Update: if you’re looking for more complete charts and even a Google sheet of raw test data, see our latest post, “Zwift Bike Upgrade Performance: New Charts + Public Test Data“.
Early one morning back in October 2024, I drove down to Morgan Hill, California to join a small team from Zwift at the Specialized Win Tunnel. The goal? To spend two days testing various frames and wheelsets in the tunnel in order to establish a realistic delta between the slowest and fastest frames and wheels in Zwift.
You can read all about our tunnel time if you’d like, but you’ll get to experience the result of those tests soon enough: Zwift is rolling out performance changes to frames and wheels in next week’s big update!
Zwift Insider has published mountains of speed tests over the years, so Zwift was nice enough to send over a pre-release game build that allowed us to run our standard tests and publish the results a few days before the release. That’s the post you’re reading now. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
Why the Change?
Zwifters might wonder: why tweak the performance of all the frames and wheels now, 10+ years into the Zwift journey? It’s a fair question. There are two key reasons why this is happening now:
- Those wind tunnel tests in October showed that the aero performance delta between the slowest and fastest road frames on Zwift was too small, while the delta between the slowest and fastest wheels was too large. This change will make the universe of bikes perform more in line with real-world physics (more on this below).
- With the Bike Upgrades feature releasing soon, Zwift’s game team wanted to make sure they avoided the unrealistic situation of an upgraded slow frame like the Zwift Steel outperforming a fast frame like the Specialized Venge S-Works.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into fresh speed test data for all the road bike frames in Zwift. (We’ll publish separate posts about TT, mountain, and gravel frames in the near future.)
Test Methodology Notes
The following results are from tests done using our standard parameters: a 75kg rider, 183cm tall, without drafting, riding at 300 watts (4 W/kg) steady. If you ride at lower power (and most do!), the time gaps you’ll experience between different frames and wheels will typically be larger than what is shown below.
Flat tests were done on Watopia’s Tempus Fugit since it’s Zwift’s flattest route, while Climbing tests were done on Alpe du Zwift since it’s a long-steady climb.
If you’re interested in comparing these new performance numbers to what’s currently in game, check out our Frame and Wheel data chart pages.
Lastly, an important note about the accuracy of these results. While we present time data with tenths-of-a-second precision, it’s important to understand there is a 1-second margin of error in these results, so it’s probably not worth obsessing over fractional seconds.
Frame Performance Data
Time Savings Over 1 Hour
How many seconds does a frame save over an hour of riding compared to the basic Zwift Carbon frame? (Astute observers may notice that this is a different way of presenting data than our old style of simply displaying raw test results. We think showing the 1-hour time gap is more intuitive.)
Charts are sorted from the best-performing frames to the worst, and you can sort based on flat performance or climb performance.
Sort Chart By:
The following bikes are not included in this chart, because they performed worse than the baseline Zwift Carbon frame: Zwift Steel, Zwift Safety, Zwift Atomic Cruiser, Zwift Buffalo Fahrrad.
The following bikes are not included in this chart, because they performed significantly worse than the baseline Zwift Carbon frame: Zwift Steel, Zwift Safety, Zwift Atomic Cruiser, Zwift Buffalo Fahrrad.
Stacked Percentile Rank
This format lets you easily see how frames comparatively perform across both flats and climb. This is useful for selecting the best bike frame for a given race course.
Frame Changes Summarized
The difference between basic and fast frames has increased dramatically in our flat tests with this performance update. Previously (see data here) the fastest frames gained around 19 seconds spread out over an hour. Now, they gain around 75 seconds!
This isn’t because the most aero frames have gotten faster. Rather, Zwift kept the fast frames around the same performance level, but slowed down the mid-range and slower frames.
The performance gap between the basic and best climbing frames, on the other hand, has narrowed a bit. The fastest climbers used to gain about 70 seconds over an hour of climbing, but now they gain 54 seconds.
While most frames didn’t move dramatically in terms of percentile ranking, you may notice a few that did. Two of these are especially notable:
- The Specialized Tarmac SL7 is now a much faster climber, in keeping with the frame’s real-world performance
- The Uranium Nuclear has dropped out of the “fast four” grouping of top aero frames
Wheel Performance Data
Time Savings Over 1 Hour
How many seconds does a wheelset save over an hour of riding compared to the basic Zwift 32mm Carbon wheels?
Charts are sorted from the best-performing wheels to the worst, and you can sort based on flat performance or climb performance.
