Zwift’s recent update included a new TT frame – an updated Canyon Speedmax model which performs better than the “Canyon Speedmax” TT frame that has been in-game for years. Here’s how Zwift describes the frame in game:
The Speedmax CF SLX Disc held the title King of Kona for five straight years and the bike has only gotten better. The new frame sets the standard in adjustability, integration, aerodynamics and handling so you can smash your personal bests. The Speedmax cockpit delivers the perfect symbiosis of performance and comfort. The monospacer system is aerodynamically optimized. The Speedmax fork features a special surface that shadows the brake caliper, improving aerodynamics and reducing turbulence that can be caused by the caliper.
Of course, experienced Zwifters know that real-world performance doesn’t necessarily translate to Zwift performance. That was particularly true with this new Speedmax frame, as there was a bug in its settings when introduced, causing it to be quite slow!
But that was all fixed with the update (v65416) released March 23rd. So we ran the updated frame through our standard tests to learn just how well it performs in Zwift’s virtual world. And we’ve got to say… we were quite impressed!
Here’s everything you need to know about the Canyon Speedmax CF SLX Disc Zwift…
Frame Basics
The Speedmax CF SLX Disc is available at level 26+, for a cost of 891,000 Drops. It is rated 4 stars for aero, 1 stars for weight.
The frame only comes in one colorway.
Aero Performance
Aero performance is where the Speedmax CF SLX Disc really shines. And when we say “really”, we mean really. It’s the most aero TT bike in game!
The Speedmax CF SLX Disc turned in a time of 49:41 on our test course (two laps of Tempus Fugit). The next-fastest TT frames (Cervelo P5x and Felt IA) turned in a time of 49:44. That’s a significant difference, especially in a TT!
The old Canyon Speedmax is much slower by comparison, turning in a time of 49:59, which puts it in the “slow bunch” of TT frames.
Climb Performance
The Speedmax CF SLX Disc isn’t the best TT climber, but it’s no slouch, either. It ranked as the 4th fastest climber in our Alpe test. Not bad for the most aero bike in game!
The Speedmax CF SLX Disc turned in an Alpe du Zwift time of 50:08. The fastest TT climber (Specialized Shiv S-Works) climbed the Alpe in 50:03.
If you’re wondering: the new Speedmax beats the old Speedmax on the climbs, too. The old frame is 5s slower up the Alpe.
Final Comments
The big news here is that the new Speedmax is the fastest TT bike in game (on flats and descents), and a strong climber as well. It’s the best all-arounder – sort of the TT version of the Canyon Aeroad 2021, at least in terms of Zwift performance. Check out our combined flat+climbing percentile ranking chart:
You can also see it stands out in our scatter plot of TT frames:
Thanks to this frame’s impressive performance, we’ve updated several pages to include the Speedmax CF SLX:
- Fastest TT Frames
- TT Frame Performance Charts
- Zwift Shopping Guide
- Wheel and Frame Performance Scatter Plots
- Bike Frame and Wheelset Recommendations for Zwift’s Bologna Time Trial Route
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Thanks a lot for the analysis on the new bike frame! I wondered when zwift will fix the aero rating, didnt know it happened yesterday… seems i have to go shopping and spinning now 😁 greetings from Seoul and ride on!
I noticed the aero rating in the drops shop was still at one star apiece for weight and aero. I still bought it…
Bought. Thanks for the info 🙂
been saving drops for a rainy day, looks like the time has come to invest in some SPEED 🙂
This new addition basically made two more bikes obsolete. The Felt IA is now flat out worse in every regard, and while the p5 can be picked up earlier than the Speedmax, regarding pace there is no practical scenario where you have a race that’s so climby that you don’t want the speedmax but not climby enough for the shiv s-works
can I sell back my Specialized Shiv Disc that I bought two weeks ago? lol
how long before the nerf it like the Aeroad?
As a precaution, I will wait a few more weeks. Dog bitten by snake is afraid of sausage
Last time ZHQ also made the Canyon Aeoroad 2021 the fastest road bike in the game. Accordingly, all people wasted her drops in that bike. Few days later ZHQ downgraded the bike for any reason. I suspect the same here.
Highly doubtful, although anything is possible.
The Aeroad 2021 was an incorrect value that didn’t get fixed before the release. As was the original incorrect aero setting for this Speedmax. You can rest assured Zwift was careful about getting the correct setting into this release!
Lol “you can rest assured that Zwift was careful …”. No, I would most definitely not rest assured.
For some reason I expected the top performer to get to 100% instead of 94% in your “percentile ranking”? (it used to be like that)
Yeah, just depends on how I do the spreadsheet formula.
So… Speedmax for Tempus Fugit… but doesn’t win the day in Bologna?
