Gear

Thirteen of the best 2017 road bikes with SRAM Red eTap

SRAM’s Red eTap groupset has well and truly arrived. These are our top picks for a 2017 bike with the new wireless gruppo

Since its launch, SRAM’s wireless eTap groupset has caught the imagination of riders and bike brands alike – and it’s set to be one of the hottest products of 2017, as a result.

Not long ago we constantly asked ourselves whether you needed an electronic groupset to get the most out of our cycling, but now the game has moved on again with the release of SRAM’s wireless gruppo. Now we’re asking ourselves whether we want wires or not to go with our groupset.

SRAM’s wireless Red eTap groupset has caught the imagination of riders and bike brands alike

Manufacturers have cottoned on and now we’re seeing a plethora of machines from all corners that feature the new groupset.

With this in mind, we’ve had a scout around the market and picked out some of the best SRAM eTap-equipped bikes coming in 2017. We can already hear your wallets whimpering.

Boardman AIR 9.9

Boardman are one of the class acts in the aero bike market, not least because of the man who gives his name to the brand. A time trial and prologue specialist on the road, Chris Boardman’s eponymous brand’s latest iteration of the AIR frame is one of the most advanced aero framesets in the world.

The frame is made from C10 Carbon, which uses especially high modulus carbon fibres in key areas to maximise stiffness while keeping weight in the frame down. In terms of aerodynamics, features like the integrated front and rear brake calipers and fully profiled tubing look to keep air turbulence to a minimum.

Boardman’s latest AIR is one of the world’s most advanced aero framesets

The 9.9 is truly race ready, complete with an 11-25t cassette and 52-36t chainset, and features a mix of Boardman-branded and Zipp carbon finishing kit, including the impressive Zipp Firecrest 404 wheels and fast-rolling Vittoria open Corsa 25C tyres.

However, if flat-out race performance isn’t top of your wish list, then check out Boardman’s top-line SLR Endurance 9.9 – that’s got SRAM Red eTap, too.

Price: £4,999.99
Website: Boardman Bikes

Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Aero

Canyon have two offerings which make the most of SRAM eTap, with the Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Aero and 9.0 SL models. The Aero model is the more expensive of the two, with the highest of high-end kit installed.

SRAM Red eTap helps with the clean lines of the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

The Ultimate CF SLX frame is a lightweight beauty, with clean lines and integrated bar-stem setup smoothing airflow across the bike, helped by the wireless eTap groupset. The Aero model, complete with Zipp’s 404 NSW hoops, weighs in at a featherweight 6.4kg. That’s very, very impressive with 40mm rims.

Of course, deeper section hoops aren’t for everyone, with some riders preferring shallower rims for the lightest and sharpest handling possible – and the 9.0 SL covers you here. Although the Mavic Ksyrium Pro Exalith SL hoops are alloy rather than carbon, they shave another 100g from the total bike weight over the Aero model – and it’s £2,700 less than its big eTap brother.

Price: £7,199
Website: Canyon

Specialized S-Works Roubaix eTap

Specialized haven’t messed around with their adoption of eTap for 2017, with no less than five bikes donning the groupset, including the Venge ViAS Disc eTap and three S-Works Tarmacs (one with discs, two without). Our pick is the 2017 Roubaix, which was revamped recently and now has an innovative front suspension to boost comfort.

The Specialized Roubaix has been revamped for 2017

It’s a disc-only bike, too, which may seem a bold move at this relatively early stage of disc brake adoption, but Specialized have become trailblazers with the Roubaix. The eTap version combines SRAM’s next-generation groupset with the best in endurance frame technology that Specialized can offer – and this from the brand that almost created the market for endurance bikes.

That means a Future Shock suspension with 20mm of travel, S-Works finishing kit and Roval CLX tubeless-ready carbon wheels. In fact, the only non-carbon component is the stem, but it’s finished with titanium bolts for maximum stiffness so there are no shortcuts taken with the Roubaix eTap.

Price: £7,500
Website: Specialized

Trek Domane SLR 9 eTap

We reviewed the Domane SLR in a mechanical Shimano Ultegra setup and were blown away by the IsoSpeed technology Trek have developed in tandem with Fabian Cancellara and the Trek Factory Racing WorldTour team.

The Domane SLR 9 eTap is a fully tricked out version of the same frameset, so we know first-hand how smooth and compliant the ride is going to be.