Sort Chart By:
Stacked Percentile Rank
This format lets you easily see how wheels comparatively perform across both flats and climb. This is useful for selecting the best wheelset for a given race course.
Wheel Changes Summarized
In terms of aero performance, the difference between basic and fast wheels has narrowed a bit, from around 72 seconds over an hour (see previous data) to 52 seconds. One big reason for this is Zwift’s new treatment of disc wheels on road bikes, which leads to an interesting performance change you can’t easily spot in the charts above.
Zwift has decided to make all disc wheelsets perform worse on road bikes than they do on TT bikes. They’re still pretty fast on road bikes, as long as climbing isn’t involved. But they are faster on TT bikes. (We’ll unpack this more in future posts.) It’s Zwift’s way of encouraging roadies to use more traditional wheels, while leaving the discs to the time trialists. As it should be.
When it comes to climbing, the difference between basic and fast climbing wheels has halved, from around 16 seconds over an hour to just 8. Zwift has adjusted wheelset weights based on manufacturer’s specifications, so this time gap should be a better reflection of what you’d see IRL.
While most wheels didn’t move dramatically in terms of percentile ranking, you may notice a few that did. Here are the wheelsets we caught that moved up in rank significantly (winners) and down (losers):
- Winners:
- Mavic Cosmic Ultimate UST
- ROVAL CLX64
- ENVE SES 6.7
- Shimano C40
- Shimano C60
- Zwift Tri Spoke
- Losers:
- DTSwiss ARC 62
Price Changes
Next week’s big update includes a raft of price changes, and most of those are price increases. Frame prices are holding steady for the most part, but many wheelsets are going up in price.
So if you’ve had your eye on a particular wheelset, you may want to purchase it now – especially if its performance looks strong in the updated charts above.
(On the other hand, there are some new, fast frames being released next week. So you may just want to hold onto your Drops!)
Wrapping It Up
Whew… that’s a lot to digest, right?
There are two things I like about these performance changes. First, I like that we have several high-end bikes to choose from, and their performance varies just enough to make it interesting. Zwift clearly doesn’t want “one bike to rule them all,” and these changes show that.
Secondly, I love that the performance of in-game frames and wheels was modified based on the results of the team’s findings at the Win Tunnel. That means Zwift frames and wheels are performing more in line with their IRL counterparts, which I think is generally what Zwifters want to experience.
We’ll be working on additional posts that dig into the performance of top racing frames and wheels (including their comparison to the Tron bike) in the coming days. Stay tuned, because there’s a lot of news just up the road in regards to bike performance and upgrades.
Questions or Comments?
What do you think of all these performance changes? Got questions or comments? Share below!
Even on a straight course with no wind all zwift bikes and wheels are about 20% faster than IRL for a given power 🤔☺️
Hmmmm… I disagree that that’s universally true. Maybe if you sit bolt upright on your road bike…?
Just because someone doesn’t ride in the hoods or drops because they think it’s uncomfortable doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have spent a boatload of money on an aero bike with that kind of geometry!
I’m not even sure what this comment means. Too many double negatives! 😆
I agree with Vincent – on a road bike on Tempus Fugit, you can get sucked along slingshotting from draft to draft and it’s pretty easy to be averaging 23-24mph at an easy zone 2 without even riding in Coco pack. I live in a flat coastal area and ride a lot of solo Z2 rides on road/TT bikes and my averages will never come close to Zwift averages (usually ~21mph rolling on road bike and ~22mph TT). There’s a reason why most people seem to gravitate toward just riding Tempus Fugit every single day, day after day
I agree with the speeds and drafting. But, I need to train to keep healthy, so that makes me stay away from Tempus Fugit. 😜
You must always be faster in Zwift, since you never have to stop. IRL stops contribute zero mph / kph to bringing the average speed down. IRL wind can bring down speed even more.
And if you lived someplace where there was constantly a load of riders to draft IRL, you’d experience the same thing. You benefit a lot from draft, in-game and IRL.
but that would be a 10% difference- and not a 20% difference – which seems about
Because outside you have this nasty thing Zwift hasn’t implemented called wind 🙃
In a real life 50-rider pack, I can get sucked along at 30mph while doing 185W. 185W while following the Coco group on Tempus Fugit only gets me 24.9mph. If Zwift cares so much about ranking virtual equipment like their real-world counterparts, then they should probably make the physics more real too. The pack shouldn’t be getting away if I stop pedaling on descents.
