Your choice of virtual bike frame influences your Zwift speed significantly. And Zwift’s Drop Shop gives us access to a pile of bikes: over 125 if you include the Halo, TT, Gravel, and mountain bikes!
At Zwift Insider, we’ve tested every Zwift frame and wheelset using an accurate, repeatable procedure to determine how it performs in game.
Based on those speed tests, we’ve chosen the 5 best overall TT frames in Zwift today, and the 5 best wheelsets for TT racing. This isn’t just a stack rank of the most aero setups in game, although that is the primary factor. But we also took into account how each item performs across a variety of routes.
Without further ado, let’s get to the list! Drumroll please…
The Best TT Bike Frames in Zwift
Factor Hanzō
1,800,000 Drops, must be level 42+
Simply the most aero frame in game, no matter how you look at it. It’s a bit heavy, so you wouldn’t want it for TT races with significant climbs. But like riders have discovered outdoors, its aero performance eats up slight losses on rolling routes and short climbs.
Why it’s a winner: it’s the fastest TT frame on flat/rolling courses
Canyon Speedmax CFR
1,650,000 Drops, must be level 40+
While it’s a few seconds slower than the Hanzō on flat ground, the Speedmax CFR handily outclimbs the Hanzō and every other TT frame in game, while being the second-fastest in terms of aero performance. If your TT race includes any significant climbs, this is the weapon of choice. (A bit of Zwift trivia: this is the only TT frame rated 2 stars for weight. All other TT frames are heavier and rated 1 star.)
Why it’s a winner: best climbing TT frame and very fast on the flats
Cervelo P5
1,600,000 Drops, must be level 39+
The third-fastest TT frame in game in terms of aero performance, the new P5 is also a strong climber.
Why it’s a winner: strong climber with decent aero performance
CADEX Tri
1,500,000 Drops, must be level 40+
Long the fastest TT bike on flats/rollers, the CADEX Tri is a few years old now and has been superceded by some of the new TT frames. That said, many Zwifters have fully upgraded this frame, so it’s still very popular in TT events.
Why it’s a winner: fourth fastest on flatter routes, plus lots of riders have fully upgraded it
Cannondale SuperSlice LAB71
1,500,000 Drops, must be level 40+
The 5th-fastest TT frame in game on flats, the SuperSlice is just a half-second slower than the CADEX Tri, while outclimbing it by over 4 seconds.
Why it’s a winner: strong climber with decent aero performance
The Best TT Wheelsets in Zwift
CADEX 4-Spoke/Disc
1,100,000 Drops, must be Level 41+
While they are 0.7 seconds behind the Reserve Infinity wheelset (below) across an hour of flat road, the CADEX 4-Spoke/Disc wheels are much lighter, coming in 10.7 seconds faster across an hour of climbing. With TT races almost always including a slight hill, it’s hard not to rank these at the top and choose them for all but the hilliest time trials.
Why it’s a winner: strong aero and climbing performance
Reserve Infinity Disc-set
1,100,000 Drops, must be Level 42+
This unique double-disc setup, with its gold appointments, is certainly eye-catching. It’s also the most aero wheelset in game, just barely beating the CADEX 4-Spoke/Disc. It’s a bit heavy, though, so you would only want it for pan-flat races.
Why it’s a winner: best aero performance of any wheelset in Zwift
Black Inc THREE/ZERO
950,000 Drops, must be Level 40+
The 3rd-fastest disc wheels in terms of aero performance, they also climb a bit better than the Reserves.
Why it’s a winner: strong aero performance
Shimano DURA-ACE C99 + Disc
900,000 Drops, must be Level 28+
The 4th-fastest discs in aero performance, these are the best climbing discs in game, beating the CADEX above by 1.3 seconds across an hour. And as a big bonus, they’re available at a much lower level than the other top disc wheelsets!
Why it’s a winner: strong climbers with decent aero performance
Princeton Carbonworks Wake 6560
685,000 Drops, must be Level 32+
The only non-disc hoops on our list, these “superwheels” lose ~20 seconds to the disc wheels across an hour of flat riding, but they’re light weight, and climb ~20 seconds faster across an hour! So if your race includes significant climbing, you’ve got to do the math and figure out if these lighter wheels are the smart move.
