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XP Farming on Zwift’s Climb Portal – the Ultimate Guide

Eric Schlange
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44
XP Farming on Zwift’s Climb Portal – the Ultimate Guide

XP Farming on Zwift’s Climb Portal – the Ultimate Guide

Important: Zwift updated the powerup probabilities in version 1.92, greatly reducing the chance of getting a Large Bonus powerup in certain situations. Therefore, the information below is no longer accurate. Read this post for details on how Climb Portal powerups currently function.

Keen Zwifters have been using Zwift’s Climb Portal to earn extra XP since the feature was first released in the summer of 2023.

Since then, Zwift has made some tweaks and additions to the Portals – some that made it harder to earn XP, some that made it easier.

But as you’ll soon see, the Portal is still the most effective way to earn XP on Zwift, provided you follow a few simple rules. Let’s dive in!

Gaming the Portal: the Basics

Climb Portals can be “gamed” to earn XP at a higher-than-normal rate because each climb is broken up into 10 equidistant sections with a powerup arch at the end of each section. That means you can receive 10 powerups during the course of completing each Portal climb.

Powerups are given in a “randomized” fashion, but that randomness is weighted:

  • Feather: 25%
  • Small Bonus (+10XP): 65%
  • Large Bonus: 10%

To maximize your XP earn rate, you need to maximize the rate at which you receive powerups, which means riding through as many powerup arches as possible in a given amount of time. How do you maximize your “arch count”?

  • Ride the shortest climbs
  • Ride the least steep climbs
  • Pedal harder
  • Use a fast bike

Perhaps the simplest way to maximize your XP earn rate is to think of it terms of four basic rules…

Gaming the Portal: the Rules

Rule #1: Ride a Fast Bike (and Not a TT Frame)

If you ride a TT frame, you’ll always get the small bonus powerup at every arch (+10XP). This may seem like a good thing, but it’s not, if you’re playing the numbers!

You’ll want to ride a standard road frame so you have the possibility of getting the large bonus (+250XP). Additionally, road frames climb faster than heavy TT frames, and also draft others, so you’ll be able to ride through more arches in less time. Read Fastest Climbing Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level to learn which frame and wheels to use.

If you’re riding a very slack climb (or perhaps riding the 50% versions of climbs), riding a more aero bike may prove a bit faster than riding

Rule #2: Choose the Shortest, Flattest Climbs

Zwift places 10 powerup arches on every Portal climb, whether the climb is very short or very long. So a 20km climb will have an arch every 2km, while a 2km climb will have an arch every 200 meters. Which climb will award the most XP? The shorter one, of course!

As of today, here are the 5 shortest Portals on Zwift (you can see the full list of climbs here):

Climb Title Length Elev Gradient
Paterberg 0.4km 45m 11.9%
Koppenberg 0.6km 63m 10.8%
Cauberg 0.8km 57m 7.1%
Mur de Huy 1.3km 124m 9.8%
Oude Kwaremont 1.5km 64m 4.3%

You’re at the mercy of Zwift’s Climb Portal schedule, though – you can’t just choose to ride these short climbs whenever you’d like. So you have to check out that schedule and plan your XP farming days.

To make a climb as flat as possible, choose the 50% scaling option when you select your climb, which trims off even more time! For example, Oude Kwaremont takes about 5:50 per round trip (up and down) at 4 w/kg at the default 100% scaling. But a round trip at 50% scaling is a minute faster, meaning you’ll earn ~20% more XP on average at 50%!

(One gotcha, though: your scaled-down climbing won’t be visible on Strava leaderboards. In fact, your entire ride is flagged as “gamified” and not matched against Strava segments, because doing so would break the leaderboards entirely.)

Rule #3: Burn the Feathers

The game gives you a powerup as you ride through each arch, but if you’re holding a powerup through the arch, you won’t get a fresh one.

So if you enter the portal with a powerup, or you get a Feather powerup during your climb, be sure to use it before the next arch so you can get a fresh powerup when you pass through.

(This can actually be a little tricky on super-short climbs, since the Feather lasts for 30 seconds and the powerup arches come very quickly on shorter climbs. In some cases, you may want to simply trash your Feathers instead of activating them.)

Rule #4: U-turn at the Top

If you’re doing hill repeats to earn lots of extra XP, flip a quick u-turn at the top after the last arch instead of riding the roundabout to get onto the descent. This will knock another ~30 seconds off of your round-trip time, which, on a short climb like Oude Kwaremont increases your earn rate by ~10%. #marginalgains

How much XP can you earn?

Given the breakdown of Portal powerup probabilities (Feather 25%, Small Bonus 65%, Large Bonus 10%), how much XP could you earn per hour if you follow the rules above and ride the shortest possible climb (Cauberg) at 50% scaling?

Riding at 4 W/kg and following the rules above, you’ll finish a round trip in just under 3 minutes, meaning you could do 20 repeats in an hour. Your expected XP earnings would be:

  • Round trip time at 4 W/kg: 3 minutes
  • Average XP per section: (250*.1) + (10*.65)=31.5XP
  • Total sections completed in an hour: 10 sections per ascent * 20 repeats = 200 sections
  • Bonus XP per hour: 200 sections * 31.5XP per section=6300XP
  • Distance-Based XP per hour: (0.8km*2)*(20 repeats)*20XP=640XP
  • Total XP per hour: 6940XP

This, of course, seems crazy. Most XP farming approaches on Zwift earn 1200-1600XP per hour, including Shane Miller’s Alpe du Zwift workout approach.

