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The spec is good, but there are compromises.
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This could be tiring on your arms and hands on long rides, but we had no issues during testing. It puts you in an aggressive position, which makes sense for a bike that is built for speed. The unisex Merida Reacto 6000 is a great-value aero road bike with excellent handling, and a stiff and fast frameset that shares its geometry with the Merida Reacto Team-E. Excellent frameset but wheels are heavy and tyres are average.There aren’t many aero bikes that can compete with the Reacto in terms of value. The best aero road bikes in 2023, as tested by BikeRadar Cannondale SystemSix Hi-Mod eTap AXS
Aer racing full#
Read on for our pick of the best aero bikes, as tested by the BikeRadar team, and read our full buyer’s guide at the end of the article to help you find the right bike for you. We’ve answered all of those questions in pursuit of finding the best aero bikes money can buy. Do you need an engineering degree to maintain it? Do the deep-section wheels make it a handful on windy days? How does it perform on broken roads?
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Still, there is a lot to consider when it comes to finding the best aero road bike for your needs, especially for everyday riding.įor those of us who aren’t blessed to be WorldTour pros with a team of mechanics at hand, an aero bike still needs to be easy to live with. After all, for a lot of people, riding fast is fun.
Aer racing pro#
However, aero road bikes are the fastest option out there in the majority of circumstances and you don’t have to be a pro to benefit, especially if you’re a rider who places a lot of significance on riding fast. The Specialized S-Works SL7 and Pinarello Dogma F are just two examples of aero-influenced all-rounders. That said, one of the recent trends in bike design has been the combination of low weight and aerodynamics, and some brands offer just one machine to meet both requirements. This is particularly true for breakaway specialists, who spend a lot more time in the wind than other riders and seek out whatever advantage they can get. Some riders now stick to their aero bikes regardless of terrain, riding them on more undulating and mountainous territory. Teams and their bike sponsors will typically provide riders with the choice between an aero bike and a lightweight climbing bike, and some riders will swap between them depending on the terrain. The angular, sculpted frames of aero bikes particularly come to the fore on long, flat stages and under the sprinters, where the lower drag of wind-cheating tube profiles can give them the extra turn of speed they need to clinch a victory.
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Aero bikes are commonplace in the pro peloton, where riders are chasing marginal gains and, of course, have access to the latest WorldTour bikes from their team sponsors.
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