Your choice of virtual wheelset influences your Zwift speed significantly. And Zwift’s Drop Shop gives us access to lots of wheelsets: almost 50 if you include the Gravel and MTB wheels.
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 10 best overall wheelsets in Zwift today. This isn’t just a stack rank of the most aero wheels in the game – we took into account how each set performs across a variety of routes.
Without further ado, let’s get to the list! Drumroll please…
The Best Wheelsets in Zwift
#1: DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65
650,000 Drops, must be level 29+
This wheelset is the best on Zwift if you rank all the wheels in terms of combined time saved – that is, how much time is saved over a baseline wheelset across an hour of flat riding and an hour of climbing. This new DICUT 65 basically match the ENVE 8.9 as the most aero non-disc wheels, while handily outclimbing them.
Why they’re winners: best aero-focused all-arounders in Zwift.
#2: Zipp 454
600,000 Drops, must be level 30+
This wheelset is the best on Zwift if you rank all the wheels in terms of combined percentile rank – that is, percentile rank for flat performance combined with percentile rank for climb performance. The 454s are climb-focused all-arounders, and very strong ones at that.
Why they’re winners: best climb-focused all-arounders in Zwift.
#3: ENVE SES 7.8
550,000 Drops, must be level 36+
On the other side of the all-arounder spectrum, the popular ENVE 7.8 wheels are more aero than the Zipp 454, but also heavier. They gain around 11s on the flat, but lose around 9s on the climbs. Where do you want your advantage? How much climbing does your race entail?
Why they’re winners: strong aero all-arounders.
#4: Zipp 353 NSW
600,000 Drops, must be level 24+
Another top-ranked wheelset in our stacked ranking, the 353 NSW wheels from Zipp are tied with the Lightweight Meilensteins as the best climbing wheels on Zwift, but hugely outperform them on the flats. These are best seen as pure climbing wheels with solid aero performance.
Why they’re winners: best climbers in Zwift.
#5: ENVE SES 8.9
550,000 Drops, must be level 28+
Tied with the DT Swiss 65 as the most aero non-disc wheels on Zwift, ENVE’s 8.9 hoops come in 5.8 seconds slower than the fastest disc wheels (DT Swiss 85/Disc) while outperforming them by 10.6 seconds on the climbs. That means these are a better choice than disc wheels if your race includes any sort of climbing.
Why they’re winners: some of the most aero non-disc wheels in Zwift.
#6: DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc
1,000,000 Drops, must be Level 40+
Currently the fastest wheels on Zwift, on road bikes this wheelset outperforms the Zipp 858/Disc disc (below) on the flats by ~4 seconds while essentially matching it on the climbs. Disc wheels are slowed on road frames, though, so these wheels are only ~6.3 seconds faster than the most aero non-disc wheels (DT Swiss 65, above).
Note: disc wheels perform more strongly on TT frames than road frames, which means that, if this list was purely for TT racers, we would move these wheels up in the list. But as the vast majority of races on Zwift are road races, these wheels move down the list due to their poor performance on climbs and muted performance on road frames.
Why they’re winners: most aero wheels in Zwift (and extra fast in a time trial).
#7: Zipp 858/Super9
750,000 Drops, must be Level 37+
The second-fastest wheels on Zwift, matching the DT Swiss disc above on the climbs while losing a few seconds on the flats.
Note: disc wheels perform more strongly on TT frames than road frames, which means that, if this list was purely for TT racers, we would move these wheels up in the list. But as the vast majority of races on Zwift are road races, these wheels move down the list due to their poor performance on climbs and muted performance on road frames.
Why they’re winners: second-most aero wheels in Zwift (and extra fast in a time trial).
#8: Zipp 858
600,000 Drops, must be Level 31+
Zipp’s 858 wheelset essentially trades seconds with the top-ranked 454s, gaining ~6 seconds of aero performance while losing the same ~6 seconds on the climbs. Why rank them so low if they’re just trading seconds? Because those lost climbing seconds are precious!
Why they’re winners: strong aero all-arounders.
#9: DTSwiss ARC 1100 DICUT 62
500,000 Drops, must be Level 40+
A strong set of all-arounder hoops, the DICUT 62’s from DTSwiss come in just behind the Zipp 858’s in both aero and climb performance, while beating the Zipp 808’s in both metrics by a handful of seconds. So they slot nicely here into the #7 position.
Why they’re winners: strong aero all-arounders.
#10: Zipp 808
425,000 Drops, must be Level 25+
Possibly the most-raced wheelset on Zwift, the Zipp 808’s were the go-to wheels for in the Zwift peloton for years! They still turn in a solid performance, but are definitely a step behind the newer hoops featured above.
Why they’re winners: strong aero performance.
Dig Deeper
Want to dig deeper into the precise speeds of various frames and wheels? Check out our ranking charts and public test data. You may also like our Concept Z1 (Tron) Bike vs Top Performers chart which compares precise times of top frames and wheelsets with the Tron bike.
Share Your Thoughts
We hope all you riders/racers found this post useful. Think there’s a wheelset we should have included in the top 10 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.
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