The Trek Domane SLR is packed with cobble-busting tech

The headline is the adjustable decoupler in the seatpost, which allows varying levels of compliance depending on where you set it, while there’s another IsoSpeed unit at the top of the headtube to soften the front end. All this cobble-beating technology weighs a paltry 6.76kg for a 56cm frame size.

Elsewhere, Trek have also included eTap on their flagship lightweight race machine, the Émonda, which offers a more aggressive geometry and high modulus 700 OCLV carbon in what is the lightest frame the American brand makes – a 56cm Émonda SLR 10 Race Shop Limited bike tickles the scales at just 5.38kg.

Price: £7,600
Website: Trek

Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod Red eTap

Here’s another frameset we’ve been lucky enough to ride this year, at the 2016 Étape du Tour. There, it impressed us with its directness and responsiveness when climbing, and all-round superb ride, even with the limited rolling stock supplied with that test machine.

Cannondale’s SuperSix EVO rides as fast as it looks

The eTap version truly makes the most of the frame with a build that will be the envy of everyone on your local club ride. Along with eTap, you get Cannondale’s own super-lightweight carbon clincher HollowGram wheels fitted with 25c Schwalbe One wheels, plus a Fizik Arione R3 saddle.

Perhaps what strikes us most with this SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod build is the clean lines of the traditional-looking geometry, teamed with lovely blue, black and red paintjob. It’s a truly stunning bike to behold, and, as we know, a bike that rides as fast as it looks.

Price: £5,999.99
Website: Cannondale

Rose X-LITE CW-8810

Rose Bikes’ custom-build direct-to-consumer model means you can fit SRAM Red eTap to a lot of their frames if you choose. Perhaps the pick of these, though, is the X-Lite CW-8810, which boasts a sub-kilogram aero frame, complete with tapered time-trial-style seattube to minimise turbulence at the trailing edge, and between tyre and frame.

Rose’s X-Lite CW-8810 frame is our pick of the brand’s frames, in order to complement Red eTap

From there, the world is your oyster, and you can tweak and modify the bike to your heart’s content. At the base price, you get Tektro direct mount brakes, Rose Bike’s own carbon flip flop seatpost, Profile Aeria 73 degree stem and Canta Ergo bars, and Mavic’s Cosmic Pro Carbon wheel-tyre system.

However, this is an opportunity to let your imagination do the talking from the get-go, so take your time over the options list and make sure you emerge with a machine you’re truly proud of.

Price: £4,500
Website: Rose

Felt FR1

The FR1 is Felt’s top-of-the-range lightweight race machine and features all the American brand’s latest technology, with UHC Advanced + TeXtreme carbon in the frame, and UHC Ultimate carbon in the fork, to make for a featherweight machine.

Felt’s FR1 is a bike truly made to make the most of eTap

The frame’s cable routing is specifically designed for wireless groupsets – so this is a bike truly made to make the most of eTap – and matches the groupset with equally high-spec componentry, not least with the Mavic Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL C hoops for outstanding responsiveness and all-round race ability.

Felt have also used similar frame technology know-how with the AR1 in an aero build, and have achieved a claimed weight of 7.12kg despite the deeper profile of both the frame and the Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels. We’re also fans of the naked carbon with red trim colour scheme on offer, too.

Price: £6,249
Website: Felt

Giant TCR Advanced SL 0

Giant have used the SRAM Red eTap groupset to augment their lightest frame – the TCR Advanced – into an even more svelte beast.

The TCR Advanced SL frameset used as the base for this bike is claimed by Giant to have the “highest stiffness-to-weight ratio of any bike on the market”, which is quite a claim.

Giant have used their know-how across the board by also developing the handlebar, stem and saddle, but what really stands out is the fully-integrated seatpost – also manufactured by the Taiwanese giant – and the brand’s own SLR 0 hoops, which are tubeless-ready. You’ll also find Giant’s RideSense chainstay-integrated data transmitter, which will record cadence and speed for you without the need for peripheral sensors.

Website: £5,999
Price: Giant

Raleigh Militis Team eTap Ltd Edition

Legendary British brand Raleigh have also got the eTap bug, festooning it upon their race bike, the Militis.

The frame itself is used by Raleigh’s domestic trade team, so meets the exacting standards you’d expect from a national-level race outfit. It even made the 2016 edition of the RCUK 100, we thought so much of it.

