Zwift’s newest update includes a new bike frame: the Addict RC from Scott.

Scott already had a handful of frames in game: the Plasma (TT), the Foil (aero racer), and the Spark RC (MTB). The Addict RC adds a mature all-around road racer to the mix, as the Addict RC is lightweight while maintaining strong aero performance.

Here’s how the new Addict RC is described in the Zwift Drop Shop:

“Since its introduction in 2008, the Addict RC has been one of the most successful competitive road bikes on the market. The new Addict RC is as complete as it can get when it comes to the perfect high-performance road bike. Regardless of whether you’re trying to win the biggest races on the planet, chasing a virtual segment, or taking on your riding buddies on your local climb, the Addict RC makes it more likely that you will come out on top.”

The frame is rated 3 stars for aero and 4 for weight on Zwift, indicating that it will be a strong all-arounder. You’ll have to be level 33+ to purchase it in game, at a price of 852,000 Drops.

Over the years, the Addict RC has certainly been used to win plenty of big pro races, including Simon Yates Vuelta a Espana victory in 2018. But IRL performance doesn’t always map directly to Zwift performance, so we ran this frame through our standard tests to learn how it performs in Zwift. And the results were noteworthy!

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Scott Addict RC in Zwift.

Aero Performance

The Addict RC turns in a flat test time just 1 second slower than the new best all-arounder (Pinarello Dogma F) which was released last month, placing it in the 81st percentile in terms of aero performance.

The Addict RC’s flat test time is 51:22.5. By comparison, the fastest frame in game (Cervelo S5 2020) turns in a time of 51:11. (Our test course is two laps of Tempus Fugit, which totals 34.6km.)

Climb Performance

When the road tilts upward, the Scott Addict RC really shines. It turns in an Alpe du Zwift climb time 4 seconds faster than the Pinarello Dogma F, placing it in the 97th percentile for climbing frames in game. It is only bested on the Alpe by the Specialized Aethos!

The Addict RC climbs Alpe du Zwift in a time of 48:55. By comparison, the standard Zwift aero frame turns in a time of 49:31, and the Specialized Aethos completes the test is 48:49.

Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm carbon wheelset.

Top All-Arounder

The Pinarello Dogma F was announced as the new top all-arounder when it was released in Zwift last month. But since the Scott Addict RC loses 1 second to the Dogma F on the flats while gaining 4 seconds on the climbs, we’re going to say the Addict RC is the new top all-arounder in game, because it delivers incredible performance where it’s needed most in many races (the climbs).

Tron-Killer?

Astute racers will be asking if the Addict RC will finally unseat the Tron bike from its top all-arounder status. Our answer is: yes, but you have to decide where you want to gain an advantage over the Tron, and this will be determined by your wheelset choice.

Example #1: Throw the new DT Swiss disc on and the Addict is 8.5 seconds faster on the flats, but 4 seconds slower on the climbs compared to the Tron.

Example #2: Use the ENVE 7.8 wheelset and the Addict is 6 seconds slower on the flats, but 9 seconds faster on the climbs.

So where do you want your advantage to be? Your wheelset choice with the Addict RC will determine if it outclimbs the Tron, or outpaces it on flat ground. But no wheelset currently in game will let you do both.

Conclusions

The Scott Addict RC is a super-impressive all-arounder, turning in nearly best-in-game climbing performance while maintaining speed on the flats and descents.

It’s almost like have a Specialized Aethos frame without taking the aero performance hit. And because of that, this frame is the smart choice for any Zwift road race that will have decisive climbs. It will give you a huge advantage on the climbs (when effort is highest), and you shouldn’t feel much of a penalty while sitting in on the flats and descents.

Due to this frame’s incredible aero performance we’ll be updating the following posts soon:

• Best Climbing Frames
• Fastest Frames for Flat/Rolling Races
• Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot)
• Fastest Climbing Frames and Wheels at Each Level
• Fastest Frame and Wheelset for Climbing Alpe du Zwift

Additionally, whenever a new frame is added to the Drop Shop we add it to our Master Zwift Frames List and update the following:

• Frame Ranking Charts
• Wheel and Frame Scatter Plots
• Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy At Each Level

Questions or Comments?

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Zwift’s August update includes a fresh wheelset from DT Swiss: the “ARC 1100 DICUT DISC”. This is DT Swiss’ second wheelset in game, with the first being the popular ARC 1100 DICUT 62 all-arounders.

