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Climbing Bike Reviews
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Jun 17, 2025
Over the past 12 months, a hoard of new super lightweight road bikes has hit the market, most notably, the sub six kilo Scott Addict RC. So, now that light weight road bikes are once again available with familiar mod cons such as electronic gears and hydraulic disc brakes, these feathery beasts are more usable than ever. In this video we have featured the best climbing bikes from the likes of Scott, Wilier, Bianchi, Specialized, Giant Factor and Canyon.
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Climbing bikes, by their very nature, are built to do one thing. Go uphill fast
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That means they need to be stiff, agile, and most importantly, lightweight. However
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it's that last quality which means that climbing bikes will also be rather expensive
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So while I'm sure most of us won't be looking to buy one anytime soon
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we don't think there's anything wrong with gawking and enjoying the sight of seven of the
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best climbing bikes we believe are currently available. So, let's get into them
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First on the list, our new kid on the block is the Scott Addict. The Addict has a reputation for
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being a lightweight climbing bike, and now, in its fourth generation, Scott has looked to cement
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this title by releasing what it claims to be the lightest production road bike in the world
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Coming in at a claimed 5.9 kilos for the Addict RC Ultimate build
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this bike really is feathery light out of the box. Scott achieved this by stripping as much weight out of the frameset components as possible
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This meant designing an all-new super-efficient carbon layup and redesigning components to ditch weight wherever possible
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Scott even had its in-house component brand Syncros design a new set of wheels to keep weight as low as possible
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However, the Addict RC Ultimate carries a trick up its sleeve to help shed weight and that's the
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tyres the bike is shod with. New Schwalb Aerithan tyres have been fitted to really help drop weight
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These tyres are yet to officially hit the market but I've no doubt they'll be a popular choice
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amongst hill climbers. A lightweight bike is all well and good but if it doesn't handle well then
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it'll leave you feeling nervous on descents. But we can happily say that the new Scott Addict does
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not disappoint here. Its planted, confidence-inspiring handling and ability to change direction
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quickly without feeling skittish makes going downhill even more fun than going up it
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Priced just shy of £12,800 here in the UK, it's certainly mixing with some of the most
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expensive models on the market. But that should be of no surprise to anyone when it carries such a
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big claim. Next up, we have a bike that was launched just ahead of the 2024 Tour de France
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the Villiers Verticale SLR. As the name suggests, this bike is designed to operate on one axis
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either up or down. The Verticale replaced Villiers Zero SLR and is claimed to have a 10
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lighter frame a new integrated handlebar 32 mil tire clearance and a slightly updated geometry
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which has seen reach be reduced on the smallest sizes and increased on the biggest sizes one of the biggest features villia was shouting about is the new v which has flared drops the extra 30 millimeters of width will likely aid more stable and controlled
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handling when descending while still allowing riders to stay aerodynamic when in the hoods
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it's clear that this bike is going to suit those that want a slightly more controlled and stable
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ride on the descents thanks to its slack of the most head angle but if that confidence and bike
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control ultimately helps you ride faster or just feel more safe then the result is a positive one
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we love the eye-catching bright green colorway that can be seen on its top endura race build
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if you're after something a little bit different and will be easier to ride than other bikes on
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this list then the verticale slr could be worth taking a look at
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that. Sticking with another Italian brand, we have the Bianchi Specialissima. Still in its early
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product life cycle, the Specialissima boasts a UCI illegal claimed weight of 6.6 kilos for a size
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55 centimetre. What makes that weight even more impressive is that this bike does feature an
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assortment of aerodynamic features. This isn't just an out-and-out climbing bike. Bianchi hasn't
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gone quite so far as to lead with a one bike to rule them all policy. Of course, it still offers
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the very aero, Ultre model. So, while the Specialissima has always been the brand's climbing
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bike and still very much is, the slightly deeper tubes, sculpted shapes and drop seat stays do at
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least mean this bike should also perform well on shallower gradients, or dare I say it, even in a
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sprint the looks of this bike might be slightly more polarizing than others as it plays with tube
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shapes in a way not often seen and the reparto course logo on the non-drive side down tube may
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really turn some people off but we do think it holds your eye a little longer than others and
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it clearly doesn't fit into the cookie cutter road bike shape as expected the durace di2 model
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is unashamedly punchy in its pricing, coming in at €12,749. But you may find yourself wanting
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to change the slightly sketchy Pirelli TT tyres that come as stock for something a little more
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grippy, like a pair of Continental GP5000s. All considered, the Specialissima will be as fast in
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the mountains as it will be off them, so would suit the kind of rider who enjoys a lot of variety