As far as i know they are working on making Pack dynamics more realistic so movement in the groups is more realistic (less riding through) but as far as draft they are not.I would like to be able to ride with little less power in groups but not like irl because it wouldnt be fun.In my view,what Zwift should do is to be in a middle ground between irl and what Zwift currently feels (PD4) like for example IRacing equivalent which is in a middle group between total simulation and arcade
As far as i know they are working on making Pack dynamics more realistic so movement in the groups is more realistic (less riding through) but as far as draft they are not.I would like to be able to ride with little less power in groups but not like irl because it wouldnt be fun.In my view,what Zwift should do is to be in a middle ground between irl and what Zwift currently feels (PD4) like for example IRacing equivalent which is in a middle group between total simulation and arcade @Eric Schlange
Agree, I need certainly more watts in Zwift in a even larger group. Then in Zwift the road surface is perfect and there is no wind. But after PD5 something is also seriously wrong with draft physics, and a rider doing the same w/kg but about half the watts can draft me on the flat (not in a grop) and that´s pretty odd too. Also somehow it is way harder to move forward in a big group, much harder than it actually is in real life. Right now I don´t think they physics represent reality very well. Only thing that kind of matches is TT bike speed with my irl TT rig, but then the Zwift Cadex is quite a bit better than my 12 year old TT with 404s so I guess does not do to well there either. Maybe because of my heights, I have the feeling I am not allowed to be aero in Zwift ;-))
The fact that Zwift has to keep changing the “Pack Dynamics” means that its not right to start with. I think the heavier riders get pinged to hard on the aero let alone the weight on the flat, this just encourages weight doping. Why bother changing frame and wheel sets when dropping weight is far more effective.
Hahaha. JRA at 30mph. I assume you’re cat1 and 60kg?
not for this ex-irl racer who almost always trains solo. without drafting, it is pretty close
No wind in game likely causes a perception difference.
Rolling resistance is optimised.
Drag associated to other factors like pumps, drink bottles, under seat bags, etc. is not included.
Body positioning is likely based on an optimised position, with no variability.
Also, I imagine they are working off 50% humidity and 1atm.
All of these differences could easily account for 5% variation and more as speed increased.
Most of cycling is overcoming aerodynamic drag. Optimize your body and you’ll find 20% pretty quick.
When we ride outside there is normally a couple mph gap between are rolling speed and are average caused by intersections. If a group ride gives a average that they will have you have to be ready to hold about 2mph faster than that to end with that average. In zwift we never have to brake, never slow or stop for corners or intersections.
I think the power to speed is pretty good. The closed course, no wind, no brakes, no hitting eachother makes more difference then what many realize.
Just my opinion
It’s a good move if frame and wheel performances are closer to real life performances, that’s for sure. Also that disc wheels on road bikes are not as fast as on TT frames is better.
the real question is if aero gear (like aero socks) will have a similar impact to compensate the gap between two wheelsets or two frames?
No BMX bike? You can borrow mine for testing!!!
Seriously, I suspect the BMX bike would be worse than the Atomic Cruiser.
OH – and thanks for doing these tests, I might be changing my default road wheelset to one of the Zipps from the DT Swiss Disc.
Since it forces the BMX wheels, I can’t really chart it here with the normal road bikes which can use the standard Zwift 32mm Carbon road wheels. Sorta like the Tron bike.
Could you do a worst performers vs Tron scatter plot with bikes like bmx, atomic cruiser, buffalo, etc.?
Have you already tested the BMX on gravel/dirt against gravel bikes and MTB’s ?
Not yet. Will soon!
gonna harvest the drops on offer in the big spin then.for future purchases
Do it!
where does the zwift concept bike fit in all of this?
More on that next week. Gotta keep crunching numbers over here. (It’s a decent all-arounder, but there are better bikes. See current performance vs top-end bikes here https://zwiftinsider.com/tron-vs-top-performers/)
Hi Eric once the numbers are crunched I guess you will update this tron v top perfomers with the new wheel/ frame performance ? Really helpful chart cheers
The zwift concept bike should be the best all round bike because it takes so much work to get it.
But according to the new tests, it’s not an allround bike any more, even after all the upgrades it will suck at climbing.
I did my last race with Tron last week, now it will sink to the bottom of the Garage…
Did they spend any of their wind tunnel time validating their rider height and weight drag numbers?
