Before you spend another million Drops, have a look at the bike already in your garage. This week’s equipment advice is reassuringly simple: a good, fully upgraded setup is still worth keeping.
Our road, gravel and flat time-trial picks carry over from the 19 October report. However, a fresh game update is worth mentioning, including a change that matters if you’re working through bike upgrades.
What’s changed this week?
Zwift began rolling out version 1.124 on 20 October. Its published notes contain no frame or wheel performance changes that would overturn these picks. That supports keeping the recommendations for now; it isn’t a fresh speed test of every bike on the new version.
The relevant garage news is that bike-upgrade progress no longer accumulates during an active Coffee Stop. The update also introduces Watt Lock and makes the pink/orange Pinarello Dogma F 2024 colorway available to owners. The colorway isn’t a stated speed upgrade. Read Zwift’s official 1.124 notes.
The Kona equipment additions and Canyon and Shimano weight reductions belong to the earlier 1.123 release. They’re still relevant, but they aren’t new this week.
Road: a strong flat-course pick, with a catch
Cervélo S5 + Reserve Infinity Disc-set leads the conventional frame-and-wheel combinations in Zwift Insider’s published flat rankings. But those figures use un-upgraded frames, and the integrated Tron is listed as slightly faster than that combination. Calling the S5 the fastest bike in every situation would miss an important detail.
Do you already own CADEX 4-Spoke/Disc wheels? On a road frame, the published flat-test difference to Reserve is just 0.2 seconds per test hour. I recommend keeping them unless you have a specific reason to chase that tiny margin.
The Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 650 leads the non-disc options in that aero table. A climbing-heavy race needs a separate comparison: the flat ranking doesn’t establish the best climbing setup. See the road rankings and upgrade caveats.
Gravel: keep the whole route in mind
Cannondale SuperX LAB71 + Roval Terra Aero CLX remains our overall gravel pick. The Cannondale combines leading climbing performance with second-best flat speed in the published comparison.
The Roval wheels match the Zipp 303 XPLR SW on the flats and climb around four seconds faster per test hour. Still, a flat gravel course can favor an aero specialist, while a route mixing flat and dirt needs a whole-route assessment.
Before replacing your gravel frame, check its upgrade stage. Published tests show that upgrades can deliver bigger improvements than changing equipment. Read Zwift Insider’s gravel comparison.
Time trials: the Hanzō leads on flats
Factor Hanzō + Reserve Infinity Disc-set is the flat-TT pick. The published frame testing puts the Hanzō roughly three seconds per flat test hour ahead of the Canyon Speedmax CFR. The Canyon climbs substantially better, so your route still gets the deciding vote.
A new Hanzō is also a commitment: reaching stage 5 requires 40 hours of riding and 1.9 million upgrade Drops after you buy the frame. Compare equivalent upgrade stages before assuming a new purchase will beat your fully upgraded bike. See the TT frame tests and upgrade requirements.
Already riding a stage-5 Canyon and CADEX wheels?
My recommendation: keep them. A Hanzō can be a future project for dedicated flat time trials. You don’t need to replace a competitive setup just because something new has arrived.
The wheel tests describe CADEX’s combination of strong aero performance and low weight as particularly appealing. Shimano DURA-ACE C99/Disc leads the climbing-disc comparison, but CADEX is only 1.3 seconds behind per climbing test hour and is faster on the flats. That makes a wholesale wheel change difficult to justify without a particular course in mind. Read the disc-wheel testing.
🚴♀️ Know someone just starting out on Zwift?
Long before Drops and stage-5 frames, there’s the setup itself. The Indoor Cycling Starter Pack is a printable PDF guide to getting a home trainer set up properly from day one.
Your garage check before the next race
- Check the course and event rules. Consider the surface, decisive climbs and permitted equipment.
- Compare upgrade stages. Include the time and Drops needed to finish a new frame.
- Give each purchase a purpose. Decide which race problem it will solve before spending.
About the numbers: These are published controlled tests, not tests performed by The Endurance Diaries. The road and TT comparisons use a solo 75 kg, 183 cm rider at 300 W. A test-hour difference isn’t a prediction for your FTP, a drafting pack or a team time trial. No universal gradient cutoff is claimed here.
This week, give your next race more attention than the Drop Shop.
Choose a setup that suits the course, finish the upgrades you’ve started, and save the shopping for a gain you can actually use. 🩷
🩷The Endurance Diaries🩷