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in their riding. As stalwarts of the climbing category, the Specialized Athos is a bike which is garnered
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somewhat of a cult following With a super light sub 600 gram frame rounded tubes and a classic double diamond shape the Athos can be found at the heart of some truly awe custom builds that said even the stock builds that specialized offers still impress we would
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love to see specialized update this now iconic bike but it's hard to know where it could actually
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make drastic improvements we love how the bike rides how easy it is to handle and even the
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externally rooted cables at the cockpit it's as though specialized created a modern day version of
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of a classic road bike taking a if it ain't broke don't fix mentality to the project the ease of
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maintenance and lightweight are both strong reasons to love the ethos but do not underestimate how
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versatile it is too long distances short climbs fast chain gang loops and town sign sprints are
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all well within the capabilities of the ethos it brings understated fun to the market and stands as
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a challenge to what we expect bike manufacturers to make. The entire range of Athos stock builds
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rank very well for specification versus weight, meaning they're often the lightest bike you can
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get in most price bands. But if you're a true weight weenie, it will be hard to look past the
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S-Works model with the SRAM Red groupset, since this comes in at a claimed 6.34 kilos
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Just make sure your pockets are deep enough, as it will cost £12,000
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launched back in march the world's biggest bike manufacturer giant released the update to its
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much-loved tcr of course it landed with all the expected claims of being lighter stiffer and the
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fastest tcr yet but we have little reason to doubt these claims when we tested the bike earlier this
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year we dubbed it the best climbing bike of 2024 we loved the exceptional frameset quality the
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razor sharp race bike handling and thought the small aero improvements helped the bike keep
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pace when being ridden on a range of different terrains the new bike was slightly stiffer it
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was also 10 lighter than the outgoing model and the short rear end makes the bike handle with the
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utmost intent for a bike that's in its 10th generation nobody should be surprised that giant
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has got it so right it's clear that the brand has been honing in on the secret sauce recipe for some
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time now and the latest version of the tcr is clear evidence of that we will be the first to
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say that this bike does feature an integrated seat post so a bike fit really is a must of course this
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may make some people hesitant about buying into a platform which may be slightly harder to sell on
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than others but giant has done its best to make this as easy as possible by providing buyers a
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small amount of adaptability to add hype back in if needed while still sitting right in the premium
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echelons of bike pricing the nearly 12 000 pound price tag won sting quite as much when considering the sheer amount of performance you be able to enjoy another bike to feature an integrated seat post
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with the aim of shedding unnecessary grams is the factor o2 van this bike looks almost skeletal in
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appearance with its surgically thin seat stays an almost non-existent top tube coming in at a claim
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6.3 kilos it certainly is very light and it's able to achieve such a remarkably low weight thanks to
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factor's in-house component brand black ink with use of its wheels and cockpit the british brand
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is able to have complete control over the final product the wheels stand up on their own merits
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though with a 28 millimeter deep front wheel and a 33 millimeter deep rear wheel factor is able to
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balance aerodynamics with light weight resulting in a wheel set coming in at a claimed 1146 grams
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the frame has clearance for 32 millimeter tires so if you do want to fit something a little wider
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for more grip and comfort then you're certainly able to when we rode the bike we loved the stiffer
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head tube which gave the bike a confident feeling when climbing and descending however since this
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bike is so clearly tailored for going either up or down we found it did suffer on the flats but
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in a video about the best climbing bikes that's not something we're going to complain about here
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last but certainly not least is the canyon ultimate it's the only bike on this list to
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be offered in its full flap cfr sram red spec and come in under 10 000 pounds and the german brand
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isn't cutting any corners thanks to its direct to consumer business model canyon is able to save
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middleman costs and pass those savings on to the customer that results in its top spec build coming
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in at 9 749 pounds while tipping the scales at a fairly competitive and just about uci illegal
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claimed weight of 6.74 kilos when launched the ultimate was given a number of small improvements
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one being the adoption of a new geometry which matches that of its aero brother the aeroad this
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means the ultimate feels racy dynamic fast handling and agile on all sorts of terrains
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the much-loved cp-18 cockpit means it's easy to play around with bike setup and allows for riders
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to get more aero by reducing handlebar width there really is a lot to love with this bike and
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it somewhat provides a breath of fresh air with its four figure price tag but let us know if money
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were no object then what would you love to have at your disposal
#sports