Actually, yes. But that is a future project.
That’s something I (and many other tall riders) have wondered about. It seems like the height penalty is abnormally high.
But tall probably means heavier which probably means bigger watts. Which is, given Zwift only uses about 50% of real life draft, still a massive advantage over a smaller rider with lower absolute watts. So that ‘height penalty’ isn’t really something to worry about 😉
If that were the case, why is it that changing your height is a more effective way to cheat than changing your weight (also easier to catch).
Because aero matters everywhere except the steepest grades. I can add 20kg tomorrow, if I push the same watts my time on a flat course isn’t going to change much. I doubt changing your height will help you more than weight on the Grade.
I’m not denying there is a height ‘penalty’, as there probably should be. I’m just saying that given other bigger factors in your advantage, that penalty isn’t going to matter much. I struggle as a small rider in a Zwift peloton, and even more downhill, because the draft is 50% of what it should be. So the couple percentages (?) that aren’t correct for tall, generally higher wattage riders, are not something I can feel sorry for 😉
(and that’s presuming your statement to be correct)
So you are fine with heavier shorter riders gaining an advantage, but not taller ones?
Height should not even be calculated. It should completely be based on weight.
Power shouldn’t be measured. It should be based on socks’ color.
Looks like Dogma F 2024 is the “One Bike” unless you’re doing road to sky or la Reine. Are those wheel numbers including the “discs worse on road bikes” effect? Because the discs will still work out to be the best option for almost all courses.
Discs are much heavier now, so I don’t think you’ll want them on anything that has much climbing at all.
Aeroad 2024 and Dogma 2024 are definitely the two strongest bikes… for now. 😉
Is that weight reflected in these charts or still yet to come? 20 seconds on an alpe climb isn’t that much.
Yes, the weight is reflected in these charts. It’s not just 20 seconds though… you have to consider what you’d gain from good wheels, too. The disc wheels are 30-35 seconds slower up the Alpe than the Lightweight Meilensteins, for example…
Even at 30 seconds per hour of climbing a disc will make sense for all but the climbiest routes. 8.9 and 7.8 for a few routes, and rare that the lightweights will make sense. Sad that the old standby 62s are no longer relevant
If you are going for the fastest time yes, but if you are doing a race on a route like Accelerate to Elevate the lighter wheels will matter more when there is a selection at the end.
Even then 7.8s are the call. If ZHQ wants to get people to stop using discs on road bikes (which is something I’m 1000% behind) they should just make it so you can’t use discs on a road bike. Can leave it open for the goofy bikes (cruiser, buffalo, etc) since nothing really matters with those.
I agree, Mike, and told ZHQ the same. Their argument (and it’s a valid one) is that they didn’t like the idea of people having purchased the disc wheels to use on their road bikes, then Zwift disabling that capability. They knew they’d get complaints (and it’s true, they would!)
Just refund the drops
Thanks Eric. Does that mean we also get the bike upgrades and halo bikes with the next update?
My lips are sealed.
Are there any changes to time trial bikes? Or upgrade options?
I have blueberry muffins lol.
Thanks for the heads up on the price changes. I’ll probably buy some new wheels.
Question for Eric, are new (good) wheels coming or just frames?
I don’t know of any new wheels coming out.
Hi Eric! While I admire your commitment to all things Zwift, I have two key items today:
1. How do we know that Zwift will perform as in IRL on the tests?
2. Is there a way to provide a simulation that is more relevant for females?
What about 60 kg with FTP 180-195? 50 kg woth FTP 145?
We could get partway there if “easy enough to try more combos to reflect many real life examples for C/D ladies?
As we know anything measured for aero performance depends on speed, and so the lower the category, the lower the speed, and maybe these choices aren’t as relevant?
Thank you!
Aero improvements result in greater time savings for slower people because they’re out there for a longer time. It’s counterintuitive but the math checks out. Equipment weight matters more though because it’s a greater proportion of total system weight.
ZwifterBikes.app has the ability to customize rider by height, weight, and FTP and get an estimated time for every route and segment in Zwift
Hi Julie,
I do plan to run some tests at lower power soon.
Amy idea of TT frames also get a level set like road frames did? Great writeup and nice new toggle switch on the graphs.
What do you mean by “get a level set”?