I think with largish gains on the flat before the climb and not losing much on the climb, it will actually be better for Bologna too?
…until it’s nerfed?!
It’s average advantage climb and flats is 3.5 sec per 3000 sec over P5. Bologna is around 1000 seconds, 50% each, so it should be 1.2 seconds faster on Bologna. The P5 should be 0.5 sec faster on the climb, the Canyon 1.7 sec faster on the flat.
I’ll run a test. But I bet the Speedmax wins in Bologna.
Can you do it for the less watts on the flat-more watts on the climb approach too? Way more realistic that way.
Optimal pacing has only second-order effect on the relative time difference. Pacing has a small % difference on the time spent on the flats versus time spent on the climb, which is the relevant metric.
Any definitive word about the Speedmax and Bologna?
See https://zwiftinsider.com/bologna-setup/
All four frames mentioned are within 1-2s of each other on 1 lap.
They need to allow us to dump equipment we no longer need. Everyone’s garage is too cluttered.
A search bar would already help. I like to collect stuff, but it basically just makes my jungle bike swap worse 😁
Dumping / seeking back would be nice
Also would like it if we could save bike+wheel combinations as well (for different scenarios)
Especially if one is trying to do a hot swap mid route to get the best time!
Or at least the ability to store them up top so the frequent favorites are easy to get to.. same with wheels, jerseys, etc.
Been saving up for a TT frame to upgrade from the basic starter TT frame. Better than the P5 for all around use it seems?
Pretty much. For the p5 to be the best bike you would need a race that is too flat for the shiv and too steep for the speedmax. Maybe the two Lutscher routes with the lead-in but that is a wild guess. Save yourself the headache and pick the speedmax for everything not named ven-top and road to sky
If you are doing ven top or road to sky you probably want a non-tt bike, they are faster on climbs.
What does a comparison with the tron bike say? Thanks, great work as always
I do believe that pretty much any TT bike will beat the Tron. Completely different types of bikes for different types of races / events. Most non-TT events don’t allow TT bikes, and you wouldn’t / shouldn’t use the Tron in a TT event.
I hadn’t thought of this, many races exclude TT bikes, while TT races require TT bikes. Thank you
I wonder if Canyon paid an exorbitant amount for these stats to distract folks from the real world Aeroad 2021 problems.
Literally just bought this today… BUT on Apple TV its 1 star Aero and 1 star weight… and boy can you tell.. got passed by a PX5 rider doing almost 1w/kg less than me :(☹
Check your version. I usually manually update my Apple TV as the auto update always seems to be delayed a day or two. I checked this morning and there was an update available.
I do everytime before starting. Apparently it’s a bug on APTV.. UPDATE incoming 👍
I had the same issue on Apple TV! I used it for the Duathlon TT and got crushed. I tested it yesterday on the Tempus Fugit 500m sprint segment, and it was consistently 2-3 seconds slower than the PX5 cruising around 3.1 w/kg.
Yay now I don’t have to wait until level 30 million bazillion to get a fast TT bike!
All those virtual tests mean nothing personally. It’s just fantasy which is cool! For example when it comes to climbing I’m 100% sure that the rim brake Speedmax SLX, with its 8 kg, would outperform the disc one. It’s easily 1.2 kg lighter and could be even lighter if you take out the nutrition boxes. Which is something you can’t do on the Speedmax slx disc. It’s a powerful weapon however, all integrated stuff and sexy looking, but climbing on it… not sure.
I completely agree. I don’t know where they’re getting that suddenly heavier bikes climb faster, although there is some aerodynamic impact on 50 km AdZ times (8-9 watts, given zwift cda values). So each 1% reduction in wind resistance will save around 0.08 watts out of 300 watts, which 0.8 seconds out of 50 minutes, since time is close to inversely proportional to power there.
I would say a tt bike is still aerodynamic when you’re in tt position on the like 4-5% gradient climbs, but have no idea how a heavier bike would climb faster than its older brother which is at least 1 kg lighter 🤔
One thing is sure, it should be super fast on straight lines
No one expects these tests to have anything to do with real world performance. It’s purely for people that want to shave a second off their zwift strava times. And that’s great,whatever motivates people.
Yeah but can’t it be done with a little bit more logically? 😉
Hello Eric, witch bike is faster? The tronbike or the Canyon Speedmax CF SLX Disc, IRL
Thank you for the answer. Hendrik
you can’t get the tron IRL…
I finally achieved level 45 recently to get the Cervelo P5X which was the fastest TT bike. I purchased it only to hear about a month later that the Canyon Speedmax CF SLX is actually faster! O well. Still have 4.1 mil drops. So guess I’ll get the Canyon!