Cyclist
Best aero bikes 2023: Ride faster for less effort
The best aero bikes offer free speed, however quickly you’re riding. A systematic approach to aerodynamics could be the biggest step-change in bicycle design since the invention of the safety bicycle. Letting you go faster for the same effort by cutting down on drag, today the aero story hardly needs telling – the bikes and the plethora of data-driven claims speak for themselves.
Direct comparisons between rival bikes aren’t easy, as everything from the testing standards to testing apparatus differs from manufacturer to manufacturer – a fact cynics will say is bent to individual manufacturers’ will, allowing each to claim ‘our bike is the fastest’.
But no matter, it’s still undoubtable that aero bikes, as a whole, are quicker than their round tube counterparts.
The best aero bikes of 2023
- 3T Strada: RRP £5,557 – Buy Now from 3T for £5,557
- BMC Timemachine 01 Road One Dura Ace Di2: RRP £12,300 – Buy Now from Tredz for £9.972
- Cannondale SystemSix: RRP £3,999 – Buy Now from Tredz from £3,999
- Canyon Aeroad: RRP £3.849 – Buy now from Canyon for £3,849
- Cervelo S5: RRP £9,600 – Buy Now from Bill Nickson Cycles for £9.600
- Cube Litening C:68X SL: RRP £8,099 – Buy Now from Tredz for £6,899
- Factor Ostro VAM: RRP $8,599 – Buy Now from Factor for $8,599
- Felt AR Advanced: RRP £4,599 – Buy Now from Merlin Cycles for £2,900
- Giant Propel Advanced SL: RRP £8,999 – Buy Now from Tredz for £7,499
- Lapierre Aircode DRS: RRP £4,000 – Buy Now from Winstanleys Bikes for £3,199
- Merida Reacto: RRP £2,400 – Buy Now from Tredz for £2,699
- Pinarello Dogma F: RRP £12,400 – Buy Now from Wheelbase for £12,400
- Scott Foil RC: RRP £9.499 – Buy Now from Tredz for £8,999
- Specialized Tarmac SL8: RRP £6,000 – Buy Now From Tredz for £5,699
- Trek Madone SLR: RRP £13,625 – Buy now from Trek for £13,625
- Vitus ZX-1 EVO: RRP £6,000 – Buy Now from Chain Reaction for £4,200 (Frameset only from Wiggle for £899)
What is an aero bike?
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Aero bikes are road bikes designed to give you an extra turn of speed through aerodynamic features that streamline the bike’s frame. That starts with aero tube profiles.
The first aero bikes, such as the Cervélo Soloist, had teardrop-shaped tubing, but now kamm-tail truncated aerofoil shapes – where the tail of the aerofoil is sliced off – are the norm. They’re lighter and more rigid, while still giving the aero benefits of a much longer tube with an aero tail.
The modern trend is to mix lightweight and aero. There are a couple of bikes here which fit into that mould, including the Specialized Tarmac SL7 and the Factor Ostro VAM, but you’ll find even more like the Bianchi Specialissima in our main guide to the best road bikes.
How we test and why you should take our word for it
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At Cyclist, we’re constantly out testing and evaluating a huge range of bikes from the budget to the most expensive, putting in the miles on roads we know well to pick apart what works and what doesn’t.
Our team of expert reviewers led by tech editor Sam Challis has a wealth of experience riding bikes of all types. We’re riders like you who care about the whole experience of owning a bike, not just the numbers.
Here’s our pick of the freshest, fastest and most stylish aero bikes on the market. We’ve ridden all the bikes below and most have also featured in Cyclist magazine.
Best aero bikes ridden and rated
3T Strada
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£5,557 | View offer
- Pros: Wider 30mm tyre clearance, 1× and 2× options
- Cons: A little heavy at 8.1kg, Feels a bit less agile than competitors
- Fast and aero, Deep tube and fork sections
3T has updated the Strada, six years after the original was launched. It will now handle 30mm tyres and has deeper tube and fork blade profiles, taking advantage of the latest changes in the UCI’s design rules. Its front end has also gone integrated, in line with current bike design.
It’s a comfortable aero bike that feels fast, although the relatively high weight of its predecessor has persisted, which along with the wider tyres doesn’t give quite the sense of sprightliness of some competitors. The original Strada’s 1×-only design was controversial, but 3T has hedged its bets with the new model, offering separate models with and without a front derailleur hanger.