I DO like the new toggle!
duties effect ?😀
I blame Trump’s tariffs. 😂
😆😆😀
Cracking article Eric. Love Zwifts effort to make bike selections perform closer to real life, and I really appreciate the time you take to present the data. Oh, and I promise to save my disc wheels for TTs from now on. Reprimand received loud and clear.
LOL ha! Yeah, I’ll be hanging up my disc wheels as well. I’ve never liked using them in road races, but it was hard not to when they were so much faster…
I’d like to see ALL the bikes included – including the slow ones!
I leave out some super slow ones just because accommodating their data make the charts harder to read.
OK is it just me or are the current DT Swiss disc wheels not on the wheel chart? Looks like I might need to invest in 858/Disc if that is the case.
They are there! Second on the list in the “Time Savings Over 1 Hour” chart when sorted by flat performance. The Zipp 858 disc is now a better wheelset, though. Climbs a bit better.
858+Super9 is now the superior disc wheel combo? Interesting. We need comparison data on Road vs TT frames. 🙂
Is the data presented here tested on a Road frame (Zwift Aero? Zwift Carbon?)
Data presented here was done one a road frame. Wheel tests done with Zwift Aero frame.
Just curiously, as I often have a discussion with my wife… while you have a standardised test for flat and hilly with static height, weight, power… do you think there would be much difference for a woman at 55kg, 160cm and 180W or something standardised comparatively to the men’s.
Women vs men doesn’t matter in Zwift, but of course power, weight, and height changes will change things. As noted above, “If you ride at lower power (and most do!), the time gaps you’ll experience between different frames and wheels will typically be larger than what is shown below.”
Further reading:
https://zwiftinsider.com/how-height-affects-speed-in-zwift/
https://zwiftinsider.com/rider-weight-speed/
https://zwiftinsider.com/wkg-tests/
What’s the best recommendation for an all-rounder? I hate switching bikes. What frame and wheels would you recommend? I currently ride the Tron exclusively.
Looks to me like the Pinarello Dogma F 2024 or the Canyon Aeroad 2024 and the Zipp 454 wheels.
Why not Tarmac SL8 as best all arounde frame?
While this is one way to handle bikes and wheels, I think I would have preferred a system by which all bikes with 4 stars in aero or weight performed the same, etc. That would have led to more variety on the roads of Watopia. While these new changes are good, I think we will still see most people using the same 3-4 bikes and 2-3 wheelsets most of the time.
Yeah, I get it. That would simplify things as well. But personally, I like that they work more like IRL on Zwift, where frames and wheels don’t fit into neat categories with identical performance.
Any chance they’ll get rid of the star ratings and just use the same data metrics you use (+/-N seconds on flats; +/-N seconds on climbs) compared to the Zwift Carbon?
For me, torturing myself before every ride on which frame or wheelset I should use is all part of the fun!
My avatar is a big ,fat, tall lad so yes, I see differences and the wrong choice will hurt.
The Canyons and Pinerellos are a bit inaccurately fast I think, of course some of the big hitters are absent. Probably a good change all in all, but I really don’t want to sport that hideous Dogma and I may have to!
Thanks for all the testing Eric, this is a valuable resource for the community and clearly the folks at Zwift see that too.
Any chance you can add a link to download the data in txt or CSV as in the older posts, or will those pages be updated accordingly?
Separately, I know some might be put out by drastic changes like this, but I for one appreciate the opportunity to dig into the data and re-optimize and rethink setups for different routes.
Yes, a table with the data would be much appreciated!
Id love to see the baseline test power lowered to 250w, which is a more realistic number for many riders, especially for an hour.
They’re on the wheel charts.
Intersting, pacer bots also seem generally slower these days. Eric are they going to update the ancient group sets? They are 10+ years old! Helmets that impact performance would be good as well.
+1 for helmet/aero performance.
Helmets do impact performance, but not that much
Zwift says, and our tests confirm, that while helmets COULD be made to impact performance, none of them currently do in game.
As long as the squirrel hat is fast I’m good.
I already used the Dogma and the Canyon 2024 the most (just like their predecessors) because of the extra paint schemes and the best all-round qualities, even though I rarely race.
Now I have to use the 454 as an allrounder instead of the DT Swiss, which I’m sorry about because of the looks.
I’m curious to see the results for the Tron, because I also like to use that often since I have it.
Will the data be available for download like earlier datasets?
Yes, but I need to clean it up first. It’s been crazy this week!
Thanks, Eric
I believe I’d previously seen that “leveling up” the Halo bikes was coming soon, late winter, early spring.