But keep in mind this is the most extreme example: it’s using the Cauberg, which is a super-short climb that is rarely on the schedule. The next-shortest climbs are approximately twice as long, which greatly reduces your earning rate. Oude Kwaremont‘s numbers, for example, would look like this:

  • Round trip time at 4 W/kg: 4 minutes, 50 seconds
  • Average XP per section: (250*.1) + (10*.65)=31.5XP
  • Total sections completed in an hour: 10 sections per ascent * 12.4 repeats = 124 sections
  • Bonus XP per hour: 124 sections * 31.5XP per section=3906XP
  • Distance-Based XP per hour: (1.5km*2)*(12.4 repeats)*20XP=744XP
  • Total XP per hour: 4650XP

Of course, these numbers are also assuming you’re riding at 4 W/kg, which most Zwifters can’t maintain. What about a more reasonable 3 W/kg? Here’s what you would earn on Oude Kwaremont:

  • Round trip time at 3 W/kg: 5 minutes, 50 seconds
  • Average XP per section: (250*.1) + (10*.65)=31.5XP
  • Total sections completed in an hour: 10 sections per ascent * 10.3 repeats = 103 sections
  • Bonus XP per hour: 103 sections * 31.5XP per section=3244XP
  • Distance-Based XP per hour: (1.5km*2)*(10.3 repeats)*20XP=618XP
  • Total XP per hour: 3862XP

What’s the cutoff?

This logically leads to an interesting question: at what point does it become “worth it” to farm XP in the Climb Portal vs other methods? That is, if you look at the scheduled Portals of the day, and you know the power you want to hold for your ride, how do you know if you’ll earn more XP in the Portal vs, say, riding a new route and earning the badge and XP bonus?

The math here is admittedly imprecise, because there are lots of variables in play. But if we assume you’re following the rules above, I would say it only makes sense to farm XP in the Portal if you can earn more than 1600XP per hour. That means you would need to complete each Portal ascent in ~12 minutes at your target power. Here’s how that math works:

  • Round trip time: 18 minutes (2:1 ratio of climbing to descending is roughly accurate)
  • Average XP per section: (250*.1) + (10*.65)=31.5XP
  • Total sections completed in an hour: 10 sections per ascent * 3.3 repeats = 33 sections
  • Bonus XP per hour: 33 sections * 31.5XP per section=1039XP
  • Distance-Based XP per hour: estimated at 600XP
  • Total XP per hour: 1639XP

That 12-minute climb target means that around half of Zwift’s Portal climbs are worth farming, if you’re riding the climbs at 50% scaling.

Wrapping Up

The Climb Portal feature has evolved since it originally launched, but one thing hasn’t changed: Zwifters can still earn a lot of XP if they follow the simple rules above. In fact, there isn’t a more effective way to earn XP in Zwift today! Here’s a comparison:

  • Riding with Coco RoboPacer: 820XP/hour
  • Shane Miller’s Alpe du Zwift XP Farming Workout: 1406XP/hour
  • Doing a group ride on a new route (assuming 40kph speed on a 40km route): 1600XP/hour
  • Riding Oude Kwaremont at 3 W/kg (see math above): 3862XP/hour

Questions or Comments?

Do you farm XP on the Climb Portal? Does your experience line up with what I’ve written above? Any other tips to share? Comment below!

Zwift Jersey Hunting Updates and Tips, Part 3

Peter Sauve
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6
Zwift Jersey Hunting Updates and Tips, Part 3

Zwift Jersey Hunting Updates and Tips, Part 3

This is my third article on Jersey hunting, following those from about two and four years ago.  It is an overview of what is currently available, a few tips, and a section about my personal motivations.

The Basics

Zwift has four types of jerseys that can be earned during a ride:

  1. Route (always orange, but different than the Standard Orange Zwift jersey)
  2. Sprint (bright green, although some sprints in France are a darker green)
  3. King/Queen of the Mountain (KQOM – red polka dot, except for Special KQOM jerseys)
  4. Special (various other jerseys that are associated with Leaderboards, like France’s Ven-Top and Watopia’s Fuego Flats)
  5. In most worlds, the Route, Sprint, and KQOM jerseys can combine to make more variations (more on that later)

What’s Possible

There are now 121 individual Leaderboard jerseys up for grabs (an increase from 95 from just two years ago). The current tally is:

  • Watopia = 34 (Specials for Epic KQOM, Jungle, Alp du Zwift, Fuego Flats, Volcano, and Titan’s Grove)
  • Makuri = 23
  • France = 18 (Special KQOM for Ven-Top, the same design as Watopia’s Epic KQOM)
  • Scotland = 9
  • London = 8 (Special KQOM for Keith and Leith Hills)
  • Innsbruck = 7
  • Yorkshire = 6
  • Richmond = 6
  • NYC = 6
  • Paris = 4 (no KQOM)

TdF KQOM Jersey (L) vs regular KQOM Jersey (R)

The Details

Watopia:

  • 10 Special jerseys that are mentioned above (Alp du Zwift and Volcano have only forward segments)
  • 4 Route jerseys: Hilly Loop and Jarvis Island, with forward and reverse segments for both
  • 12 Sprint jerseys: 2 on Hilly Loop, 8 along the Coast, 2 on Jarvis (again, those include both forward and reverse segments)
  • 8 KQOM jerseys: 2 on Hilly Loop, 2 on Jarvis, 3 associated with the Coast (The Grade, Itza, Mayan Mountain), and 1 for the Radio Tower
  • The Hilly Loop (and most world’s) jerseys can be combined four ways – meaning, earning a Sprint-Route, will result in a split green/orange jersey; the Sprint-KQOM will be a green with a mountain border; Route-KQOM, orange with mountain border; and all three will be split orange/green with the mountain border.  Again, both forward and reverse combined jerseys are possible.
  • Jarvis Island Route, Sprint, and KQOM do not combine

France:

  • A few things changed with the Tour de France jerseys that appeared in conjunction with the 2024 race:
    • The Marina Sprint jersey, along with the Balloon and Pavé jerseys, turned to a darker green with the TdF sponsorships.
    • The Marina Sprint orange jersey was retired, although the Leaderboard ranking still shows it as orange.  It was the same as the Route jersey in other worlds.
    • The Aqueduc and Petit KOMs turned to smaller polka dots with the TdF sponsorships
  • With the latest France update adding new roads, the old (non-TdF) Sprint and KOM jerseys reappeared – but only for the new Leaderboards (eg, Sprinteur, Ventoux Half)
  • Combined jerseys are not possible
  • No Route or orange jersey
  • 6 dark green (TdF) Sprint jerseys; 6 bright green Sprint jerseys
  • 3 small polka dot (TdF) KOM jerseys; 2 KQOM jerseys (Mostly Ventoux and Ventoux Half)
  • 1 Special jersey for the full Ven-Top segment

TdF Sprint Jersey (L) vs regular Sprint Jersey (R) in France.  Note the Leaderboard still shows the Marina Sprint as an orange jersey, even though it’s been retired.

