Our wheel and frame performance charts are useful tools, but they don’t answer one crucial question for many Zwift racers: how does X frame and Y wheelset compare with the Zwift Concept Z1 (Tron) bike?
After lots of testing, we’ve created a scatter plot chart pitting the Tron bike against top-performing wheels and frames. Here’s how the best frames and wheels in Zwift compare to the Tron bike on flats and climbs:
- Flat test: 2 laps of Tempus Fugit, Zwift’s flattest route
- Climb test: Alpe du Zwift
Frames used, in order of aero performance:
- Zwift Concept Z1 (Tron)
- Specialized Venge S-Works: best of the aero frames (1,200,000 Drops, level 37) along with the Felt AR, Uranium Nuclear, and Cervelo S5 2020
- Scott Addict RC: top all-arounder (660,200 Drops, level 17)
- Pinarello Dogma F 2024: top all-arounder (1,400,400 Drops, level 40)
- Canyon Aeroad 2024: top all-arounder (1,100,000 Drops, level 10)
- Specialized Aethos S-Works: featherweight climber (966,300 Drops, level 30)
Wheelsets used, in order of aero performance:
- DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DISC: most aero wheels (655,600 Drops, level 39)
- Zipp 858: most aero non-disc wheels (300,000 Drops, level 31)
- ENVE 7.8: aero all-arounders (278,900 Drops, level 36)
- DT Swiss ARC 1100 DiCut 62: climbing all-arounders (400,000 Drops, level 40)
- Zipp 353 NSW: strong all-arounders (168,800, level 24)
- ENVE 3.4: strong all-arounders (200,000 Drops, level 27)
- Roval Alpinist CLX (634,300 Drops, level 38) or Lightweight Meilensteins (unlocked via Alpe du Zwift spinner): both top climbers deliver the same performance
Tron vs Top Performers
Colored based on frame. Mouse over each point for details.
Zwift Concept Z1, Specialized Venge S-Works, Pinarello Dogma F 2024, Canyon Aeroad 2024, Scott Addict RC, Specialized Aethos
Chart updated August 20, 2024
Observations
Not surprisingly, the most aero setup (Specialized Venge S-Works + DT Swiss disc) is also the slowest climber, and the best climber (Aethos + Roval Alpinist/Lightweights) is slowest on flat ground.
If you follow the line of enlarged points that travels from the top-left to the bottom-right, these are the top performers. You can see that the Tron bike is a strong all-arounder, but the Canyon Aeroad 2024, Scott Addict RC, and Specialized Aethos all turn in strong performances too. It’s just a question of how much climbing advantage you’re willing to trade for a given aero advantage.
The ENVE 7.8 wheels make a surprisingly good showing as “aero all-arounders”. The DT Swiss ARC 62s also display solid all-around performance, but skewed a bit more to the climbing side of things.
Notice the almost perfect trendline traveling from the lower-right to the upper-left, meaning there are no massive outliers in terms of performance, but rather a consistent tradeoff between climbing and flat test results. The biggest outlier in that curve is the Canyon Aeroad 2024 + DT Swiss disc, which is just 1 second slower than the most aero setup while trimming 7.5s off that aero setup’s climb time. A smart choice for any race that has even a bit of climbing involved!
Your Thoughts
What conclusions do you draw from this chart? Share your thoughts below!
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