Why it’s a winner: super strong climbers with decent aero performance
Upgrading and Digging Deeper
If you’re concerned about race performance – and you’ve read this far, so I assume you are – it’s vital that you upgrade your TT frame. In fact, upgrading your TT frame boosts your speed much more than buying a new frame or wheelset! The difference between an un-upgraded frame and a fully-upgraded one is approximately 50 seconds across an hour of flat riding, and 25 seconds across an hour of climbing. Learn more here >
Want to dig deeper into the precise speeds of various frames and wheels? Check out our TT frame ranking charts, wheelset charts, and public test data.
Share Your Thoughts
We hope all you riders/racers found this post useful. Think there’s a frame or wheelset we should have included but didn’t? Got other questions or comments? Share 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.
The gap between gravel & TT bikes is clearly narrowing 😉
a few surprises in this that’s for sure!
Winning comment!
Pictures don’t match the bike descriptions?
@Eric Schlange looks like the Gravel bike names with the TT bike pictures from when you copied the article framework 😉
At least we also know the 5 fastest gravel bikes even before the article goes live 😉
Fixed!
I was looking forward to this one,
Give it an edit and get it back online.
We’re back… and better than ever!
Not the article I was expecting 😂
Monday blues I geusse 🤷
Yeah… I’ll blame working too late on a Friday. 😅
TT Bikes? – my Zwift shows the Pinarello Dogma GR as a gravel bike.
Links do not match bike names – Canyon Grail SLX https://zwiftinsider.com/frame/felt-ia-2/
Canyon Grail SLX – Also affordable! ?? when it appears to be most expensive.
1,750,000 Drops, must be level 40+
Almost identical in performance to the Scott Plasma above, this frame is just a fraction of a second behind. It climbs well, and doesn’t lose much in the flats. Also affordable!
As a FTP 155 rider I think I will stick with my Pinarello Dogma GR. I don’ think that I will see a 3-4 second difference against the Cannondale SuperX LAB71.
Right now I would rather spend my time and kilometers riding the Pinarello Dogma F 2024 to a full upgrade – stage 5.
Give it a refresh and it’ll all be fixed! Sorry about that…
I need to work on my drops if 1,750,000 is considered affordable now!
Whoops. Fixed the price!
I’m sure you know why the Cadex tri is the most fully upgraded TT bike most people actually achieved this by not even riding 🚴
Not sure anyone can prove “most” people, but yes, I’m aware of the bug that let cheaters upgrade it easily. 😉I did it the old-fashioned way!
Question. I was looking for next week Tour Fever route (Hell of the North) and left it by accident on 3 laps, but there is a 2.65s difference between a Zwtft TT frame at level 5 with the DT Swiss discs and the Hadron Discs, while you write they are exactly the same.
How is that possible ?
I’m not sure what you’re asking.
Sorry forgot to mention I was checking on Zwifterbikes and that site shows a time difference between the two disc wheels that this site says are exactly the same.
Perhaps you’re looking at the older DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DISC and not the newer DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc? That would explain it.
Otherwise – not sure what to tell ya, as I don’t control that website. The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc and Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 850/Disc perform identically.
The Cadex Spoke and Black Inc wheels aren’t even in my drop shop?
Sounds like you haven’t been upgraded to version 1.123 yet. Just came out yesterday.
I’m going for what looks the coolest. I’m told it’s the double disc.
DT Swiss & Swiss Side didn’t make the list? I thought that DT Swiss ARC 1100 85 Disc would still be on the top. I guess not. Its the only Disc set I have, Any recommendations if I would to purchase a new disc set? I have a fully upgraded Cadex Tri.
I would buy the wheels listed at the top of this list. 😉
The DT Swiss were great wheels, until Zwift released faster ones this week!
Thanks Eric!
Surprised the Wakes made it in top 5 over the Hadron 650’s. Yes, Wakes are lighter, but not as aero. Depending on the amount of elevation climbing, they could be the go to over a disc or the Wakes.
Hadron 650’s are 2.9 seconds faster on the flats, but 7 seconds slower on the climbs, compared to the Princeton 6560’s across an hour of riding.
With races often being the toughest on climbs, I would say the Princetons are the better choice so you have an advantage where you need it most. Especially when, if you think of it as “trading seconds”, it’s a better than 2 for 1 deal!
TTs are something I want to do more of in Zwift but, unlike a real Time Trialist, I’m not going to obsess over the minutiae.
For me it’s going to be the Disaster Area stunt ship aesthetic of ultra black.
Hanzō with Black Inc wheels.
All very interesting, but most TT events have 4 riders. Zwift need to up the interest levels in these events
Check out WTRL Thursday TTT’s. That’s where the vast majority of time trialing happens on Zwift each week.