All of the other worlds remain unchanged.

More Info

Some Combined jerseys can be earned on a single route, meaning no manual turns are required.  Just ride the route.  These are: Watopia’s Hilly Loop, Paris, Richmond, Innsbruck, and Yorkshire.

Earning the Combined jersey in NYC with all three requires manually going to the KQOMs on the skyline.  I’ve found it best to complete the Sprint which is on the Route, then head to the skyline for the KQOM.  In practice, getting the longest segment out of the way gives more time to make attempt(s) on the outlier.

Combined London is similar.  Doing the London Loop route includes the KQOM (Box/Fox).  Then head to the Sprint (Classique) to attempt the triple Combined jersey.

Combined Scotland requires the most turning, since neither the Sprint nor the required KQOM are along the Loch Loop route.  My recommendation for Scotland forward is to do the Route, head down to knock off the Champion Sprint, then U-turn and head up Sgurr North.  For Scotland reverse, after doing the route, U-turn and head right up Sgurr South, then down to the Champion Sprint.  There’s only one direction for the Sprint, but it combines with either of the other segment directions.

Route, Sprint, and KQOM Combined Jersey in Scotland

Again, neither France nor Makuri have Combined jerseys.

I had a fellow Zwifter ask about getting the unique London Special pink polka dot jersey (Keith/Leith), as her favorite color is pink, and she had never been able to snag one.  I’ve found the easiest way to earn it is to select the London Loop.  After earning the powerup at the start (hopefully the Feather), do a U-turn.  Then as you’re approaching the Box/Keith split, turn left to go up Keith to make the attempt.  My experience is that fewer people ride Keith than Leith, so there’s less competition.  BTW, it worked for her on the first try!

The Special Keith (and Leith) KQOM Jersey in London

Speaking of powerups, having the right one for the right segment is key – ie, the Aero or Van for most Sprints, or Feather for a KQOM.  If you possess the “wrong” powerup, you can try to score the needed one by trashing (or using) it, then going across a finish line.  But there’s a catch.  You can’t get a new one until you ride at least a kilometer (0.6 mile) after you claimed your previous one.

Personal Note

As a few Zwifters know, I keep myself motivated by, surprise, trying to earn Leaderboard jerseys.  And to motivate myself even further, I’m trying to see how many consecutive free rides I can do, earning one.  I just recently exceeded 250 in a row (and counting – knock on wood), which is over a 3+ year span.

For those who are interested, here are my unofficial rules to make the ride count:

  1. Free rides only.  Events don’t count for or against the streak.  That includes after the event is finished, when continuing to free ride is possible.
  2. Only once per day.  Meaning, I can’t ride several times a day, and then count each ride towards the streak.
  3. But… if I do ride more than once in a day, and fail to get a jersey, then the streak would end.
  4. Coffee Stops not allowed during a segment.
  5. Rogue worlds not allowed – no using a hack to ride a world that is not offered on Zwift that day.
  6. Not required, but I try to get “photo” evidence of the jersey.  I do this because in the post-ride summary, some segments don’t show the jersey being earned when it’s due to someone timing out or ending their session.
  7. Only Leaderboard jerseys count towards the streak.  There are some segments where a jersey is not awarded for being on top of the Leaderboard.  For instance, Watopia’s Volcano lap and Richmond’s 23rd St.
  8. I try to rotate among the worlds.  But I’ll admit, I don’t find NYC, Richmond, Paris, or Innsbruck very fun.  I sprinkle them in only occasionally.

I’m also trying to earn every jersey out there, and am currently at 112 of the possible 121 individual jerseys.  It seems like every time I get close to earning them all, Zwift adds some more. Ugh.

Happy Zwifting!

Woman Racer Spotlight: Joanne Grogan

Karla Williams
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3
Woman Racer Spotlight: Joanne Grogan

Woman Racer Spotlight: Joanne Grogan

Name: Joanne Grogan

Hometown: Hinesburg, VT, USA

How did you get into cycling? I have always ridden a bicycle out of function (living rurally, uni/work commuting, fastest mode of transport). I moved to the USA from Ireland at age 23 and functional bike riding was ‘more difficult’ (aka got a car) so I started recreational mountain biking which morphed into riding downhill/park riding. I got into racing probably the total opposite to most by picking up cyclocross at the suggestion of a friend.  Those first cyclocross races led to racing cyclocross, mountain and road bikes and led me to a very successful few years of racing, training and traveling to race at the professional/elite level. I picked up riding indoors as part of my training in the winter months as my racing at the elite level demanded focused pre-season training.

How many years have you been racing on Zwift? I joined Zwift in 2016 primarily out of curiosity about how the gamification of riding could help break the mundaneness of riding indoors.  Well, it worked lol. I quickly was doing meetups with IRL teammates and joining races as motivation for hard training efforts (think 20-minute threshold work with 10 laps of Crit City). It was not until 2022 that I picked up ZRL racing.

Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, I joined Coalition in 2022 after a message via Zwift Companion app from a then Coalition team captain (looking at you Hollie).

What do you love most about racing? I love the mental challenge of racing: how you show up, goals, ability to transform in the race, reading tactics, acting on strategy. The roulette of how racing can make you perform, sometimes way above your expectation and sometimes below is what keeps me coming back for more.  It can create a lot of internal retrospection that helps as a tool in my daily life and vice-versa. 

