This week’s Zwift update includes a new Aeroad from Canyon. This is the 4th version of the Aeroad to come to Zwift, and the fastest yet:
This is a “team edition” of the bike, in the Alpecin-Premier Tech colorway. On Zwift, you’ll need to be updated to game version 1.117+ to see this bike in the Drop Shop. You’ll also need to be at level 30+ with 1,750,000 Drops to buy it. Here’s how it’s described in game:
Inspired by one of the most exciting teams in the peloton, this special-edition Canyon Aeroad celebrates the attacking spirit of Alpecin-Premier Tech. Raced by Mathieu van der Poel and some of cycling’s fastest finishers, it pairs WorldTour-winning aerodynamics with a design built for riders who aren’t afraid to animate the race. When the opportunity appears, this bike is ready to go all in.
See our master list of all frames in Zwift >
It’s rated 3 stars for aero and 4 stars for weight, like other top all-arounders on Zwift. But that’s a sizeable group of bikes at this point, so the question becomes: how does it actually perform? Since Zwift’s 4-star system isn’t the most granular performance metric, we ran this frame through our precise tests to measure performance in nerd-level detail. Let’s dive in!
Note: test results below are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm Carbon wheelset on the un-upgraded version of the frame, unless otherwise noted. Test results have an error margin of approximately 1 second.
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
With the Canyon Aeroad 2024 already one of the most aerodynamic bikes in the game, we figured this updated version might be slightly faster. And we were right! The new Aeroad CFR is just a bit more aero than the 2024 version, turning in times just a fraction of a second faster across an hour of riding.
The frame’s time puts it 63.3 seconds ahead of our baseline frame across an hour of riding. That’s just behind the most aero bike in game, the new Cervelo S5 at 63.5 seconds.
Climb Performance
The Aeroad CFR weighs the same as the Aeroad 2024, which means its climb test results are essentially the same (within our test’s margin of error). That means the Aeroad CFR is at the bottom of the list of top all-arounders when it comes to climbing performance, easily beaten by bikes like the Specialized Tarmac SL9, Cannondale SuperSix EVO LAB71 Team, and Pinarello Dogma F 2024.
The frame’s climb test time puts it 43.6 seconds ahead of the baseline frame after an hour, which is ~14 seconds behind the Specialized Tarmac SL9.
Upgrading Your Canyon Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech Frame on Zwift
Like all frames in Zwift, the Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech can be upgraded in five stages. It uses the Distance, High-End upgrading scheme, giving it the following characteristics:
Performance At Each Upgrade Stage
This chart shows how many seconds this frame will save across 1 hour of riding compared to our stage 0 baseline frames (Zwift Carbon or TT). This is based on a 75kg rider, 183cm tall, at 300 watts, riding on tarmac.
Upgrade Stages (Distance, High-End)
- 200km: Aero Upgrade for 100k Drops
- 260km: Weight Upgrade for 200k Drops
- 320km: Drivetrain Upgrade for 350k Drops
- 380km: Aero Upgrade for 500k Drops
- 440km: Weight Upgrade for 750k Drops
Conclusions
The new Canyon Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech is super aero, second only to the new Cervelo S5. But it loses enough on the climbs to other top all-arounders that I doubt we’ll see many of these bikes in the Zwift race peloton.
The Canyon 2024 is popular because it’s fast and available at just level 10. While this new Aeroad CFR is available at level 30 (and most of the top all-arounders are level 40), I would guess most riders will simply buy the Aeroad 2024 at level 10, then hold on to level 40 to buy their next strong all-arounder.
This bike has been added to the following posts:
- Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy from the Drop Shop at Each Level
- The Top 10 Road Bikes in Zwift
- Zwift Speed Tests: Frame Ranking Charts
- A Complete List of Zwift Bike Frames
Questions or comments?
What do you think of Canyon’s new Aeroad in Zwift? 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.
IMHO Zwift bikes is less interesting. If you have a fully upgraded aero bike, you’re not going to buy and upgrade again. Doing a lot of hours on a shitbike. When it’s ready some new frames are available again.
I recently got to level 40 and got the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8. I’m in the process of upgrading the frame (LV 2 now) and as we all know, the new SL9 is now available in the drop shop. If I only knew, I would have passed on the SL8 and got the SL9 instead. I guess it’s OK, I’ll upgrade the Aethos and SL8 for now, purchase and upgrade the SL9 later to unlock the Project 74.
This is how I feel too. I had the 2021 aeroad, then got the 2024 with Zwift Academy color way, then upgraded it to the max over spending drops on SL8 and it’s a perfectly fast enough bike for ZRL and other random races I do. There is such little incentive to buy another bike and grind through upgrades for potential seconds against humans in a race I am middle of the pack in anyway. But! That’s what the pros and A cat riders are for. They will absolutely chase those marginal gains. However, if a bike comes along that looks better or has a cooler colorway… I’ll throw everything I just said out the window!
It would be interesting to see what “most riders” actually do when it comes to purchases and upgrades. Do “most riders” check out these pages, or does “most riders” just mean the riders invested in online bragging rights.
I’ve upgraded a few bikes, and because I have a soft spot for Canyon and MVDP I’ll get this bike. I’m fortunate/unfortunate to be in a position where training and diet will net me a lot more improvement than any bike upgrade will. Anytime I make it on the bike to train, I’ve had a win. My competition is me.
As far as I can tell “most riders” think the bikes are cosmetic and have no impact on performance.
Which is probably a good place to be in. Although I have levelled some bikes, going forward I’ll pick 1 bike and stay with it. I rode a climb in the portal yesterday and went up it quicker than last time. I can’t remember what bike I was on last time, but it was certainly not the same. So what I have is a number that doesn’t mean much in terms of useful comparison. I’ll have to go back and compare the power data if I want that.
For a newbie, the Aeroad 2024 at level 10 is the best choice – it’ll last them all the way to level 40 and beyond. For many experienced riders, they can buy the SL8, SL9, or even the P74. So this new Aeroad is locked at level 35 which is really awkward. Unless you’re a fan of Canyon or MVDP
I stopped reading when I saw “easily beaten”
Can it sprint in a straight line or does steering kick in?
AMAZING IRL paint job! But Zwift color scheme just falls flat.