Zwift’s Bologna “Time Trial Lap” course is a fascinating study for bike racers due to its layout. A 1-lap race here is split neatly in terms of time with the a flat first half and a steep climb for the second half. Additionally, some events here are time trials (no drafting) and some are road races with drafting.
So what’s the best bike frame and wheelset for your Bologna race? After numerous tests, what I’ve found is that the answer is quite straightforward for TT races, but much more “multifactorial” for road races. I’ve broken up the bike recommendations below by race type for this reason.
Note: the conclusions in this post are based on hundreds of test laps completed in controlled conditions. The raw data can be found in this living Google spreadsheet.
Time Trials
If your race is a multi-lap time trial, your choice is easy: go with the most aero setup available. In our tests, any climbing gains made by a lighter frame or wheelset were more than offset by slower speeds on flats and descents.
For a single-lap race, the Zipp 858 wheels are actually 1 second faster than the Zipp 858/Super9 disc wheels. (They lose 1 second on the flats, but gain 2 seconds on the climb.) So go with those if you can. If not, the disc wheelsets are a solid option!
Read our post on Zwift’s Fastest TT Bike Frames for help selecting a frame. We’ve got a similar post to help you pick your fastest Zwift wheelset.
Three solid TT options:
Cervelo P5x with Zipp 808/Super9 wheels Felt IA with Zipp 858 wheels Specialized Shiv S-Works with Zipp 858/Super9 wheels
Pro tip: your best overall time will more dependent on your pacing than your bike choice! Our tests have shown that a smart over/under pacing strategy will shave 25-40 seconds off a steady wattage effort. Read “How to Pace Your Best Zwift Bologna TT Race” for details.
Road Races
Bike selection for a road race (drafting enabled) in Bologna is far more nuanced than a time trial. Here are four key factors in Bologna bike choice which, when combined, should form a solid strategy for any rider.
#1: Hold the Wheel!
Simply put: if you lose the group draft, you’ve lost the race. So before you fixate on the climb at the end of the route, make sure you’re doing everything you can to stay with the front of the race to the base of the climb. Because if you lose the group draft, chances are they will gap you substantially enough that you’ll never see them again! This is even more true on multi-lap races.
#2: How Many Laps?
Closely related to the focus on drafting is the question of lap count. This is a key factor which doesn’t really apply to any other Zwift course apart from Bologna because most Zwift routes are either long one-way routes which are never multi-lapped (think Quatch Quest), or shorter routes which can be looped repeatedly (think Watopia Hilly Route).
One lap of Bologna includes the initial flat and the finishing climb. But two laps of Bologna means the initial flat, the climb, then a descent of the climb, and a return via the flat to the start line. Then you ride the flat and climb once more, finishing at the top!
This means on a two-lap Bologna event you’ll spend a much larger percentage of your time on flat ground or descending, compared to a one-lap event. Because of this, having an aero setup makes even more of a difference in longer Bologna TT events. Put another way, a less-aero lightweight “climber” setup will cost you more on a 2-lap event than it would on a 1-lap event.
#3: Rider, Know Thyself
The better you know your strengths and weaknesses as a rider, the smarter your bike choices can be. Here’s the crucial question which can only be answered after participating in Zwift road races: where do you typically struggle? Do you find it difficult to hold the wheel in a pack on flat ground, but relatively easier to stay with the pack on the climbs? Or perhaps you’re more like me, and sitting in on flat ground is the easy part! (It’s when the road tilts upward that I struggle and get dropped.)
Answer this question and you’ll be well on your way to making a brilliant bike choice for the Bologna TT route. The smartest choice strikes a balance between shoring up your weaknesses and enhancing your strengths. And it does it all with a focus on staying in the group draft, especially on the crucial first flat section. Because if you lose the draft, you’ve lost the race!
Examples:
- Heavier riders will typically perform better on the flat than the climb. They should select a more lightweight setup, but one that is still decently aerodynamic. Keeping the setup fairly aero will help them stay in the draft on the flat, or even push the pace/attack if they’d like. Then the lighter weight will help them get up the climb a bit faster than they would with a heavier, fully aero setup.
- Lighter riders will typically perform better on the climb than the flat. They should select a more aerodynamic setup, which will help them stay with the pack draft on the flat. Staying in the draft is vital, since you want to start the climb still in touch with the front group. Once the climb begins, the lighter rider is in their element, able to push the pace or attack if they’d like.
#4: Trading Seconds
One way I explain equipment selection in Zwift is with the concept of trading seconds. This concept is most at home on a route like Bologna TT, where you have a flat and climb which take roughly the same time to cover. In this situation, you can use our frame and wheel ranking charts to figure out what sort of trade-off you’re making with your equipment choices, at least in a 1-lap event.