What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I am most definitely a points racer/hunter. Nothing better than making your eyes cross with a good sprint then doing it all over again 3 minutes later.

What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? ZRL is very close to my heart as it brings so many women together. I’ve very much enjoyed the stage race format such as the Tour de Boudicca.  Racing back-to-back days brings me back to my IRL racing days where your performance is not just individual or race-based but more so on how you prepare, recover, recon, etc so you can perform at your best over the stages and for your team.

What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Oh gosh, there is A LOT to choose from.

Outside: stage 2 of a 4-day road stage race.  I was coming back from injury and was racing as a team floater/junior mentor aka no goals.  As we approached the first QOM of the stage, I drifted back in the pack to check on one of our younger riders and ensure she positioned herself to not get dropped once the surge started for the line.  As the surge started I surfed wheels and before I knew it I was in contention for the QOM points…. This was the day I 110% experienced the power of pack positioning and draft. It was eye-opening and let’s just say, I never looked back.

Inside: same, same ha, but really I’ve had so many memorable races with my Coalition ZRL teamies, we build each other up and commend each other on achievements, whether podiums or PBs.  It is a really great environment for harnessing the power of positive vibes.

But really, the most memorable experiences actually come from pre and post racing: crazy travel adventures and mishaps; friendly jenga sessions trying to fit all the bikes in the car; missing highway exits to races because you were chatting so intensely with your teamies; team dinners; working the pits for a teamie in the muddiest cyclocross race ever; cleaning up after the muddiest of cyclocross races; borrowing team kit because you left your entire kit bag behind you.  I can go on.

What is your favourite food to eat post race? I’m not one for having an appetite post race so I’m a protein shake post-effort gal and then go for the classic tea and a sandwich, yes rather boring.

What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Show up with an open mind and come with a plan A, B and C in preparation for how things pan out.  Ultimate goal is to finish and come away feeling good, so setting yourself up for that is a good starting point.

Any upcoming race you are looking forward to? Nothing huge on the calendar this year but I’ll be back at it for cyclocross in the fall months and in the meantime I will enjoy a bunch of community gravel events, some local glory racing and group rides.

Where can people follow your racing adventures? I’m all about the Strava for IRL adventures, and always lots of photos, gotta keep the fan club happy.

Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 17-18

Eric Schlange
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Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of May 17-18

This weekend features a bit of everything. We start off with a popular annual charity ride, follow it up with two popular race series, then finish with two group rides that couldn’t be more different. Enjoy, and Ride On!

🤝 Ride Like King Celebration Rides

✅ Good Cause 　✅ Popular 　✅ Special Guests 　✅ Prizes

The biggest event this weekend is the 17th annual Ride Like King (RLK). The RLK 17: Celebration Rides are open-paced group rides with a women-only option, guest ambassador leaders, and a party atmosphere with product giveaways as we rack up miles toward a big donation of Buffalo bikes!

Read all about the Ride Like King series >

Saturday’s rides are on Danger Noodle (32.3km, 413m), while Sunday’s are on Triple Flat Loops (36.2km, 134m).

Every 4 hours Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/rlk17

🥇 2025 SISU Pinkki – Stage 3

✅ Stage Race 　✅ Unique Race 　✅ Popular

The team at SISU Racing is holding its first Grand Tour of 2025, a 7-stage tour across the three weeks of the Men’s Giro d’Italia. Stage 3 is this Saturday, with a lap of Watopia’s Tides and Temples (39.1km, 470m).

Read all about the SISU Pinkki series >

This is a mass-start event using Zwift Racing Score with separate results for Men and Women.

Saturday in several timeslots
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/sisu

🥇 Zwift Women’s Racing Series p/b FemmeCycle Collab || Race 2

✅ Women Only　✅ Popular　✅ Unique Race

Zwift’s Women’s Racing Series has been rebooted for 2025, and ladies are loving the events! Saturday is your last chance to race stage 2, on Makuri Islands’ Turf N Surf (24.7km, 198m).

Read all about this series >

Note: this series is somewhat experimental because, for the first time ever, race groups are age-based!

Saturday, May 17 at 3:30pm UTC/11:30am ET/8:30am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/zwiftwomensracingseries

🤝 OWL.BiKe Grey Zone Trivia Ride

✅ Women Only 　✅ Beginner-Friendly

Ladies, join the women of OWL.BiKe for a shorter, easier event. “Get ready to pedal and ponder! While we spin in the Grey Zone, we’ll challenge our ‘”‘Grey Matter’ with trivia questions ranging from music and movies, to aging and cycling.” 45 minutes on New York’s LaGuardia After Party at 1-1.5W/kg.

Saturday, May 17 @ 4:30pm UTC/12:30pm ET/9:30am PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4985046

🤝 JETT Endurance Ride 100km 2.5~3.3w/kg

✅ Endurance Challenge　✅ Pace Options

Here’s a popular long ride with two pace options: B group at 3-3.3 W/kg, or C at 2.5-2.9 W/kg. Both groups will be riding 1 lap of the Zwift Gran Fondo 2022 route (92.8km, 1115m), with optional efforts on some of the intermediate segments if you’d like.

Choose your desired pace, listen to the ride leader, and get that endurance work done! Both categories have a leader (yellow beacon) and sweepers.

Saturday, May 17 at 8:05pm UTC/4:05pm ET/1:05pm PT
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4985073

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

  • Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
  • Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
  • Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
  • Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
  • Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
  • Is it for a good cause?
  • Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
  • Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

Tiny Race Series – May 17 Routes and Last Week’s Results

Eric Schlange
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0
Tiny Race Series – May 17 Routes and Last Week’s Results

Tiny Race Series – May 17 Routes and Last Week’s Results

See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

Riding All The Zwift Routes: How to Find Your Unfinished Routes and Earn Every Badge

Eric Schlange
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38
Riding All The Zwift Routes: How to Find Your Unfinished Routes and Earn Every Badge

Riding All The Zwift Routes: How to Find Your Unfinished Routes and Earn Every Badge

Cycling appeals to different people for different reasons, but I love how it enables achievement and exploration. Whether it’s a new Strava PR, a race win, or finishing a long ride, there are always new achievements to strive for. And who doesn’t love riding new roads? The best way to see the world is on a bicycle, after all.

