UPDATE 10/23/2020: Zwift made the Canyon Aeroad 2021 a bit heavier, which means the Tarmac Pro returns to its spot as the top climber on Zwift (although it shares that spot with the Cannondale EVO thanks to the changes described below.)
We’ve been looking at a lot of speed test data this week, thanks to the release of the new Canyon Aeroad 2021 frame on Zwift. And things got even busier when one astute Zwifter (“anderfo”) commented that certain test results seemed a bit off on one chart. This made us go back and look at the data and re-run some tests to confirm timings.
And we’ve discovered something strange.
The Specialized Tarmac Pro, which tested as the fastest climber up Alpe du Zwift back in March 2019, seems to have somehow put on a little weight between then and August of 2020. 140 grams, to be precise.
We blame 2020. It’s been a hard year for everyone. Even virtual bike frames.
Thanks to the friendly community hackers at Zwift Hype, we have access to in-game frame weights. And that’s how we know that the Tarmac Pro used to be set at 3.85kg, and is now 3.99kg. (We’re just not sure when or why that change happened… and Zwift HQ isn’t telling us.)
New Top Rankings
Regardless of the reason or timing of the change, what we do know is the Tarmac Pro frame is no longer the best climber – although it’s still a strong contender. This has meant a lot of changes in our speed test charts and rankings. Here are pages which have been revised:
- Fastest Bike Frames for Climbing
- Fastest Frame and Wheelset up Alpe du Zwift
- Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy At Each Level
- Updated charts on various pages including Frame Ranking Charts, Tron vs Top Performers Scatter Plot, and Wheel and Frame Performance Scatter Plots.
We’ll follow up soon with a post detailing the exceptional performance of the new Canyon Aeroad 2021 frame, which is now the fastest climber while being slippery enough to rank #4 on our list of most aero frames in Zwift.
Questions or Comments?
Post below!
Wonder how many other adjustments to weight and drag have happened? Would be nice to have some transparency in this regard. It’s a game, and it’s important to know when the rules have changed.
We’re looking at the list of frames to make sure others haven’t been tweaked. So far none have, so I’m hoping this is a one-off thing…
…because you cant have your old frame performing as well as the new SL7 🤷♂️
But the Tarmac Pro is still a better climber than the SL7!
Would you please do a quick review of how you test these frames? The follow up question will be can you duplicate the results? Could there be variability in the game that will make time results for a specific frame test vary? (I appreciate your work!)
Frames are tested solo behind a firewall (so no interactions with other riders) using an ANT+ simulator. Results are absolutely repeatable, with Strava segment timings always with 1s of each other.
So game variability is not an issue… at least not yet!
Thank you!
The lack of transparency here is quite sickening since they expect us to pay for the items, even if it’s just using drops. The star rating is bad enough as it is, but if they then go around and tweak the tested and trusted numbers without a word, that’s not only bad, but also dishonest. Of course there are a lot of people that want to use the same frames in Zwift as they do outside, but there are also a lot of people who will try to use the best frames that they can (Heck, who owns a IRL… Read more »
Oh, geez, it’s just a game to aid with training/ fitness. Would it matter if they mentioned every little change when they do something as trivial as changing the weight of one frame by 0.14 kg? No, it does not matter. Too little of weight or change for any significant difference. And exactly how do you expect them to be transparent? When they make such an insignificant change, should a big banner pop up on screen the next time someone logs in?
True. Just a game. Like changing the game basics while in the middle of a big Poker hand at Vegas. Pretty dumb to change game parameters without informing the community. Sloppy and leaves a bad taste. Even if it’s just a game 😉
How about adding it in the patch notes? You know, the thing that exists for the sole reason of them telling us what they change.
‘sickening’ definitely a choice of words on the harsh side 🙂 🙂
I hope this isn’t a new trend where zwift makes the newest frames the fast ones and then borks them when the next new hot frame comes out
Based on what I’m hearing from HQ, that’s definitely not the plan.
Double Pretzel with 9,000 feet of climbing today. Glad I read this AFTER the ride. 😂😂😂
Makes me wonder how susceptible Zwift HQ is to brands paying to make their frames the fastest in game…
Canyon aero bike faster than Canyon climbing bike up a mountain. But we know which one MVdP is using in the advert!
Damn, wish I’d known this before tackling Ven-Top for the first time today on a Tarmac Pro, might have made it up in less than 2 hours otherwise….ahhh who am I kidding 😂
Ha! What’s the saying? “It’s a poor workman who blames his tools…”
Haha, I really felt the extra 140g!! Just wish I only gained that much over a year and a half!
New to zwift with 1.5 months now level 13 every day due to fires, heat, and smoke locally. Glad I went with cannondale evo frame when got to that level with dt swiss wheels. Saved 200,000 drops on the specialized tax got same the performance per effort put in.
What about the SL5 sworks tarmac that is pictured in this articles photograph??
It’s even slower than the Tarmac Pro…
This is fairly insane: an aero frame with disc wheels is absolutely not lighter than the Cannondale Evo with SRAM components. The ratings are quickly becoming completely arbitrary.
It does, however, make sense that the Tarmac Pro is no better than the Cannondale Evo, although it’s the first time I’ve had a bike which gained wait on its own.
Couldn’t it be that they probably realise that have made it a bit too generous, given that there are undoubtedly plans to also introduce an s-works version. The difference between the pro and the s-works needs to be significant to match specialized’s marketing strategy. But making it even faster in-game would be unfair to other frames. Hence, a small correction…
Ah – no, just realised this is about the SL6 tarmac… not the SL7… still, a similar logic might apply
Question about where the “S-Works Tarmac” fits in?
When I completed the California Challenge I received a “S-Works Tarmac” frame. It is not designated as a SL7 or otherwise, and obviously not a Pro cause it’s a S-Works model.
Does this frame match up to and of the frames in the comparison charts? If so, then which?
I would also like to know the answer to this. In real life the S-works is obviously lighter than the Pro. How does it compare? If it is heavier then yes, the prior comment about weights being arbitrary is spot-on.
S-Works Tarmac is listed on the performance charts as simply “Spec. Tarmac” since it’s just called the Specialized Tarmac in game.
It doesn’t make much sense, but it doesn’t climb as well as the Tarmac Pro. I think the S-Works logo just needs to be removed!
“Here are pages which have been revised:” yet the page https://zwiftinsider.com/fastest-bike-frames-for-climbing/ still says 19 Nov 2019, so was it actually revised when it still have the Tarmac Pro as the fastest (with others)?