If you’ve ever wondered 'what’s the fastest bike in Zwift?', it’s now easier to find out the answer.
Thanks to a web app called ZwifterBikes, you can quickly determine the most efficient virtual bike setup for any rider and course on Zwift.
And – spoiler alert – the fastest bike in the game isn’t the famous ‘Tron bike’.
Finding the fastest bikes in Zwift
If you’re a keen Zwift racer, or just want to give yourself the best chance of beating your riding buddies in a friendly MeetUp, then using one of the fastest bikes in Zwift is a no-brainer.
But with only vague star ratings assigned to the ‘aero’ and ‘weight’ characteristics of each bike and wheelset in the game, knowing what’s best for any ride is almost a stab in the dark.
With ZwiftBikes, though, you can input various parameters – such as the route and how many laps you’ll be doing of it, which kinds of bikes to include (or exclude) and details of your rider and power profile – and the app will spit out an ordered list of the fastest possible setups.
It does this by using data gathered by ZwiftInsider, which uses a 183cm / 75kg bot riding solo at 300 watts – either on the flat Tempus Fugit route in Watopia or up Alpe du Zwift.
The flat route reveals which frame and wheels are the most aerodynamic (as a more aerodynamic bit of kit will enable the bot to complete the route faster).
The Alpe du Zwift test shows which is the lightest (because, again, a lighter bit of kit will enable the bot to complete the climb faster).
How much difference do virtual bikes make in Zwift?
Quite a bit, actually.
According to the data, riding two laps of the 17.3km Tempus Fugit route is 00:01:27.54 faster on the best possible setup compared to the kit you start with at level 0:
- Entry-level setup: Zwift Steel frame and Zwift Classic wheels – 54:35.39
- Fastest setup: Uranium Nuclear frame plus the DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut Disc wheelset – 53:07.85
On the 17.3km Road to Sky route, which goes straight up Alpe du Zwift, it’s a similar story. The best setup is 00:01:38.07 faster than what you start with:
- Entry-level setup: Zwift Steel frame and Zwift Classic wheels – 1:00:26.49
- Fastest setup: Specialized S-Works Aethos frame plus Roval Alpinist CLX wheelset – 58:48.41
Clearly, then, Zwift’s virtual upgrades aren’t simply cosmetic.
Given this, you’ll want to ensure you’re spending your ‘Drops’, Zwift’s in-game currency, wisely as you level up – unless you simply want to match your in-game bike to your real-world one for the vibes, of course.
What is the Zwift meta?
Given the many variables at play, there's no single Zwift setup that’s simply ‘the best’ for every rider and course in the game.
Just like in the real world, the best setup for any scenario will necessarily take into account the course profile and how the course will be ridden.
A bunch race is different from a solo or team time trial, after all. Time trial bikes also only have drafting enabled in certain events on Zwift, and so are useless for any bunch race.
Nevertheless, some clear trends emerge from the data, enabling us to determine the current ‘meta’ (gamer-speak for ‘most effective tactics available’).
As always, it’s important to remember this is all subject to change as Zwift updates the game with new bikes, or adjusts the performance of older models.
The fastest bikes in Zwift on the flat
As things stand, these are the top five fastest frames on Zwift in terms of flat land speed:
- Felt AR
- Specialized S-Works Venge
- Cervélo S5 2020
- Uranium Nuclear
- Canyon Aeroad 2024
According to ZwiftInsider’s data, the top four frames turn in an identical time of 00:51:28 over two laps of the Tempus Fugit route, when paired with the basic Zwift 32mm Carbon wheelset. The 2024 Canyon Aeroad is a second slower.
The fastest wheelsets for flat riding are, perhaps unsurprisingly, all aero-optimised options – with the rear disc wheelsets being particular stand-outs.
In this case, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut Disc wheelset is the best by a decent margin, with a seven-second advantage over the next best option (Zipp’s 858/Super9 wheelset). The best non-rear disc wheelset (the Zipp 858) is a full 13 seconds slower.
These times were determined using the Zwift Aero frame.
The fastest bikes in Zwift for climbs
Unsurprisingly, most of the aero frames and wheelsets don’t fare so well when the road points uphill.
If you want to get to the top of Alpe Du Zwift – or any other long and steep climb in the game – as fast as possible, then the optimal setup is the Aethos frame and Roval wheelset combo mentioned earlier.
The Lightweight Meilenstein wheelset ties with the Alpinist CLX wheels for first place in this ranking, but you’ll need a bit of luck to get hold of these, because they can only be unlocked via the roulette wheel at the top of Alpe du Zwift.
The fastest all-rounder bike in Zwift
Considering that not every race or group ride will take place on a completely flat or uphill route, the different weight and aero characteristics of every frame and wheelset shift the meta accordingly.
As such, the best thing to do is to change your setup depending on the course.
As things stand, the 2024 Canyon Aeroad paired with the DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut Disc is the best all-rounder choice. It's a hair slower than the fastest frames on the flat, while also performing well on climbs.
This makes it a great choice for the flat to rolling courses most races take place on.
It also helps that the Aeroad is available fairly early in your Zwift journey, at level 10 (for the princely sum of 1,100,000 Drops).
For a truly optimal setup, you’ll need to head to your virtual garage and adjust your bike every time the course changes.
Of course, this means riding more so you can level up and accumulate plenty of Drops to spend on new things in the Drop Shop (check out our Zwift tips for beginners guide to learn how to double the rate at which you earn Drops).
But that’s all part of the fun, right?
How good is the Tron bike in Zwift?
Despite its sci-fi looks and the fact you need to accumulate a whopping 50,000 metres of elevation gain to unlock it, the Zwift Concept Z1 bike (AKA ‘the Tron bike’) isn’t the fastest bike in Zwift.
It’s an excellent all-rounder, but there are faster options for very flat courses – as long as you have a rear disc wheelset unlocked – or those with big climbs.
According to ZwiftInsider’s data, it’s around 10secs slower over two laps of Tempus Fugit compared to one of the top four frames paired with the DT Swiss rear disc wheelset, for example, and 52secs slower up Alpe Du Zwift than the Aethos and Alpinist wheels (again, for a 183cm / 75kg bot riding at 300W).
If you don’t have a rear disc wheelset unlocked (and you need to be at least level 35 to unlock one), though, the Tron bike could be the best option for flat or rolling routes.