At the time of this post, there are 199 routes on Zwift awarding a completion badge accompanied by bonus XP. And while some Zwifters may not pay any attention to all the different routes, badges, and XP bonuses, you, dear reader, are different. You love a good challenge, and the dopamine hit of achievement. And you’ve come to the right place.

Why?

Any self-help guru will tell you it’s smart to start with your “why”, so let’s do that. Why would anyone care about riding all of Zwift’s routes? Several reasons…

  • Exploring: if you’re the type of person who likes to see new sites, riding all of Zwift’s routes will get you intimately acquainted with the platform’s virtual roads. You’ll end up traversing popular sections multiple times, too, so you’ll really get to know your way around the place!
  • Veloviewer Leaderboards: we’ve set up a route/KOM leaderboard in partnership with Veloviewer so you can compete with other Zwifters to not only see who has completed the most routes, but how fast you’ve completed them! (Read how it works here, and I should mention there’s also a Climb Portal Veloviewer Leaderboard.)
  • Extra XP: the first time you complete a route in Zwift, you’ll earn an XP bonus with the route badge. That bonus is basically equal to the amount of XP you’ll have already earned each mile/kilometer while riding the route (32XP per mile, or 20XP per kilometer), so you’re effectively doubling your XP earnings when riding new routes. That means faster level ups!
  • Completionists, Rejoice: if you’re the type of person who likes to make a to do list, then check off each item until it’s done, route hunting on Zwift is made for you.
  • Another Carrot: Zwift is full of carrots – little prizes dangled in front of us to entice us to ride more often, or push harder. Route achievements are just one of those carrots, and while it may not appeal to you all the time, it may just grab your interest when other carrots do not.

Defining “All”

As we kick off this discussion, it’s important to define what we actually mean when we talk about riding “all” the routes in Zwift. Because there are Zwift routes you’ll never be able to ride (because they’re only for runners). And there are Zwift routes which can only be ridden in events (aptly named “event-only” routes).

Based on our master routes list, at the time of this post, there are 49 event-only routes on Zwift and 23 run-only routes.

To confuse matters more, it used to be that event-only routes didn’t award route badges. But then, in November 2021, Zwift released the Neokyo Crit Course route, an event-only route with an achievement badge. And since then, they’ve added badges to several other event-only routes!

For most Zwifters, when they talk about wanting to ride “all” the routes in Zwift, they’re talking about earning all the route badges. Doing this will show every route listed in game as finished, and will earn you all the extra XP available from route badges. So I’ll assume that’s what you’re going for.

Defining “Finish”

At the risk of being pedantic, I want to document precisely what is required to “finish” a route, since this is a common point of confusion with newer Zwifters. When I say “finish” here, I mean completing the route in such a way as to earn the route achievement badge.

You can finish a route in one of four ways:

  1. Select the route from the game’s route list and ride to the route’s finish line
  2. Select the route from the route picker that pops up after you choose a workout, then ride all the way to the route’s finish line
  3. Join an event or meetup hosted on the route (don’t late join as you may miss the start of the route!) and ride all the way from the start of the route to the finish line
  4. Join a Robopacer on a particular route and stay with that Robopacer from the start line of the route to the finish line

You will see an achievement banner pop up when you finish the route, and the badge’s XP bonus will pop in at the same time (see “680 XP” below):

If you don’t see that banner, you haven’t earned the route achievement badge!

There are three common ways Zwifters attempt to complete routes but aren’t successful. Hopefully listing them here will save someone a bit of grief:

  • Joining a Robopacer ride on a route, but failing to stay with the bot long enough to ride from the start of the route (including the lead-in) all the way through to the finish
  • Freely navigate your way along the route, expecting that since you covered all the route’s roads, you will earn the badge. While that makes logical sense, it won’t work: you must explicitly select the route before riding it in order to earn the badge.
  • Riding a route which covers the same roads as another route, assuming you’ll earn both badges (the first half of Sacre Bleu, for example, is the entire Three Musketeers route). Again, the route must be explicitly selected in order for you to earn the badge.

Looking Up Unfinished Routes

So we know what “all” is, and we know what “finish” is. And while you probably haven’t ridden all the routes in Zwift, I’m sure you’ve already ridden some of them.

How do you figure out which ones you still need to finish?

There are two easy ways: in game, and via Zwift’s Companion app.

In Game

In the Zwift game, you can tap “Routes” on top to see a complete list of free-ridable routes in Watopia and the other two current guest maps. The icon next to the route’s name indicates whether you’ve earned the route badge or not: a green icon is an earned badge, while a grey icon means you haven’t yet earned it:

Select a route, click “Start Ride”, and go until you see the achievement banner. Easy!

You can even use the “Sort By” dropdown to show the routes you haven’t yet finished. Sort by “Route Completion” and all the unearned badges in your chosen map will be listed first:

The downside of the Routes list approach is that you can only search the three current active maps for unfinished routes. If you click “Achievements” under your profile on the top right, you can scroll down to Route Achievements and easily see which routes badges you haven’t yet earned. Here’s my current screen:

This is just a visual list of badges, though: you can’t just click an unearned badge to be taken to that route. For a complete list of your unfinished routes, and a way to add them to a sort of “To Do List”, you’ll need to head to the Companion app.

Companion App

The Companion app has a route explorer with a filter to “Show Uncompleted Routes”. Here’s a video showing how it’s done (around the 1:20 mark):

This is the easiest and most thorough way to see all the routes you need to complete. And this is where you can add those routes to “My List” so you can easily access them in game (see below for details).