- Read our 3T Strada review
- Buy now from 3T Bikes (from £5,557)
BMC Timemachine 01 Road One
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£12,300 | View offer
- Pros: Highly integrated, Edgy looks
- Cons: A little heavy for its price, Some flex in the cockpit, Very rigid ride
- Down tube aero module saves between 3 and 18 watts
When a bike straddles time-trial and road categories it’s fair to say it’s fast, and when a reconfigured version of the Timemachine gave Rohan Dennis a rapid – yet brief – Hour Record title, that only bolstered the credentials of BMC’s aero-road machine.
The front end assembly integrates like a Transformer, while the rear end sets the stays as low down the seat tube as UCI rules allow, a design almost ubiquitous across the aero board. The removable aero module which sits between the down tube and seat tube holds two bottles and augments the aero performance.
We found the frame almost too stiff for longer rides, but conversely the highly integrated front end had some flex under load.
- Read our BMC Timemachine review
Cannondale SystemSix
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£3,999 | View offer
- Pros: Looks fast, Climbs fast
- Cons: A little dated now, Less aero than the SuperSix Evo
- Faster than a climbing bike on gradients up to 6 percent
For a long period, Cannondale neglected the aero-specific market due to the simple fact its SuperSix Evo race bike was so good. However, in 2018, the US brand made enough advancements in the world of speed and released the SystemSix.
It was a bike with bold claims. At 48kmh it will save you a claimed 50W over a non-aero equivalent, while its combination of aerodynamics and weight make it faster than any climbing bikes on gradients up to 6%.
Its aggressive looks are backed up with serious speed on the flat and even uphill, despite the Ultegra spec’s 8.5kg weight, although arguably, as with the Specialized Venge, the SystemSix has been eclipsed by the latest generation SuperSix Evo.
- Read our Cannondale SystemSix review
Canyon Aeroad CFR
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£3,849 | View offer
- Pros: Variable width bars, 7.3kg weight in CFR guise
- Cons: 62mm depth wheels a bit deep for all-round use
- Now lighter and more aero, with bars which disassemble for easier transport
The German online powerhouse has been successfully turning bicycles into Grand Tour and Monument successes for more than a decade, and the latest Aeroad CFR shows no signs of that abating.
Handling is racy, offering assured tracking through tight corners, and thanks to the now de rigeur T-shaped bar-stem combo, revised truncated tube profiles and wheel-hugging down tube, it’s one of the fastest bikes on the market. It’s also practical, with the ends of the bars removable for travel.
There’s a new, unreleased model out in the wild under Mathieu van der Poel. This looks to have had minor changes such as the positioning of its seatpost clamp, but otherwise appears very similar to the current Aeroad.
- Read our Canyon Aeroad CFR review
- Buy now from Canyon Bikes (from £3,849)
Cervélo S5
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£9,600 | View offer
- Pros: Huge tyre clearance for and aero bike, Easier maintenance than its predecessor
- Cons: Another slightly heavy bike for its price
- Tweaked tube shapes up the aero quotient
Cervélo is no stranger to speed, and the Cervélo S5 continues the brand’s aero lineage, with the latest model seeing action with the all-conquering Jumbo-Visma squad at the 2022 Tour de France and replacing the Cervélo S5 which we’ve previously reviewed.
It’s long been lauded as one the fastest bikes out there, a fact not hurt by appearing beneath Wout, Jonas, and co.
The new S5 has enhanced tube profiles, a very narrow head tube and the split stem design carried over from the old bike. But there’s now room for 34mm tyres and Cervélo has made it easier to adjust the bar-stem. It’s marginally more aero than its predecessor too.
- Read our Cervelo S5 review
- Buy now from Bill Nickson Cycles (£9,600)
Cube Litening C:68X Pro
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£6,899 | View offer
- Pros: Good compliance, Quality frame shared across the range
- Cons: Would benefit from a wheel upgrade, Slightly chattery ride might be improved by a switch to 28mm tyres
- Decent weight with full-on aero looks
The Litening C:68X Aero, which we’ve tested, sits alongside the newer, lighter Litening C:68X Air. Cube claims that the latter can weigh as little as 6.6kg, whereas the Aero which we tested comes in at 7.9kg for a size 58. It’s the product of 100 hours of wind tunnel testing and rides as fast and stiff as it looks.
