacs
Cannondale SuperSix Evo LAB71
1,750,000 Drops, must be level 40+
Coming in just a hair slower on the flats and a few seconds slower on the climbs than the S-Works Tarmacs, Cannondale’s top offering is ridden by the pros outdoors and many Zwifters indoors for good reason. It performs well, and looks sick!
Why it’s a winner: very strong all-around performance with a distinctive look.
Pinarello Dogma F 2024
1,750,000 Drops, must be level 40+
The 2024 version of Pinarello’s flagship race bike slightly outperforms the S-Works SL8 and SuperSix Evo LAB71 on the flats, but loses several seconds on the climbs. Still, it’s a strong “aero all-rounder” that deserves a spot on this list.
Why it’s a winner: most slippery of the top all-arounders, plus an eye-catching colorway if you finished all the Pinarello Powered races in September 2024.
Specialized Aethos S-Works
966,300 Drops, must be Level 30+
While not in the same aero performance league as the other bikes on this list, the S-Works Aethos earns its spot because it outclimbs every frame but the S-Works Tarmacs when not upgraded, and outclimbs every frame when fully upgraded. If you’re looking for a climbing weapon, this is it.
Why it’s a winner: best climbing bike in Zwift when fully upgraded.
Giant TCR Advanced SL 2025
1,100,000 Drops, must be Level 25+
The TCR Advanced SL from Giant is very comparable to the Aeroad 2024 (below). It just loses a bit on the flats, but performs a bit better on the climbs. It’s a strong all-arounder, but definitely on a second tier below the top all-arounder frames.
Why it’s a winner: strong all-arounder performance.
Canyon Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech or Canyon Aeroad CFR CANYON//SRAM
1,750,000 Drops, must be Level 30+
This team editions improve just slightly on the Canyon Aeroad 2024, so they are featured here (both bikes cost the same and are unlocked at level 30). But if you’re a newer Zwifter looking for a fast bike, get the Aeroad 2024 (available at level 10) and don’t look back.
Why it’s a winner: very strong aero performance
Zwift Concept 1 (Tron)
Cannot be purchased, must be unlocked
The Tron bike is popular because of its distinctive look and strong aero performance. In fact, it’s faster than any road frame and wheelset on flat ground (but only by a second or two over an hour!) Just keep in mind that it’s not the best climber, so if your race includes longer climbs, an all-arounder may be the better choice.
Why it’s a winner: distinctive look (including multicolored lights), chart-topping aero performance.
Cervelo S5
1,800,000 Drops, must be Level 40+
This is the most aero bike on Zwift, but it’s also the slowest climber on this list. If you want a weapon for flat road races, though, you’ve found it.
Why it’s a winner: most aero frame on Zwift
Halo Bikes
We didn’t include the new Halo Bikes in the list above, for two reasons:
- They don’t perform well on climbs, meaning they’re really only useful in flatter races
- These bikes require a lot of work to acquire – more than any of the standard road frames
You can learn more about Halo Bikes, including their speed test results, here.
Dig Deeper
Want to dig deeper into the precise speeds of various frames and wheels? Check out our ranking charts and public test data. You may also like our Concept Z1 (Tron) Bike vs Top Performers chart which compares precise times of top frames and wheelsets with the Tron bike.
Share Your Thoughts
We hope all you riders/racers found this post useful. Think there’s a frame we should have included in the top 10 but didn’t? Got other questions or comments? Share below!
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
if the Tron is the fastest aero should it be the new standard for TTs?
absolutely. But I’m not sure.
It’s not faster than TT frames though…
All TT bikes are faster than the most aero standard frame — always.
I’m willing to sell my Venge. I bought the Dogma before the price increase (tariffs lol) because I love the purple frame over the white Tarmac. Maybe we can repeat the color options. 😀
Thanks for all the test data.
Happy Pedaling.
Too far committed to the SL8 at this point but dang that LAB71 Cannondale has a nice look to it.
Right? I love the red inside the forks…
No love for my trusty Felt AR 🙁
I ALMOST listed it as tied with the Venge at #10. But the Venge is just barely faster on flats and climbs, so it’s really not a tie. I’d give it 11th place though. 😁
Thanks for all the work you do with these Eric, it’s so useful. With the changes to bikes and upgrades now, is there any love for gravel bikes or MTB on dirt routes? I may be in the minority but I used to like that they were significantly faster before the Crr changes. Bike choice and to swap/not swap was always a fun choice for races with a lot of dirt! It would be great to see more of a difference, maybe if you get a gravel bike up to level 5 perhaps it’s got more of a benefit on rough terrain for example?
I need to test gravel and MTB and do a post about them. I don’t think there were any major changes, but I do want to confirm that!
Given the Giant and the Canyon are cheaper to unlock and quicker to upgrade, if fully upgraded, do they outperform a stock Specialized or Canondale? Or is this getting too complex and too close to matter?
Didn’t do my research before posting! What I was trying to ask was, is there an Entry Level bike that when fully upgraded is competitive with the stock High Level bikes, and therefore easier to get to for someone not at Level 40. If at Level 10, do you get a Canyon Aeroroad 2024, or an Entry Bike and upgrade fast?
Scott Addict – great bike!
You only need 26,500 drops to get from level 35 to level 40. This is less than two months of riding, much less if you badge hunt. I would therefore argue that buying the regular SL8 is a waste of drops. You might need these drops at a later point when you try and unlock the Halo. My advise would be to hold fire and get the S Works version and save the drops.
the only way I’d recommend it is if you don’t have enough Specialized bike and you need to buy some to unlock the Halo.
Don’t wait! You want a bike grab it before it’s gone! I waited until I was done upgrading my Cannondale Lab71 before I bought the Synapse (I ride one IRL). Unfortunately for me the last upgrade removed the Synapse. So no Synapse for me >:^(
Good morning Eric , on the turf and surf stage 2 ,1st climb I get dropped mile 9, by mile 13 I’M over 1 min behind by next climb . Using fully upgraded SL8 . I stay with main pack till 1st climb, should I use fully upgraded Aethos to give myself a better finishing time bu staying close on finishing climbs ? Or will I get dropped on the flats with the Aethos ?
Did not get dropped till mile 9 , was 33 seconds slower with Aethos
Finally at level 40! But with the price hike, I decided to buy many wheels set just before the increase, and now I am broke. The initial plan was the Pinarello Dogma F 2024 for the alternate color that I have unlocked. Price is higher and the Sworks SL8 is better… tough choice!
For a weak and heavy rider, racing is not that important so I guess looks should be my deciding factor in the end !
PS: FYI Eric, for some reason when clicking on the bike’s picture, it opens my Zwift companion app and a group ride from May 10th.
So why am I not seeing the Specialized Tarmac Z8 in my frame list?
I am at level 68, and have 16 million Drops available to spend waiting in my hot little bike gloves, but it doesn’t appear in either of two Android devices (a new Pixel 9a and an older Galaxy Tab A7). I am currently riding the well-rated Dogma F 2024, but hey, why not shell out for the best-rated (so far)?
Beyond that, why are the frame and wheelset pick lists so bloody jumpy and counter-intuitive with respect to scroll around through them using my fingers? They frequently, for no reason that I can figure out, jump back to the top of the list. Really bad UI, and really annoying (and yes, I was a developer in my younger days, though not for Android).