There’s just one problem with the Companion app’s list: it isn’t accurate. Many routes show as not awarding badges when in fact they do.

Plan of Attack

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Have you formulated a plan for finishing all the routes in Zwift? I’ve got three tips that may prove helpful.

Tip #1: Use “My List”

The Companion app has a “My List” tool where you can add workouts and routes which then show up on the game’s homescreen under the “For You” header. It’s a simple, straightforward tool (read all about how it works), and one handy thing about it is you can add routes to your list and easily click to ride them in game, even if that route’s map isn’t one of the three scheduled on the day.

You can even boot into the game, then pull up your Companion app, search for uncompleted routes, and add one to your list. It will immediately pop into your homescreen, where you can click it to begin riding. Easy!

Tip #2: Use Events

The downside of riding a route in an “off-schedule” map is that it will be a very lonely experience, since everyone else is riding in the “open” maps.

Whenever possible, I like to ride new routes with others in events. This ensures I always have others to ride with, which helps the time pass faster but also makes the actual ride time shorter, as I get the benefit of drafting.

Finding events for a particular unfinished route isn’t easy using Zwift’s current tools, though. Fortunately, ZwiftHacks has an events tool which you can use to filter upcoming events by route.

Tip #3: Ramp It Up

One last tip: don’t overdo it. Especially if you’re newer to cycling, you may want to plan your route badge hunting so you start with easier routes and work your way toward the longer ones. The My List tool in Companion lets you easily drag and drop routes to re-sort the list, so use this to schedule upcoming badge attempts in a sensible fashion.

Our printable list of Zwift routes by difficulty may be a helpful tool in your route badge quest. Plus, if you print it out, you get the satisfaction of checking off each route as you complete it!

You might also try alternating hard days with easy days, saving the shorter routes for your zone 1/2 recovery rides while doing a ramping-up succession of harder routes every other day.

Route Achievement Feature Requests

I’ll wrap up this post with a few feature requests for Zwift HQ to consider.

Route Prestige

The challenge of completing all the routes in Zwift is a fun one, but once you’ve done it, you sort of have to find more carrots since the achievement of finishing a route for the second or third time is much less significant than the first time.

What if Zwift could give me some sort of achievement prize when we finish all the routes? That would drive more Zwifters to work at completing every route. And with that prize, all of my route badges could (optionally?) be set back to “unfinished” so I could work to finish them all again.

This could even be grown into some sort of “route prestige” system, where riders earn a new prestige level each time they complete all badged routes currently in Zwift.

Consistent Badging

Opinions may differ, but I think route badges should only be available for free rideable routes. It’s frustrating and sometimes tedious, when I’m forced to track down an event on a particular event-only route just so I can earn that badge.

I should add that lately, Zwift has been rolling out some new routes as event-only routes with badges, then opening them up as free rideable a few weeks later. I think this is a perfectly acceptable approach.

Ride On

Route badge hunting is one of my favorite activities on Zwift, and I know lots of Zwifters are motivated by the fun of new roads and extra XP. Hopefully this post helps even more Zwifters join in the quest to finish all the routes!

Questions or Comments

Have you finished all the routes in Zwift? Is that a motivating carrot for you? Share your thoughts and any questions below!

Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy from the Drop Shop at Each Level

Eric Schlange
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18
Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy from the Drop Shop at Each Level

As you progress through Zwift’s levels, you’ll unlock access to items in the Drop Shop which can be purchased with your hard-earned Drops. This inevitably leads to questions: do I buy the frame that just became available? What if there’s a faster frame unlocked at the next level? Or maybe some zippy wheels?

Related links:
Learn how Zwift’s levels, XP, and unlocks work >
Learn how Drops are calculated >

Here’s a complete list of frames and wheels unlocked at each level, with the most useful unlocks marked in bold and the key purchases marked with a MUST BUY. We’ve even added notes so you know what makes those unlocks special!

If the item’s price is crossed out it can no longer be purchased in the Drop Shop, and if an item’s name is linked you can click to read a detailed post published when the item was first added to Zwift. (Just beware that the performance characteristics of older items may have changed since they first launched – see our current charts and public test data for current performance details.)

Of course, you may want to purchase a particular frame or wheelset just because it looks cool or matches what you ride outdoors. Nothing wrong with that! Our recommendations, though, are based entirely on speed test performance.

Level 1

  • Zwift Steel frame (Free)
  • Zwift Classic wheels (Free)
  • Zwift Gravel wheels (Free)
  • Zwift Mountain wheels (Free)

Level 2

  • Zwift Gravel frame (50,000 Drops)
  • Zwift Mountain frame (50,000 Drops)

Level 3

  • Zwift Carbon frame (55,000)
  • Zwift 32mm Carbon wheels (100,000)

Level 4

  • Zwift TT frame (60,000 Drops): the first TT frame you can buy, but we recommend waiting a few levels to pick up a faster TT bike.

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7

Level 8

Level 9

  • Specialized Allez frame (122,700 Drops)
  • Zwift Aero frame (250,000 Drops)
  • Zwift 50mm Carbon wheels (125,000 Drops)

Level 10

Level 11

  • Canyon Lux frame (275,000 Drops)
  • Mosaic RT-1d frame (250,000 Drops)
  • Bontrager Aeolus5 wheels (150,000 Drops)

Level 12

Level 13

Level 14

Level 15

Level 16

Level 17

Level 18

  • BMC RoadMachine frame (344,100 Drops)
  • Specialized Roubaix S-Works frame (405,200 Drops)
  • Specialized Venge 2015 frame (461,500 Drops)
  • FFWD RYOT55 wheels (200,000 Drops)
  • Mavic Cosmic Ultimate UST wheels (525,000 Drops)
  • Specialized Roubaix 2015 frame (333,500 Drops)
  • Specialized Ruby 2019 frame (333,500 Drops)
  • Specialized Ruby S-Works 2015 frame (399,300 Drops)

