If you’re racing on Zwift, using the fastest frame and wheels available can cut some significant time off your efforts. But figuring out where to spend your hard-earned Drops can be confusing! So we’ve put together this table which lists the fastest frame and wheelset available at every Zwift level.
Keep in mind this list applies only to road bikes on flat and rolling routes. The data here doesn’t apply to climbing races or time trials using TT frames. (That info will come in other posts.)
Fastest Frames
| Level | Fastest Frame | Time Savings |
| 1 | Zwift Steel (Free) | 0s |
| 3 | Zwift Carbon (55,000) | 5.1s |
| 8 | Liv Langma Advanced SL 2025 (1,000,000) | 65.2s |
| 10 | Canyon Aeroad 2024 (1,100,00)* | 68.1s |
| 30 | Canyon Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech* (1,750,000) | 68.4s |
| 40 | Cervelo S5 (1,800,000) | 68.6s |
* There are several frames which all turn in times within ~1 second of the Canyon Aeroad 2024 in our flat tests, so we consider them to be essentially equal in flat performance. The Aeroad is listed here since it is available at a much lower level than the others. These fast frames differ significantly in climb performance, though (learn more), so you’ll want to pay attention to that metric when choosing a bike.
- * The Canyon Aeroad CFR Alpecin Premier-Tech and Canyon Aeroad CFR CANYON//SRAM are both available at the same level for the same price, and have the same performance.
Fastest Wheelsets
| Level | Fastest Wheelset | Time Savings |
| 1 | Zwift Classic (Free) | 0s |
| 3 | Zwift 32mm Carbon (100,000) | 6.2s |
| 12 | Shimano C60 (325,000) | 31.6s |
| 15 | Roval Rapide CLX (500,000) | 33.4s |
| 16 | Roval CLX64 (525,000) | 40.1s |
| 25 | Zipp 808 (425,000) | 42.1s |
| 28 | Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 650 (550,000) fastest non-disc | 53s |
| 37 | Zipp 858/Super9 (750,000) | 54.7s |
| 39 | Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 850/Disc (900,000) fastest disc1 | 56.2s |
1 The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc perform exactly the same as the Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 850/Disc, but they are unlocked one level higher and cost more. Additionally, it’s worth noting that disc wheels perform better on TT frames than road frames, so the performance gap between disc and non-disc wheels will be larger on TT frames vs road frames. The data above applies to road frames only.
Total time savings of fastest frame and wheelset over stock Zwift setup (Zwift Steel frame and Zwift Classic wheels) across 1 hour of riding: 68.5+56.2=124.7 seconds
Times above based on our flat speed tests, done with a solo 75kg, 183cm rider at 300 watts on Watopia’s very flat Tempus Fugit route.
Strategic Shopping
It may seem simplest to just purchase each frame or wheelset on the list as soon as you level up, but if you want to maximize performance you also need to take Zwift’s Bike Upgrade functionality into account, since it rewards riders who stay on the same frame long enough to fully upgrade it. Simply put: it doesn’t make sense to buy each frame/wheelset on this list, since you won’t be able to fully upgrade it before having access to buy the next fastest frame. So you’ll need to choose your purchases/upgrades wisely.
Speaking of upgrades: all the time data in this post is from un-upgraded versions of the frames. Upgraded frames will be even faster. Get more details here >
Don’t have enough Drops? Keep riding – you’ll get them soon enough! (Learn how to earn more Drops here.) And if you’re wanting to level up faster, check out How to Earn More XP and Level Up Faster on Zwift.
What About the Tron Bike?
The Zwift Concept Z1 (Tron) bike is much faster than the stock Zwift Steel+Classic wheels setup, and in fact just slightly faster than the fastest setup shown above.
The Tron bike doesn’t climb well, though; a fact you’ll want to consider if you are racing a course with any significant hills.
We didn’t include the Tron in the chart above since you can’t separate the Tron’s frame from its wheels, and there is no set level where the Tron bike is unlocked. That said, we think it’s certainly a bike worth unlocking! Here’s how to do that >
Want to look closer at the Tron bike’s performance compared to other top racing setups? See Speed Tests: Concept Z1 (Tron) Bike vs Top Performers.
Improvement by Level
The biggest performance gains come early in a Zwifter’s level progression. Here’s how much time you would be saving at each level if you upgraded to the recommended setups above:
You can see that purchasing the fastest frame and wheelset at level 12 delivers almost 80% of the overall possible improvement. And once you’ve hit level 40, the only way you’ll get faster is by racing smarter, training stronger, and of course… upgrading your bike frame!
Digging Deeper
Want to dig deeper into the speeds of various frames and wheels? Check out our ranking charts and public test data.
Your Thoughts
Hopefully this helps you select a bike for your next race, no matter your Zwift level. Got questions or comments? Post 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.
1) Then disc wheel is still the fastest setup for a flat race if you take a road bike. I thought it would change with the last update.
2) The DT swiss is not anymore the fastest disc wheel?, it did change, right?
1) Yes, disc wheel is still fastest on flat roads. That hasn’t changed.
2) Yes, 858/Super9 is the fastest disc. That’s why I listed it as such above. 😀
Thx Eric 🙂
Sorry but i cant understand which is the fastest disc wheel. On the DT Swiss it says DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc fastest disc2, but above you write the Super 9 is the fastest. Which one is corect for both TT and road bikes. Thank you!
That’s an old comment, from before the 85/Disc was released. 85/Disc is fastest.
Thanks for your rigorous testing! I’m a bit confused about the numbers—the time savings listed here don’t seem to match the ones on the page titled “Learn About Upcoming Frame and Wheelset Performance Changes on Zwift” (where, for example, the Zipp 858/Super 9 wheels are said to save 50.5 seconds on a flat course). And both numbers are different again from the one in the Google spreadsheet (where the same wheels are said to save 48.5 seconds). Which figures should I use?
These numbers match the Google spreadsheet, IF you start by saying the Zwift Steel frame is your baseline (0 seconds saved). The Google spreadsheet numbers are based off of the Zwift Carbon frame being the baseline.
Confusing, I suppose, but there you have it.
(The “Learn About Upcoming” post was done early on, so those numbers may not match since we did more thorough testing after changes were released.)
Thanks for the clarification!
If one does some nerdy math and weights flat and mountain tests four to one respectively, SL8, Dogma, Lab71 and Canyon are basically the same. The Enve 7.8, 8.9, Zipp discs and DT discs are also all basically the same.
I do not the on my group?
Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
Bike.
There’s something broken about the page (attn @ericschlange)—I only see frames through level 10 in safari on iPhone.
Nothing broken. The Canyon Aeroad 2024 at level 10 is just as fast (on flat roads) as the S-Works Tarmac SL8. See the note below the bikes table…
Would the new DT Swiss Arc 1100 Dicut 85/Disc wheels be faster on a road bike than the Zipp 858/Super9 wheels currently shown above?
The link at the bottom for wheel charts goes to the frame chart page.
I may be missing something, but it seems the Shimano C60 wheel is only available at level 17. Your table has it listed as the best wheel for L12. If it is indeed L17, then what is the best wheel at L12? Is it the C50, or something else?
how about the scott addict RC?accordingto the info in the garage it should one of the best choiches?
I know it’s Zwift, and all the Concept Bikes and everything… But I have always thought Zwift should limit the Disk Wheels to TT Bikes only. At least make them unavailable to be used in Races 🤔# LetsKeepZwiftReal 😂