Is that still in the works? Seems it’d add even greater complication to bike selection, not that I’m opposed to that. At least the best sock choice is locked in.
All will soon be clear… 🙂
So there’s a big update coming next week… please for the love of God tell me they’re not adding more levels?! I’m only 4500XP off level 100…
Oh and thanks for all the hard work on the frame and wheel tests. Very much appreciated as always!
Not adding levels next week… as far as I know, at least!
Splendid. Thanks Eric.
Very grateful for all this work, I’ll buy you a beer one day.
So much to unpack and I definitely don’t understand it all yet but, I believe it is going in the right direction.
The previous time gaps didn’t seem to be realistic, as in, they were too small.
Also like how discs are penalised on road bikes.
I would not allow them to be fitted at all, but I’m sad like that!
I understand that Zwift is a game but the physics need to be as real as possible.
Best day ever!
I really liked nerding out about the equipment before a race. Since last year choice didn’t matter too much.
but now I could start over again and spending hours and hours in nerding out!
I especially like that it looks like that a different bike choice matters for every different route.
only stupid thing is that I bought the buffalo bike yesterday because I was bored 😑
So why does Ineos consistently get smoked IRL? 😉😂
Because a fast bike doesn’t make you a race winner… especially in team-based road racing.
I know…just a bit of needling for fans of the team😋. I would say Tadej proves your point well enough considering how poor the (admittedly outdated) Colnago does!
They clearly have the wrong wheels.
😂😂
Okay this is great but you know what you really need to do, make it so bigger riders put out more of a draft and smaller riders put out less. Bigger riders are already penalized by having to work harder but the team and pack dynamics are less realistic because the drafts behind aren’t accounted for. El Tractor cannot exist in zwift as he does on the Tour.
I heard that a larger rider DOES create more draft. Maybe another test for Zwift Insider to run!
Already done! https://zwiftinsider.com/rider-size-draft/
I was just going to post the link that @Eric Schlange just posted – Zwift Insider tested this last April. If you have updated information could you please post a source or provide more details? Thank you!
Just wish Zwift would allow us to change the colour of the Dogma 24.
Would be nice to have custom colours. 👍
Agreed! It COULD be a manufacturer restriction though, just FYI. Some brands require Zwift to only use one really particular colorway…
Isn’t there a color spray paint can that was on offer from a race mission for the Pinarello Dogma F 2024? I didn’t get it, but I’ve a friend who did! 🥴
Not a can, just another custom paintjob.
Not sure I like the idea of frame upgrades. How does that correlate to real life? Kit with different CDA I could go for
Observations:
1) Zipp won big and DT Swiss lost big. Looks clear that 858/Super9 is the clear disc winner. 454 now looks like the winner for an overall performer with +climbing. Enve 7.8 still looks like a the best non disc all-rounder for flat to rolling courses.
2) Canyon Aeroad and Dogma F are the clear winners with the Dogma F taking what looks to be the overall crown by a landslide and the Aeroad dethroning the Venge as the fastest frame. I guess we’ll see what new frames arrive in the update!
3) If the disc wheel nerf makes them a non-ideal choice for road bikes, then it sounds as if the Tron will be the (temporary?) king of bikes on many courses as the Tron was previously faster than any road bike not on disc wheels.
Overall sounds like an exciting update and a good shake-up should make things interesting.
I’m curious about interplay between bike and wheelset as this graph makes the Zipp 858 look like a better climber but less aero than the ENVE 7.8s, but the scatterplot shows the Dogma with the Zipp 858 being faster on the flats, but slower climbing than the Dogma with the ENVE 7.8s.
What scatterplot?
The one you made “Speed Tests: Tron vs Top Performers Scatterplot” (sorry, it won’t let me post a link)
It has the Dogma F 2024 with ENVE 7.8s at 3034 Flat and 2930 Climb and Dogma F 2024 with Zipp 858 at 3032 Flat and 2935 Climb.
Based on the date updated, I thought you had updated that after posting this article, but maybe there’s some lag.
It hasn’t been updated yet. Hence the big black warning at the top of the post! 😜
Ah, it didn’t occur to me that putting that bar on there would trigger the “last updated date”. Had thought that might mean there were updates after you’d put that there.
Scatterplot now updated! https://zwiftinsider.com/concept-z1-vs-top-performers/
Saw that, thanks. I like the new orientation and appreciate that the comments got cleared as the old ones are no longer relevant.