Level 19

Level 20

  • Cannondale System Six frame (725,100 Drops)
  • Scott Spark RC frame (350,000 Drops)
  • Scott Spark RC World Cup frame (750,000 Drops)
  • Zipp 202 wheels (350,000 Drops)

Level 21

  • Chapter2 Koko frame (505,500 Drops)
  • Ribble Endurance frame (505,500 Drops)
  • Giant SLR 0 wheels (450,000 Drops)

Level 22

Level 23

  • Allied Able frame (550,000 Drops)
  • Felt AR frame (714,100 Drops)
  • Giant Revolt Advanced Pro frame (475,000 Drops)
  • ENVE G23 wheels (241,800 Drops)
  • Canyon Aeroad frame (532,500 Drops)

Level 24

Level 25

Level 26

  • Canyon Grail frame (750,000 Drops)
  • Scott Foil 2023 frame (864,600 Drops)
  • ENVE SES 2.2 wheels (400,000 Drops)
  • Scott Foil 2015 frame (676,900 Drops)

Level 27

  • Canyon Aeroad 2021 frame (1,029,200 Drops)
  • Giant TCR Advanced SL 2021 frame (566,100 Drops)
  • Pinarello Dogma X frame (850,000 Drops)
  • ENVE SES 3.4 wheels (525,000 Drops)
  • Giant TCR Advanced BikeExchange-Jayco Team frame (543,100 Drops)

Level 28

  • ENVE SES 8.9 wheels (550,000 Drops): one of the fastest non-disc wheelsets on Zwift. Listed in Top 10 Wheelsets in Zwift.
  • Cervelo R5 frame (633,600 Drops)
  • Pinarello Bolide frame (618,400 Drops)
  • Pinarello Bolide TT frame (627,000 Drops)

Level 29

Level 30

Level 31

Level 32

  • Cervelo Aspero frame (800,000 Drops)
  • Parlee RZ7 frame (771,800 Drops)
  • Pinarello Dogma F 2021 frame (1,350,000 Drops)
  • Roval Terra CLX wheels (330,800 Drops)

Level 33

Level 34

  • Cervelo P5 frame (920,700 Drops)
  • Cervelo PX-Series frame (1,000,000 Drops)
  • Trek Madone frame (1,050,000 Drops)
  • Zipp 808/Super9 wheels (650,000 Drops)

Level 35

Level 36

Level 37

Level 38

Level 39

  • BMC SLR01 frame (759,500 Drops)
  • BMC TeamMachine frame (969,200 Drops)
  • Diamondback Andean frame (950,000 Drops)

Level 40

Level 44

  • Zwift Safety frame and wheels (3,550,000 Drops)

Fastest Aero TT Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

Eric Schlange
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19
Fastest Aero TT Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

If you’re racing time trials on Zwift, upgrading your frame and wheels will cut some significant time off your efforts. And in the “race of truth” where there is no hiding in the draft, every bit of savings counts!

But figuring out where to spend your hard-earned Drops can be confusing, so we’ve put together these tables listing the fastest TT frame and wheelset available at each Zwift level.

Keep in mind this list applies only to flat and rolling routes. The list below is essentially a simplified, flat-race-focused version of our complete Zwift Shopping Guide. If the climbs in your time trial race are steep and/or last more than a few minutes, you may want to consider a more climbing-friendly setup.

Fastest TT Frames

LevelFastest Frame Time
Savings
1Zwift Steel (Free)*0s
3Zwift Carbon (55,000)*5.1s
4Zwift TT (60,000)142.2s
7BMC Timemachine01 (400,000)163.2s
10Cube Aerium (251,700)163.4s
16Felt IA 2.0 (750,000)180s
19Scott Plasma RC Ultimate (600,000)180.4s
31Canyon Speedmax CF SLX Disc (1,200,000)184s
40CADEX Tri (1,500,000)188.1s

* the Zwift Steel and Carbon frames aren’t TT frames, but they are the fastest frames available at their respective unlock levels, so they’re listed here as a baseline reference.

Fastest Wheelsets

LevelFastest WheelsetTime
Savings
1Zwift Classic (Free)0s
3Zwift 32mm Carbon (100,000)7s
6Mavic Cosmic Ultimate UST (525,000)27.3s
7Mavic Cosmic CXR60c (150,000)29.6s
12Shimano C60 (325,000)35.4s
15Roval Rapide CLX (500,000)37.8s
16Roval CLX64 (525,000)45.4s
25Zipp 808 (425,000)47.3s
28Enve SES 8.9 (550,000)59.5s
29DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 (650,000)60.5s
34Zipp 808/Super9 (650,000)69.1s
37Zipp 858/Super9 (750,000)73.4s
40DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc (1,000,000)78.9s

Total time savings of fastest TT frame and wheelset over stock Zwift setup (Zwift Steel frame and Zwift Classic wheels): 188.1+78.9=267 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 TT frame or wheelset on the list as soon as you level up, but you won’t have the Drops to do so. Plus, 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.

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 detailed charts 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 Pinarello Espada?

The Pinarello Espada is currently the only TT Halo Bike in Zwift, but it wasn’t included in the list above for two reasons:

  • It takes a lot of work to unlock. You’ll need to fully upgrade three Pinarello frames before you can purchase the Espada, and even then you’ll need 10 million Drops to add it to your garage!
  • It’s not the fastest TT setup on Zwift. Not even close, actually. It’s 233.1 seconds faster than the base setup on flat roads but as explained above, the top TT frame (CADEX Tri) coupled with the top wheelset (DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc) is 267 seconds faster. And let’s not even talk about how slow the Espada is on climbs!

The Espada is a status symbol on Zwift, for sure, but it performs like what it is: a TT bike that’s over 30 years old.