The high quality frame uses spread-tow carbon fibre to keep the weight down. We were impressed by the compliance on offer that made for a more comfortable ride on the 25mm tyres than expected from the aggressive looks. There’s room to up that to 28mm too. We haven’t tested the latest Aero model, although it retains many of the features of the Pro.
- Read our Cube Litening C:68X Pro review
Factor Ostro VAM
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£8,700 | View offer
- Pros: Superb handling up and down hills, Low weight
- Cons: Non-UK pricing
- A top mix of low weight with aero
The Ostro VAM is part of the aero/lightweight bike crew, making it one of the best all-rounder race bikes out there, with our review bike weighing just 7.2kg.
It shares its geometry with the Factor O2 VAM climber’s bike and mixes frame stiffness with a comfortable ride – something that’s difficult to achieve.
That’s with 25mm tyres, but there’s room to head out to 32mm. Its light weight makes for fast climbing and handling on descents is superb too.
- Read our Factor Ostro VAM review
- Buy now from Vires Velo (from £8,700)
Felt AR Advanced
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£4,599 | View offer
- Pros: Very aero but copes well in a crosswind
- Cons: On the heavy side at 8.5kg
- A fast aero bike with good ride comfort
With five years of R&D behind it, the Felt AR Advanced has the wind-tunnel numbers to prove its slipperiness and that’s borne out in its speed out of the blocks. The tall and narrow frame cuts through the air effectively.
It’s surprisingly comfortable thanks to design features like rubber damping around the seatpost. But the Felt is on the heavy side at 8.5kg, which we felt in our testing.
- Read our Felt AR Advanced review
- Buy the Felt AR Advanced from Merlin Cycles (from £2,900)
Giant Propel Advanced SL
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£8,999 | View offer
- Pros: Skinny rear end for comfort matched with a stiff head tube, Sub-7kg weight for the top spec bike
- Cons: Premium pricing for the top spec bike, Seatmast rather than a seatpost
- Easy adjustability to bars and adequate saddle height range
The latest Giant Propel is less aggressively aero, with the tubes around the rear triangle thinned out for a more compliant ride, while front end stiffness is retained. Giant says that the frame is some 225g lighter too and our test bike with top drawer Cadex wheels weighed just 6.9kg.
The new internal cabling system is easier to live with and although Giant has kept the seatmast, there’s 45mm of height adjustment. It’s a bike that feels exceptionally quick over all terrain.
- Read our Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 review
Lapierre Aircode DRS
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£4,000 | View offer
- Pros: Stiff front end offset by more compliant rear, Quality DT wheelset
- Cons: Aggressive position and stiff front lower ride comfort
- A quality spec for the price and a design that doesn’t come from the aero cookie cutter
The Aircode DRS looks a bit less chunky than many aero bikes and it lacks the usual features like dropped seatstays. The ride position is aggressive, which places you in a more aero position, helping to save watts more effectively than the most sophisticated aero gizmos and leading to good weight distribution on fast descents.
That does mean that you have more weight on your shoulders though. The front of the bike is stiff too, transmitting some chatter and making for a less comfortable ride than some alternatives. The rear of the bike is more compliant though. Lapierre specs high quality DT Swiss wheels, so there’s little need for an upgrade.
- Read our Lapierre Aircode DRS review
- Buy the Lapierre Aircode DRS from Winstanleys Bikes (£3,200)
Merida Reacto
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£2,699 | View offer
- Pros: WorldTour spec at a more affordable price, Elastomer insert in seatpost adds extra compliance
- Cons: Susceptible to crosswinds, Fiddly seatpost clamp
- Fast and reactive with WorldTour credentials
Between them, Merida and Giant produce 80% of the world’s bike frames, so Merida should know a thing or two about what makes a good bike, or in this case, a fast one.
The latest model Reacto ups the aero and drops the weight while adding features such as an elastomer insert in the seatpost to add compliance, with a built-in rear light.
Alongside the pro-level Team E, we’ve also reviewed the much more affordable Merida Reacto 4000, which still offers a brilliant ride, just with a more everyman spec.
- Read our Merida Reacto Team E review
- Read our Merida Reacto 4000 review
Pinarello Dogma F
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£12,400 | View offer
- Pros: Disc brake bike weight down to 7.0kg, Still offers a rim brake option
- Cons: Very expensive, Divisive looks
- A WorldTour bike with the speed and handling to match
With Chris Froome on board, the Pinarello Dogma F8 gained a brace of Tour de France victories. Geraint Thomas nabbed one aboard the F10. While the F12 got its first Tour win beneath Egan Bernal.