Released in August 2021, the IRL version of the wheel is disc brake-only and made to complete DT Swiss’ aero lineup. On the virtual side, the wheelset is the most expensive one in Zwift: 1,579,800 Drops, for level 42+ Zwifters. Rated at 4 stars for aero and 1 star for weight, here’s how it’s described in the Drop Shop:

“The new ARC 1100 DICUT DISC is made to aerodynamically maximize your performance on flat to undulating courses with cutting-edge technologies. Developed together with aero experts from Swiss Side, the full carbon rear disc wheel is made for disc brake bikes only and with its 20 mm rim inner width optimized for wider tires to reduce rolling resistance and increase comfort. At its center is the 180 DICUT hub with Ratchet EXP System and SINC ceramic bearings, the jewel in its crown. The ARC 1100 DICUT DISC inspires every time trialist and triathlete to pedal even harder.”

According to DT Swiss’ own website, this wheelset saves around 2 watts compared to Zipp’s 808/Super 9 disc. This is intriguing, since any Zwift racer worth their sweat towel knows that the Zipp disc wheelsets are the fastest in game (with the 808 wheelset perhaps 1 second slower over our 50-minute flat test than the 858 disc wheels.)

Will the new DT Swiss disc outpace the reigning kings of Zwift racing wheels? That’s what we wanted to find out, so we ran the new wheels through a battery of tests to learn just how well they perform on Zwift’s virtual tarmac. Here’s what we learned…

But First: What’s On the Front?

This wheelset is called the “ARC 1100 DICUT DISC” on Zwift, but really should be called “ARC 1100 DICUT 80/DISC” in keeping with Zwift naming conventions and to provide clarity to what’s actually on the front of the wheelset.

As you can see in this animation, the front wheel which comes with the new disc wheelset is deeper than the ARC 62 wheelset. It’s the ARC 80 wheel, the deepest wheel DT Swiss offers, and the one paired with the disc in their own tests.

Aero Performance

This is the big news: the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DISC wheelset turns in a flat test time that is 6.5 seconds faster than the Zipp 858/Super9 in our 50-minute test on a flat 34.6km route (Tempus Fugit).

The ARC 100 DICUT DISC wheels turned in a time of 50:25.5 in our test. By comparison, the former fastest wheels in game (Zipp 858/Super9) turned in a time of 50:32, and the ol’ racing standby (Zipp 808) turn in a time of 50:43. (All of these test times were done with the Zwift Aero frame.)

Climb Performance

The ARC 1100 DICUT DISC is rated at just 1 star for weight, so we figured its time up the Alpe wouldn’t be anything impressive compared to other climbing wheelsets. But how would it compare to the fast aero wheels?

These new wheels turned in an Alpe du Zwift time 1 second faster than the Zipp 858/Super9, meaning the DT Swiss disc outperforms the Zipp both in climbs and on the flats.

By comparison, the ARC 1100 DICUT DISC turns in a time of 49:39. The fastest climbers currently in game (Roval Alpinist CLX) turn in a time of 49:12.5.

Conclusions

A 6.5 second gap over 50 minutes is massive in Zwift racing, and corresponds to ~2 additional watts of power, matching DT Swiss’ test results vs the Zipp 808/Super9 shown here. Because of this, the new disc wheel from DT Swiss is going to be purchased by Zwift racers everywhere – assuming they’ve got 1.5 million Drops to spare and are at level 42+!

With TTT races often decided by just a few seconds, this wheelset is a must-buy for time trialists especially.

Given the standout performance of the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DISC wheels, we’ll be updating the following posts soon:

• Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy at Each Level
• Speed Tests: Zwift’s Fastest Wheels
• Fastest Bike Frames and Wheels At Each Zwift Level
• Zwift Speed Tests: Wheel Ranking Charts
• Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot)

Goodbye, Tron?

The Tron bike is 3 seconds slower in our flat test than the 858/Super9 discs on the fastest frame available (Specialized S-Works Venge). But this new wheelset will beat the Tron bike by 9.5 seconds.

Unless rules are changed, we predict you’ll be seeing far fewer Tron bikes in community races. All those blingy light bikes will be replaced by fast frames running the new DT Swiss disc.

Opinion: Race Rules Revamp

Zwift’s Esports Rules prohibit the use of disc wheels in top-tier “pro-level” Zwift races. They are allowed in time trials, of course, but not in draft-enabled road races. Perhaps it’s time for community race organizers to do the same.

Why disallow discs in Zwift road races? Two reasons:

1. Riding a road race on a disc wheel isn’t a good look. It never happens outdoors, so why should it happen on Zwift?
2. The time gap between the DT Swiss disc wheelset and the fastest non-disc wheels (Zipp 858) is 13.5 seconds over ~50 minutes. That’s a crazy big gap, which means racers will be driven to use the DT Swiss discs in all races not involving significant climbs. In our opinion, variety is the spice of life – and cycling! If Zwift wants to see somewhat equal representation across wheel brands on the platform, they’ll have to make some changes.

Questions or Comments?

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