Read all about the Pinarello Espada >

Improvement by Level

The biggest TT performance gains come early in a Zwifter’s level progression, just as they do with road bikes. Here’s how much time you would be saving across an hour of flat riding if you upgraded to the recommended setups above at each level:

The biggest percentage improvement comes when you upgrade to the Zwift TT frame (your first TT frame) at level 4. This frame alone accounts for 55% of the overall improvements you can receive by upgrading equipment! By level 16, over 84% of your possible improvement has already been achieved. And once you’ve hit level 40, the only way you’ll get faster is by racing smarter and training stronger!

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 rig for your next TT effort, 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 TT frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top TT Performers for current time trial-related performance data.

Fastest Climbing Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

Eric Schlange
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19
Fastest Climbing Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

If you’re racing on Zwift, upgrading your frame and wheels can cut crucial seconds 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 best climbing frame and wheelset available at every Zwift level.

Keep in mind this list applies only to bigger climbs. If your race is flat or only has short, rolling climbs you’ll probably want to go with a more aero setup.

Fastest Climbing Frames

LevelFastest Frame Time
Savings
1Zwift Steel (Free)0
3Zwift Carbon (55,000)31.1s
5Parlee ESX (153,200)45.5s
6Chapter2 Tere (199,400)66s
8Liv Langma Advanced SL 2025 (1,000,000)72s
10Canyon Aeroad 2024 (1,100,000)73.8s
12Canyon Ultimate CFR (350,700)74.2s
17Scott Addict RC (660,200)77.8s
30Specialized Aethos S-Works (966,300)*85.7s
40Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 (1,750,000)87.5s

* It’s worth noting that the un-upgraded version of the Aethos climbs a bit slower than the un-upgraded S-Works Tarmac SL8, but if you compare the fully-upgraded versions of both bikes, the Aethos is a much stronger climber. This is due to how Zwift’s upgrade system is structured. See charts/data >

Fastest Climbing Wheelsets

LevelFastest WheelsetTime
Savings
1Zwift Classic (Free)0
3Zwift 32mm Carbon (32,000)11.4s
6Shimano C40 (300,000)14s
12Campagnolo Bora Ultra 50 (450,000)15.8s
15Roval Rapide CLX (500,000)16.7s
17CADEX 42 (425,000)16.9s
24Zipp 353 NSW (600,000)*21.2s

* the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels turn in the same climb performance as the Zipp 353 NSW, but are unlocked via the spinner at the top of Alpe du Zwift/Ventoux.

Total time savings of fastest frame and wheelset over stock Zwift setup (Zwift Steele frame and Zwift classic wheels): 87.5+21.2=108.7 seconds

Times above are based on our climbing speed tests, done with a solo 75kg, 183cm rider at 300 watts on Watopia’s Alpe du Zwift.

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.

There’s another factor to consider here as well, when you’re looking strictly at climbing performance. Zwift’s upgrade system is structured so that, if a bike is classified as a climbing bike, the upgrades it receives are more climbing-focused. All-arounders and aero bikes, on the other hand, receive more “balanced” upgrades between aero and climb performance.

Specialized Aethos + Roval Alpinist CLX

So while the table above shows the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 outperforming the Specialized Aethos S-Works on climbs, this is only true if the frames aren’t upgraded. If you compare fully-upgraded versions of those frames (the toggle on this Tron vs Top Performers chart may help), the Aethos is actually a much better climber, putting ~21 seconds into the S-Works Tarmac SL8 over an hour on a climb.

Trek Emonda SL + Lightweight Meilensteins

The Trek Emonda (unlocked by completing the Climb Mt Everest Challenge) earns a mention here as well, because it is classified as a climbing bike and will outclimb all bikes except the Aethos when fully upgraded.

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 ~73 seconds faster than the stock Zwift Steel+Classic wheels across an hour of climbing. But as you can see above, the fastest climbing setups save 108.7 seconds over an hour! So the Tron bike is not the way to go in a pure climbing race.

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

Even more so than our list of most aero frames and wheels by level, the biggest performance gains for climbing come very early in a Zwifter’s level progression. 77% of total gains are attainable by just level 6!

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.

Fastest Aero Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

Eric Schlange
-
16
Fastest Aero Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level

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

LevelFastest Frame Time
Savings
1Zwift Steel (Free)0s
3Zwift Carbon (55,000)5.1s
5Parlee ESX (153,200)30.9s
8Liv Langma Advanced SL 2025 (1,000,000)65.2s
10Canyon Aeroad 2024 (1,100,00)*68.1s

* The Canyon Aeroad 2024, Felt AR (level 23), Cervelo S5 2020 (level 36), Specialized Venge S-Works 2019 (level 37), Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 (level 40), and Pinarello Dogma F 2024 (level 40) all turn in times within ~1 second of each other in our flat tests, so we consider them to be essentially equal in flat performance. They differ significantly in climb performance, though (learn more) so you’ll want to pay attention to that metric when choosing a bike.

Fastest Wheelsets

LevelFastest WheelsetTime
Savings
1Zwift Classic (Free)0s
3Zwift 32mm Carbon (100,000)6.2s
6Shimano C40 (300,000)16s
7Mavic Cosmic CXR60c (150,000)26.4s
12Shimano C60 (325,000)31.6s
15Roval Rapide CLX (500,000)33.4s
16Roval CLX64 (525,000)40.1s
25Zipp 808 (425,000)42.1s
28Enve SES 8.9 (550,000) fastest non-disc152.9s
29DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65152.4s
37Zipp 858/Super9 (750,000)54.7s
40DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc fastest disc258.7s

1 The Enve SES 8.9 wheels are just slightly faster than the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 in our tests, but that small 0.5s advantage is within our test’s margin of error. Additionally, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 outclimb the Enve SES 8.9 by 11.3 seconds over an hour.

2 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: 68.1+58.7=126.8 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 10 delivers 74% of the overall possible improvement. And once you’ve hit level 40, the only way you’ll get faster is by racing smarter and training stronger!

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.

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