Example #1: in our tests, the Zipp 858/Super9 wheels turn in a flat time of 3033 seconds, and a climb of 2980 seconds. Compare those times to the Zipp 858 wheels, which were 3039 seconds on the flat and 2968 on the climb. The 858’s are 6 seconds slower on the flat, but 12 seconds faster on the climb. That’s a good trade, especially if you’re a heavier rider who struggles on the climbs!
Example #2: the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels turned in a flat time of 3072 seconds, and a climb of 2955 seconds. Compared to the Zipp 858’s, the Meilensteins are 33 seconds slower on the flat, and 13 seconds faster on the climb. Not nearly as strong of a trade-off as example #1, but still possibly worth it if you’re strong on the flats and weak on the climbs.
Example #2: the ENVE 8.9 wheels turned in a flat time of 3041 seconds, and a climb of 2974 seconds. Compared to the Zipp 858’s, the ENVEs are 2 seconds slower on the flats and 6 seconds slower on the climb. Since they’re slower on both tests, we have no reason to choose them over the 858’s.
The seconds that we’re trading are really a proxy for effort. So when you choose a wheelset that adds time to your flat section, but removes it from your climb, that means you’ll need to put in more effort on the flats, but less on the climb.
Road Races Recommendations
I’ve broken the final recommendations up by rider type. It’s a gross generalization, of course, but if you struggle on the climbs, look at the “Heavier Riders” selections. If you struggle on the flats, look at the “Lighter Riders” selections. For each rider type, I’ve listed two selection options: play to your strengths or and help your weakness.
“Play to your strengths” will make it easier to sit in on the section you’re most comfortable with (eg, flats for heavier riders), but offers less help at your weak points. “Help your weaknesses” will give you the biggest boost in your weak spot (eg, flats for climbers), but you’ll have to work a bit harder on the course portions that suit you best.
Heavier Riders
Play to your strengths: Felt AR with Zipp 858 wheels Help your weakness: Specialized Tarmac Pro with Lightweight Meilenstein wheels
Play to your strengths: go with the most aero frame you can get, plus wheels that are aero but on the lighter side. The Specialized Venge S-Works, Cervelo S5, or Felt AR are all solid frame choices, as is the Tron. (See our fastest frames list for more recommendations.) For wheels, go with the Zipp 858 or 454s which are both a bit lighter than the disc wheels, while still quite aero. If you don’t have either of these Zipp wheelsets, a disc wheelset is your next best option, even if it looks goofy on a road bike.
Help your weakness: go with the lightest frame and wheels. The Specialized Tarmac Pro is the best climber in game. Used with the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels, your flat time would be ~8 seconds longer, but your climb will be ~5 seconds shorter. A decent trade if you find it easy to hang with the pack on the flats!
Lighter Riders
Play to your strengths: Specialized Tarmac Pro with Lightweight Meilenstein wheels Help your weakness: Zwift Concept 1 (Tron) bike
Play to your strengths: go with the lightest frame and wheels. The Specialized Tarmac Pro is the best climber in game. Used with the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels, your flat time would be ~8 seconds longer, but your climb will be ~5 seconds shorter. Only use this setup if you think you can hang with the pack on the flats. If you’re able to do that, this setup will deliver you with a great chance to attack on the climb!
Help your weakness: go with a decently aero frame and wheels that are aero but on the lighter side. The Specialized Venge S-Works, Cervelo S5, or Felt AR are all solid frame choices, as is the Tron. (See our fastest frames list for more recommendations.) For wheels, go with the Zipp 858 or 454s which are both a bit lighter than the disc wheels, while still quite aero. If you don’t have either of these Zipp wheelsets, a disc wheelset is your next best option, even if it looks goofy on a road bike.
Questions or Comments?
I welcome your comments below!
Changelog
June 19, 2020: added Tarmac Pro frame as a recommendation after running another speed test and realizing the first test’s climb time wasn’t correct. The Tarmac Pro climbs 1s faster than the most aero frames in our 75kg, 300 watts steady tests. So it’s a good choice if you’re looking for the very lightest rig.
Awesome article thanks Eric! I’ve been trying to find the answer to this question for ages and always seemed to come up short. Very interesting that a TT frame seems to be by far the best option for a 1 lap TT event, in that the aero savings far outweigh the weight disadvantage.
Surprised no love for the Enve 3.4, especially for Zwifters who haven’ levelled up enough to get the Zipp 454. For road races on this type of course I don’t think of the flats at all in terms of time, but rather effort to sit in the pack since I could never see myself going off the front before a hard climb. And with that said, I’d love to better understand the difference in watts to sit-in with the draft with a Lightweight vs 454 for example. That is, how to the single rider speed tests of wheels correlate to… Read more »
ENVE 3.4’s are a decent wheelset for sure. Unfortunately I couldn’t list all possibilities for all levels here without making the post even longer than it already is!