We called the Raleigh Militis Team the bike to drag Raleigh into the 21st century, and by adopting SRAM Red eTap it’s living up to that moniker

So, some of the key facts bear repeating here: the frame still weighs a paltry 880g, and you’ll find Zipp finishing kit, including 202 Firecrest rims, and carbon SL70 bars, stem and seatpost, with a Fizik Arione saddle completing the works.

We heralded it last year as the bike to drag Raleigh into the 21st century, and it’s firmly continuing to do that well into 2017.

Price: £6,000
Website: Raleigh

Focus Paralane eTap

The Focus Paralane frameset is newly developed for the endurance/adventure market, promising equally exhilarating performance on the road, and off the beaten track as well. As a result, it has masses of clearance – 35mm, in fact – so you can fit practically any reasonable tyre size you choose and reap the comfort and versatility benefits therein. As a base, though, the Paralane eTap comes shod in 28mm Schwalbe Pro One rubber.

The Focus Paralane is the brand’s newest adventure/endurance bike

The Paralane eTap also features SRAM’s disc brakes, and Focus’s own patented Rapid Axle Technology, which interestingly we first saw on the Merida Scultura Disc back in April, making disc wheel servicing a doddle without losing any of the customary stiffness and security found with thru-axles.

The frame is a carbon fibre affair, while the versatility theme continues with the integrated mudguard eyelets. However, if you’re less concerned by taking the road less travelled and are after a race-bred, disc-equipped tarmac beater, then look no further than Izalco Max Disc eTap.

Price: £5,699
Website: Focus Bikes

Pinarello Dogma F8

Team Sky suppliers Pinarello create some of the most striking and sought-after bikes in the world, with an eTap version of the Dogma F8 an obvious addition to their 2017 lineup.

The Dogma F8 has won three Tours de France underneath Chris Froome, as well as a host of other stage race victories in the hands of Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte over the years, so we know the bike has what it takes to lead from the front of the pro peloton.

An eTap-equipped Dogma F8 was the obvious addition to Pinarello’s line-up for 2017

The F8 frame is constructed of T11001K carbon, and was designed in conjunction with former Team Sky sponsors Jaguar, making the most of the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology and wind tunnel expertise the sports car manufacturer could offer. As a result, every tube profile is designed with maximum aerodynamic efficiency on all courses in mind – remember, Team Sky use the Dogma F8 frame on both flat and mountain stages, testament to its prowess across the board.

While Team Sky are sponsored by Shimano and use Dura-Ace components as a result, the eTap build here is equally impressive, and the groupset is paired with a set of Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels ringed with Vittoria Corsa 25mm tyres.

Price: £8,699
Website: Pinarello

Ridley Helium SLX Red eTap

Ridley’s Helium SLX frame has been updated for 2017 and is now said to be 15 per cent stiffer than its predecessor, the Helium SL.

Ridley’s new Helium SLX is available with SRAM Red eTap for 2017

The frame weight remains the same – at a claimed 750g – as rather than putting the chassis on a diet and (potentially) negatively impacting on the excellent ride quality, Ridley instead focussed on upping the ante as far as stiffness is concerned. You’ll see this frame in action with the Lotto-Soudal team next year.

The Helium SLX is one of a number of bikes in the Ridley range to come with SRAM Red eTap, with the Helium X (a more affordable version of the SLX), Fenix SL endurance bike and Noah SL aero bike also coming with the wireless gruppo.

Price: £7,299.99
Website: Ridley

Scott Addict SL

Scott’s Addict frameset has been used by the Orica-BikeExchange team for a few years now, and recently to great success by the likes of the Yates twins and Esteban Chaves. It’s received a spruce up for the adoption of eTap, and is now designed with fewer internal cable routing spaces – this is one clean-looking bike.

The Scott Addict is a climber’s bike through and through

The Addict lacks flashy aero-profiling and an internally fastened seatpost, instead taking its characteristics from the carbon fibre used to build the frame – namely low weight and stiffness, for maximum power transfer when going uphill. The Addict is a climbing machine, through-and-through – aerodynamics are left to the Scott Foil.

This eTap build also comes with Zipp 202 carbon hoops, Continental Grand Prix 4000 IIs tyres and Synchros full carbon finishing kit.

Price: £8,399
Website: Scott