00:00The Colnago Y1 RS. Latest Cervelo S5 and Ridley Noah Fast 3 all joined the ranks of the Pro
00:07Peloton in 2025, with aero bikes being used in pro cycling more than ever. But if you've got
00:13your eye on a new aero bike in 2026, what is the best one out there? Well, I've been lucky enough
00:20to ride lots of the latest offerings and these are my top picks for 2026 and a few which I would
00:26personally avoid. If you want ultimate speed then look no further than the recently updated Cervelo
00:34S5. I was recently invited along to the Cycling News aero bike mega test and this was one of the
00:41fastest of the day both without a rider on it and more importantly with a rider on it too.
00:46This latest version only sees some minor tweaks over the previous generation so I'd keep my eye out for
00:52some bargains of that one too, but Cervelo has almost perfected its aero bike. Sure, it's not
00:58as quite as light as some, for example this build weighs in at 7.55 kilos, but it comes with some
01:05lovely kit on it, for example the reserve wheels are excellent and it handles like a dream. In fact,
01:11I got many Descent PRs and even a KOM on my first few rides on this bike, so I think that's pretty good
01:17proof that it's easy to feel confident on it. I was initially worried that this chunky front end
01:23would mean it was a bit of a bone shaker, especially on less than perfect roads, but it takes this kind
01:29of abuse with far more grace than a lot of other aero bikes out there. The Van Riesel RCRF for example
01:34has a much firmer front end. There are a few negatives with this bike though. A it will be expensive to
01:40get the fit you want as different bar widths are going to cost you extra and I'd personally go for a
01:45two by groupset as the one by test bike had just two bigger gaps in between the gears. If you want
01:52to see more on that then there's a video up there. Now if you want an aero bike that no one on your
01:59local group ride is likely to have but don't want to compromise on performance then my pick for 2026
02:05would be the Ridley Noah Fast 3. Now I must admit I wasn't too enamoured by the looks of this bike
02:11when it was released and I also thought that the low stack height and super steep seat tube angle
02:17would make it too aggressive for non-pro riders. Well having ridden it I am happy to admit that I was
02:24wrong. Kind of. For me this bike was the best surprise of 2025. It rides exceptionally well.
02:32It's tested fast which is little surprise as Ridley has invested a lot of time and money into its own
02:37wind tunnel in Belgium and it rides like an absolute tank. This is one of the most stable
02:43aero bikes that I've ridden and actually I rode this back to back against the Colnago Y1RS and the
02:49difference was star. The Y1RS which you'll notice isn't in this list felt just a little bit disjointed
02:56and floppy at the front end. Whereas you can absolutely nail this Ridley down anything. If you want
03:03an aero bike that is fast on bumpy roads as well as in the wind tunnel then look no further.
03:10Before we take a look at my picks for the best value aero bike for 2026 and the best overall aero
03:15bike please make sure you're subscribed to the channel to support what we do and so that you don't
03:20miss any of our upcoming aero bike reviews. Some riders used aero bikes for every stage of last
03:28year's Tour de France with many now tickling the UCI weight limit. The bad news is that very often
03:34to get both aero and low weight you need to remortgage your house but you can get almost
03:40as much performance for a lot less. It might not be as flashy but the sensible money is probably on
03:46this. I've scoured brands ranges in both pounds and dollars and if I thought with my head and not my
03:53heart my money would be going on a Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1. Carbon wheels? Tick. Electronic
03:59groupset? Tick. Integrated routing? Tick. It has everything an aero bike should and yet it is less
04:06than half the price of the ones being used in the world tour. There's not much else to say about it.
04:11I'm sure you can all argue with all my other decisions for all the other categories but you just
04:16can't argue with Giant. They really do know what they're doing when it comes to making bikes
04:21and they might not quite get your heart racing like an Italian Thoroughbred but it just works.
04:35Sometimes aero bikes can come at a premium compared to climbing bikes.
04:39I guess you're getting a bit more carbon fibre and I imagine R&D time for your money.
04:45But if you search around then there are some options which buck this trend.
04:50Just as a reminder we review all of the bikes at RRP so don't forget to see if you can pick up one in
04:56the sales and we'll pop some links down below. At RRP if you're looking for wind cutting ability without
05:02the astronomical price tag then I don't think you can beat this. This is the Boardman SLR 9.0. It's
05:10got 12 speed mechanical Shimano 105, Goodyear tyres and a full carbon frame and fork that's been designed using
05:15CFD but the key bit it's spent time in a wind tunnel to validate that. It's also under 1800 quid or 2400
05:26and it's proof that you can get an excellent aero bike for less than some world tour wheel sets.
05:33Now very almost taking the top spot for best overall aero bike is the Canyon Aeroad CFR. I've thought long and
05:39hard about this. This is of course the bike of Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel and I believe
05:45when it released Canyon claimed that this was the fastest bike in the peloton. Now with most of our
05:51test bikes I'm usually quite excited to get back on my own bike by the end of the review period.
05:57With this one though I actually got in touch with Canyon to see if I could hold on to it for a bit
06:01longer. I liked it that much. Now Canyon has been slowly refining their aeroad aero bike over the
06:08last four generations and although not a lot has changed aesthetically it's bang on the money when
06:13it comes to weight, speed, ride feel and maintaining the thing. And for me this is the right amount of
06:20aero without compromising so much comfort and weight that you don't want to use it on a lumpy group ride.
06:29Now with Canyon's new custom program there are more options than before to make your bike look a little
06:34bit different to everyone else's because I know that was a criticism of Canyon before and well I'd
06:40happily have one of these back again please Canyon. You're gonna hate me and I can feel the angriness in
06:47the comments already I think the best aero bike for 2026 is the Specialized Tarmac SL8. Now I don't know
06:56if you would strictly even class this as an aero bike it's the obvious choice I hate Specialized we've
07:02heard it all before in the comments but as it is one of the lightest bikes in the peloton but also
07:07fast enough for the team sprinters to use I'm counting it. It's comfortable, it's stiff, it's physics
07:14bendingly light and it's unquestionably fast. Now whether you like Specialized or not they've got the
07:20resources and the know-how to make some excellent bikes and right now I think that it's the best in
07:26the world. Would I buy one? Well no I've got an SL7 and if rumours are to be believed then the SL9 might
07:33be with us in June. Even so this is still the benchmark for others to be in 2026. The current
07:40generation of Cannondale Super 6 and the Trek Madone they just haven't managed to pull it off. So come on
07:46bike brands, 2026 is your year to finally dethrone the tarmac. Bring it on. It certainly looks like
07:53another exciting year for aero bikes. We've already spotted new options from Factor. I really want to
07:58get on that new Argon 18, new Merida Reacto and hopefully we'll be able to get our hands on all of
08:03them. Let me know which one of these bikes you'd go for in the comments below and we'll see you next time.
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