Canyon is announcing an update to the Aeroad CFR, the aero race bike ridden by Mathieu Van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen and the Alpecin-Premier Tech team, which it claims makes it the “peloton’s fastest” bike. Under the German Tour Magazin wind-tunnel protocol, Canyon says the latest Aeroad CFR in its LTD edition has posted a drag figure of 198 watts at 45kph.
The new watt-saving is down the new CP0053 Race Bar with its swept-back tops, which turns the Aeroad into “a no-compromise race bike” according to Canyon. The claim is that the new bar saves two watts of aerodynamic drag in the wind tunnel and up to 25 watts in real world riding conditions (achieved by minimising the frontal surface area of the rider). Compared to the original CP0048 Pace Bar, the CP0053 has a more aggressive shape with 14 degrees of flare in the drops, 10mm more effective reach and 20mm lower effective stack, placing the rider in a more aerodynamic position to save those claimed 25 watts as well as being two watts faster alone.
As is well known, most brands use their own wind tunnel protocol, devising one that enables their own product to come out on top, but even so it’s undeniable that Tour’s testing, conducted at the GST tunnel in Immenstaad, is one of cycling’s most commonly cited. It uses a mannequin with moving legs and no torso, with laser alignment for consistent positioning. The yaw sweep is a fairly standard -20° to +20° to simulate crosswinds. The wattage values indicate the power required to overcome aerodynamic drag, with lower numbers obviously representing a faster, more efficient bike.
In Canyon’s own marketing for the Aeroad, launched in 2024, the previous figure was 204 watts at 45kph, so a saving of six watts is definitely worth shouting about, especially when compared to competitor aero bikes tested by Tour.
The Colnago Y1Rs came in at 204 watts, the Cervélo S5 recorded 202 watts and the Specialized’s S-Works Tarmac SL8, which is more of an all-rounder race bike, posted 209 watts in January 2025. Tour also tested the Scott Foil RC at 203 watts, the Van Rysel RCR-F Pro at 200 watts and the Simplon Pride II at 199 (not used in the WorldTour). So 198 watts does actually jump the revised Aeroad up towards the front of the queue in Tour’s rankings. The Storck Aerfast.5 (195 watts) and the Merida Reacto (197 watts) pip it but neither are in the WorldTour.
Other brands have been tackling the problem of how to find increasingly marginal aero gains within the UCI’s rules via different solutions. The new Eddy Merckx 525R, launched last week, focuses primarily on placing the rider in a more aerodynamic, more sustainable position, since the rider accounts for around 80% of aerodynamic drag. Meanwhile the Felt Nexar comes with a swept-back integrated bar which is not unlike Canyon’s, combining it with a rethought geometry. Felt claims its bike is within four watts of the fastest aero bike in its own testing, while keeping frame weight to a claimed 800g. The Trek Madone meanwhile, harnesses the watt-saving capability of custom aero bottles – not allowed in Tour’s protocol instead of going for deeper, narrower tube shapes.
In the wider context, we know winning the Tour doesn’t come go to the bike that’s fastest in a wind tunnel. When Specialized launched its new aero Crux gravel bike earlier this month, it said it had applied a ‘Time to Finish’ equation which was based on simulating aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance, surface roughness, environmental conditions, and rider power. With a new Tarmac SL9 road race bike expected soon, it’s likely we see more than simply a wind tunnel drag number comparison – and it’s alslo likely too that the new bike will come out on top…
Beyond the headline bar, the Aeroad now gets a UDH-compatible rear dropout and Canyon is also widening its MyCanyon options with alternative seatposts, Scope wheelsets, and bar configurations can now be specified, including the new cockpit that had previously been pro-team only.
In other words, Canyon isn’t launching a new Aeroad – it’s refining one that was already very fast. The 198-watt figure from an independent test is one it seizes on with relish and which can’t be disputed for what it is.
For more information visit Canyon's website.