I was a bit bummed that the DT Swiss Arc 62 is no longer the rolling all-rounder wheel of choice anymore, but fortunately I read this and bought the Zipp 454 for those routes that are a bit too climby for the ENVE 7.8s before the prices went up.
Going to have to get used to the all white of the SL8 for a while, which doesn’t match my kit as well as the orange/pink Dogma 2024 did, but I’ll put up with less than perfect matches for slightly easier climbs.
Thanks for all this. Looking forward to the top rankings plot-charts updates!
(Seems my go-to all-round setup of Dogma ’24 on Enve 7.8 might get pipped by a new combo… might have to dust off the old 858’s or give the E6.7s a shout)
As the updates are always staggered and I use ATV, what will happen in races when some have got the update and others haven’t as far as frame and wheel performance is concerned?
Another question would be: do you recommend getting forking out the drops if you don’t have either of the new primo frames or the wheels, or wait to see what the new upgrade offers?
David, I’d wait until this week’s update details are released before buying any new bikes. 🤫
This is what I was thinking too. Could you delay updating and have better performance? 😅
I experienced this today, in fact. Not that I noticed, but I knew I had the new performance parameters on my Zwift PC setup because I’m part of a small group of Zwifters who get the update a few days in advance.
So yeah, some will have the old performance, while others the new. Because your position/speed/physics are all computed client-side.
Then I hope our competition in Tueday’s ladder race dont get the update either 🙃
I know that they are among the best also, but cant help to think about the ties between Canyon, Specialized and Zwift. Not really surprising seeing their products on top here.
Awesome article and well written @Eric Schlange guess I’m ditching my DT Swiss wheels.
Is there a standard day for zwift updates? Like Tuesday? Or a specific version we should look put for? Don’t wanna be on the wrong setup during a race
Tuesday. But Zwift pushes updates out in a rolling fashion across several days, so not everybody gets it on Tuesdays. The next version of Zwift should be release v1.86…
Too bad the lightweight Meilensteins are not really a prize worth getting anymore, the zipp 454 and 353 are almost as fast on climbs but much faster on the flats.
Did zwifterbikes.web.app also get a chance to test the new setup?
Crying in DT Swiss 62😥
What about updating bike generation models as no new bikes frames have been added for example Trek’s Madone is on a generation 8 model and honesrly most bike here are still the same from the start. Lots of riders would like to ride thier currently owned bike model in the game.
For some reason the stacked data charts aren’t visible and nothing happens when I change the slider – any recommendations? viewing on Chrome.
If you’re looking on a vertical device, rotate and wait for it to render in landscape, it’s easier to read
I thought the wind tunnel tests performed by Zwift a few months ago demonstrated that a modern steel bike was more aero than Eric’s old spe roubaix…
Hey Eric!
Love the article and have been waiting to geek out on this one for a while!
I had a thought for a potential follow-up test that could be really interesting. While we know that aero bikes tend to be the fastest overall, their impact at key selection points—especially for different rider types—seems like an area worth exploring.
For example, as a larger rider 190lb/86kg (~3.3 W/kg), I often wonder how much of a difference a lightweight bike would make compared to an aero setup when trying to stay with a group on short, punchy climbs like the Hilly KOM or Titan’s Grove KOM. Even if the aero bike wins over the full course, could a lighter bike provide a meaningful advantage at these decisive moments in races? It’s that classic challenge of knowing the aero setup is fastest for the sprint finish, but if I get dropped on the hill and am not there to contest the sprint what does it matter…
Would love to see structured tests comparing different bike types across various rider profiles at these selection points. Have you ever considered running an experiment like this? I know it’s splitting hairs, but I think there’s plenty of data geeks out there like me that could find this very interesting and helpful for bike choice.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
I’d like you to add the worst frames to the chart because zwifting in a group ride with such frames help us to train hard without becoming flyers. So I think the worst frames are as important as faster frames.
Zwift Steel, Zwift Safety, Zwift Atomic Cruiser, Zwift Buffalo Fahrrad.
With all these changes in performance, I really hope we get a way to delete/archive/hide/organise the garage. I’ll have wheelsets I’ll never use again by the looks of it, as I expect many will
Any must buy wheelsets before the price changes? My best set currently is ENVE 7.8 and I’ve just picked up the Zipp 454.
Should I be grabbing the Zipp 858/Super9?