Last year we published a couple of articles on lightweight road bikes with disc brakes that were quite a hit. The first one focused on the best, premium-range bikes on the market at the time, and the second one talked about top lightweight bikes under €5,000. Since then, bike brands have launched new models and it’s time for some updates. Here is the index for today’s listing:
- Bianchi Specialissima RC 2024 – 6.7 kg
- Giant TCR Advanced SL 2024 – 6.4 kg
- Cube Litening Air C:68X SLT – 6.6 kg
- Lapierre Xelius SL 9 2024 – 6.8 kg
- BMC TeamMachine SLR 01 Two – 6.9 kg
- KTM Revelator Alto Exonic – 6.9 kg
- Pinarello Dogma F – 6.9 kg
- Aurum Magma – 6.7 kg
- Scott Foil RC Ultimate – 7.2 kg
- Specialized Crux S-Works – 725 g frame weight
We’ve also left one rather exotic option plus one model that is yet to be launched as a bonus at the end of this post.
Bianchi Specialissima RC 2024
The Italian brand presented its latest lightweight model just after we had published our top 2023. If we had waited, the Specialissima RC 2024 would have made it to the top. So here it is, the top of the range model with 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace di2, weighing 6.7 kg without pedals in size M and priced at €12,749.
There is a cheaper and slightly heavier option that comes in at 7.1 kg with a bottle cage. The Bianchi Specialissima PRO with 12-speed Shimano Ultegra di2 for €7,699.
Giant TCR Advanced SL 2024
Its predecessor was already listed in last year’s article, and this brand new model from the Taiwanese brand made our list again in 2024. Compared to the 2023 model, the new TCR keeps its iconic design, but now has fully internal cable routing and a revamped head tube design, plus a new, more efficient carbon layup schedule. As a result, we get a 6.4 kg bike in size M without pedals for €12,299.
If you’re looking for something cheaper and a little heavier, take a look at the Giant TCR Advanced Pro 0 di2 for €6,499 that, in size M without pedals, weighs 7.2 kg as you can see in this video.
Cube Litening Air C:68X SLT
The German brand is a synonym of value for money, and so is its top of the range lightweight road bike. It would be hard to find something cheaper, so light and with such good components as the Cube Litening Air C:68X SLT. 6.6 kg in size M without pedals for €8,299.
This is the very same bike used by the Intermarché-Wanty top professional road cycling team. In this video, you can see it in size 56, with heavier wheels, pedals, bottle cage and bike computer mount, at only 7.35 kg.
Lapierre Xelius SL 9 2024
The French brand has left the men’s WorldTour, but still sponsors the women’s FDJ Suez team. They use Lapierre’s lightest model, the Xelius, which in size M and with Shimano Dura-Ace pedals is 7.18 kg. Priced at €8,699.
In the following video, you can see that this model, with specifically chosen components, is within the UCI legal limit: 6.8 kg.
BMC TeamMachine SLR 01 TWO
It is not a 2024 bike as it has been on the market for several years, but the top of the range model from the Swiss brand is a full-fledged all-rounder (light, aero and comfortable) with 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace di2, in size 54, without pedals and with 50 mm rims, it weighs 6.98 kg as you can see in the following video:
Mind you, its price is not light at all: €12,999. Last year, the Swiss brand launched a more aero bike, the BMC TeamMachine R. The 01 Two model in size 54 with Sram Red and 62 mm rims, weighs only 7.1 kg. However, its price has gone up instead of going down: €13,999.
KTM Revelator Alto Exonic
The Austrian brand is better known for manufacturing motorcycles than bicycles, but today they are going their separate ways, under different ownerships. The Revelator Alto range, once used by the B&B Hotels ProSeries road cycling team, has been revamped and its Exonic model with top-of-the-line carbon components, weighs 6.9 kg in size M without pedals.
Priced at €9,399 with 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace di2.
Pinarello Dogma F
This is the bike used by the INEOS team. An iconic design that has been refined and refreshed over the years. The spirit remains, the quality is beyond question, and the price is high (between €12,000 and €14,000, depending on the frame paint). Egan Bernal’s bike in last year’s Tour de France – size M, with pedals, bottle cage and race number – weighed 7.385 kg. However, much lighter models can be assembled, such as the 6.97 kg one in the video below:
Aurum Magma
From two grand tour winners, Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso, comes the Magma model with classic lines and an impressive weight. Only 6.74 kg in size M, without pedals and with Sram Red eTap AXS groupset. Its price is really competitive: €10,999.
Scott Foil RC Ultimate
An aero bike under 7 kg? Totally possible: the BMC TeamMachine R and the Scott Foil RC Ultimate. In this case, 7.2 kg for a size L, without pedals and with a bottle cage.
It could be even lighter with different wheels and 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace di2 instead of Sram Red eTap AXS. It is priced at €15,260, although for half that price you can get the Scott Foil RC 10, a slightly heavier option from this video:
Specialized Crux S-Works
If you want a lightweight all-rounder, then the Specialized Crux S-Works is what you’re looking for. A model designed for cyclocross, which is also suitable for gravel and, of course, road cycling. You can build really outstanding bikes under 6 kg based on a size 56 frame that weighs 725 g (1.5 kg total for the whole set including the fork and the seatpost with clamp).
Elilee Blize XXE
As promised, here comes the exotic one. Although, in reality, all the bikes we have mentioned are manufactured in Taiwan or China and, therefore, have oriental origins. Elilee is a Chinese brand and its Blize XXE frame weighs only 680 g unpainted and costs $ 2,580 (frame, fork, seatpost and handlebars + integrated stem). This allows you to build a bike in size XS, with pedals, weighing only 6.3 kg, as you can see in the following video:
Ari Suncrest 2024?
Although the Utah brand presented this ultralight model at Sea Otter Classic, its release date is still to be known. In our article on the best lightweight bikes for 2023 we featured the Specialized Aethos, this Ari Suncrest also deserves our attention because the frame weight is just 670 g. Here is a video where they talk about it:
Ari sells direct-to-consumer and ships worldwide, so if you’re interested in a lightweight frame that’s certainly cheaper than most of the above, stay tuned for more news.
And that’s all for today. As always, we left out many brands and models that could make this list. For example, the Wilier Filante SLR or the MMR Adrenaline SL 00, but there is no room for more. Let’s see what the brands surprise us with in the remainder of this year and we promise to be back with more lightweight bikes in 2025.