It’s just about impossible to figure out the wattage difference to sit in with something like Meilenstein’s vs the 454. Drafting tests are tough enough as it is, let along discerning a wattage difference that will surely only amount to less than 10 watts. Hence my not publishing a post on that topic!
Oh I can imagine the challenges in setting up that type of drafting wheel or frame wattage test, so it will have to remain a wish list item. Thanks for posting these tests, love reading them.
My 2-cents: part of he challenge is the nonlinear physiological cost to power, and the pack-dynamic in mass-start. For example, suppose sitting in costs me 80% FTP. With a less aero setup, this becomes 85% FTP. This is a huge difference %-wise, but may not be huge physiologically. Then the climb starts. I can climb it @ 110% FTP with the aero setup, but 108% FTP with the light setup. The average power is higher with the light setup, but since I’m in the red on the climb, not the flats, the light setup may be easier. But if the… Read more »
What about a bike swap? Any value?
Nah—they take too long (~15s) to be worth it for such a short course.
Tron Bike would seem to fit the bill for this course?
Yep, it’s a solid choice as explained above.
Congratulation Eric for your work. I just discovered Zwift during the lockdown but really enjoy the Zwift race experience (I use to race in IRL, but too dangerous for me now ;-). I learned a lot reading your post ! For a 1 lap race on Bologna, I will suggest an alternative if you seek for victory (or top places): Meilenstein wheels with Tarmac Pro since the race really starts at the begining of the climb. It’s quite easy to stay in the pack for the first 6 km (even if you are a light rider). The difference will be… Read more »
Seems sensible, Pierre, except in our test, the Tarmac Pro was slower on the climb than the S-Works Venge! That’s why we didn’t include it as an option.
I just re-ran the test this morning to confirm the Tarmac’s climb time, because it really seemed odd that it would be slower than the Venge. And it came back 1s faster than the Venge! So I’ve updated the post above.
I ride a Venge irl and I can’t climb at all anymore so it’s obviously the bike!
What’s the dividing line between heavy and light riders?
No hard and fast line. It’s more a question of where you struggle on a course like Bologna. Is it hard to hold a wheel on the flat, or hard to stay with the climbers? That sort of decides which camp you’re in, in my book.
Eric or anyone else, is there a way to see your previous times at any of the 8 check points on the Bologna TT course?
Does the time trial bike/wheel choice also hold true when paired with an optimum pacing strategy? From what I gather the test was done at a flat 300 watts. If it was instead done at 270 watts for the flat and 330 for the climb would the most aero setup still be the most beneficial? As with more watts put in on the climb and less on the flat, the relative importance of aero vs weight is shifted a bit. I’ve always opted for a light TT bike and light wheels and significantly overpower the climb with some success, but… Read more »
Reducing the power on the flats and increasing the power on the climb will increase the fraction of time spent on the flat. This will thus increase the advantage of an aero setup, versus a light setup. Another factor Eric didn’t mention was trainer resistance. I find I can apply more power against harder resistance (it’s less “inertial” with harder resistance). Thus I like having a bit more time climbing versus on the flats, all other things equal. This is further motivation for the aero setup versus a light setup yielding, at the same power, the same overall time. But… Read more »
Dan, re: your comment about being able to apply more power against higher resistance.
I weigh 88kg currently, though 90kg prior to lockdown.
I can’t ‘spin’ 4w/kg for long periods but I can grunt 4.5w/kg on climbs and comfortably exceed 14w/kg peak sprint.
Unlike real life I too find I actually do better on steeper Zwift climbs, red lining myself and then recovering on the descent.
In the heat of a Zwift race, I don’t think it matters much at all what you’re on. I see entry level Zwift carbon bikes in leads packs routinely.
thats usually because its a beginner with a poorly calibrated trainer; or a pro on lockdown who doesnt really ride zwift much
Does trainer difficulty play any role here?
maybe a tiny bit, although it’s negligible. with trainer difficulty down/off, you can use the same gear the entire time, and because it would be a higher gear than you would use on the climb, there will be more inertia. This means you can freewheel or get off the power a bit on the climb and recover, without slowing down too much. I don’t really know if it would make much of a difference, though you might also save time not having to change to the little ring on the climb and only change gear according to your own effort.
Great article, and my mathematical simulations agree with your TT results, surprisingly to me. Is there an error on the Bologna TT tab though? It says that the Specialized P5 at 150 watts is faster than the Specialized Venge at 300 watts. This surely cannot be correct?
You’re right. Fixed it! All those results are at 300W flat…