Since then Pinarello has decided to stop upping the numbers. The latest Pinarello Dogma is now just known as the Dogma F. The definitive article, as revealed to Fausto by the god of cycling, it’s still available with traditional rim brakes.
However, even Ineos has now switched to the slicker-looking disc version, as the F’s weight is closer to the UCI weight limit than its predecessors.
- Read our Pinarello Dogma F review
Scott Foil RC Pro
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£8,999 | View offer
- Pros: Improved aerodynamics, Lower weight and increased comfort over the previous Foil
- Cons: Squeaky split seatpost
- A fast, stable high speed ride
Scott went back to the wind-tunnel with the new Foil RC and found a saving of 16 watts on the previous model. It’s also made the frame in fewer parts, saving weight. The Pro spec that we tested is a little heavier than the Ultimate, being made of less fancy carbon fibre, but it’s also over £5,000 cheaper.
The new bike takes design cues from the Scott Plasma time-trial bike, with the rear wheel aggressively cut into the back of the seat tube, and frame profiles that take advantage of the UCI’s latest rule updates, but despite this, its geometry is comparable to the Addict RC aero/lightweight bike and the length of the wheelbase adds stability when riding fast.
Scott has tempered the stiff, beefy frame with an integrated bar-stem that flexes under light load, but stiffens up when you put the hammer down. At the rear, the seatpost is also designed to flex and has a large cut-out to keep things softer. The Foil RC Pro runs on a 25mm front tyre and a 28mm rear one, but there’s clearance for 30mm rubber if you want more road-smoothing.
- Read our full Scott Foil RC review
Specialized Tarmac SL8
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£5,699 | View offer
- Pros: More comfortable and more aero than the SL7 and lighter too
- Cons: Still an expensive proposition despite a lower price than the SL7
- New design tweaks makes for an even more aero, more comfortable ride
An update in 2023 has seen the Tarmac SL7 replaced by the SL8. The changes are subtle but significant, with the SL8 boasting a lighter 6.6kg weight for the top spec size 56 bike that we tested. This puts a complete race-ready bike exactly on the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit.
The Tarmac SL8 is also more aero than its predecessor, largely thanks to the one-piece cockpit on higher spec models, but with the new bulbous nose helping too. At the same time, the rear of the bike is thinner, lighter and more comfortable, taking lessons from the Aethos lightweight bike.
It all adds up to an impressive package that’s fun to ride and easy to live with, due to the paucity of proprietary component standards.
- Read our full Specialized Tarmac SL8 review
Trek Madone SLR
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£13,625 | View offer
- Pros: Feels very fast and light, Innovative design
- Cons: A very expensive proposition, No IsoSpeed
- Novel seatpost and one-piece bar-stem offer claimed 20-watt aero gains over previous model
The seventh generation Trek Madone SLR has had a radical update that has dispensed with IsoSpeed, as found on the previous generation Madone SLR 9, in favour of IsoFlow, which has a huge hole in the seat tube, with the saddle cantilevered over the rear of the bike. The new design and new OCLV 800 carbon fibre shave around 300g off the bike’s weight.
It’s a design that Trek says saves around 10 watts on the previous model. There’s a similar saving from the new cockpit with its flared bars, although we found the narrow tops took some getting used to, particularly when climbing out of the saddle. Top specs of the bike are very expensive too.
- Read our Gen 7 Trek Madone SLR review
- Buy it now from Trek (£13,615)
Vitus ZX-1 EVO
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£4,200 | View offer (frameset only £899)
- Pros: Modest price for a high spec aero bike
- Cons: Stiff front end transmits some vibration to the bars
- A fast, planted aero bike that’s well priced
Vitus has upped the aero credentials of its ZX-1, so that they’re the match of much more expensive bikes, with an integrated cockpit, waisted head tube and deep section wheels. That chunkiness does lead to quite a lot of road noise heading through to the bars though.
The geometry, with its long front centre and short chainstays leads to a slightly quirky low speed ride, but loads of stability at speed. At 8.1kg, it’s not the lightest aero bike, but it’s considerably cheaper than most too.
- Read our Vitus ZX-1 EVO review
More lightweight than aero? You can have both with many of the bikes in our pick of the best road bikes
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