Specialized reveals 2024 colour schemes and the new £3,250 Aethos 9r

We don't usually get new bike releases in the middle of December, but Specialized has bucked the trend by announcing new tiers of the fan favourite Aethos lightweight road bike model, alongside its annual new colour scheme reveal.

Aethos gets a lighter price point

The Aethos is the lightest model in Specialized's road range, and up until now has garnered RRPs starting from £5,000 - that's for the Aethos 10r Comp model with Shimano 105 Di2. As of today's announcement though, there's a (relatively) more affordable way to get your hands on an Aethos.

The new Sport 9r model looks very familiar. In fact, the geometry and silhouette of the new frame are identical to the models higher up the range. The 9r refers to the carbon lay-up, this being a lower grade than the 10r carbon previously found on the mid-range Aethos, and super lightweight 12r grade on the range-topping S-Works model.

> Lightest road bikes

Just when we thought we were getting rid of mechanical groupsets, the Aethos Sport features Shimano 105 12-speed mechanical. Despite this, the model comes in at just under £2,000 less, with an RRP of £3,250.

The Sport 9r has a claimed weight of 7.8kg (size 56), which, at first glance, seems to be very competitive for a 3k road bike. For example, the Basso Venta Disc 105 2023 that we recently reviewed weighs in at 9.05kg (size 56) albeit this is £651 cheaper. 

It's available in two colours, gloss fog tint carbon dune white and satin blue onyx metallic obsidian, and it's specced with DT Swiss wheels and Specialized's own brand alloy handlebars and stem. You can find the full build spec on Specialized's website. 

> The lightest road bike frames and components in the world

The Aethos has long appealed to riders thanks to its ride feel, classic lines and feathery weight. Does this new model do (nearly) all of that for less? Let us know your thoughts on the new model in the comments section below, and we'll also aim to get one in for review. 

You can also get your hands on an Aethos 10r frameset for £3,500, which joins the latest Tarmac SL8 10r frameset. It's available in a satin carbon colour and 50% silver blue viavi/10% fog tint, with a claimed frame and fork weight of 1.34kg (size 56). 

There are also new colours available for the S-Works Aethos frameset: satin clay/powder indigo, gloss carbon/magenta-gold and satin colour burst/harvest gold metallic, all priced at £4,750. 

Further changes to the Aethos range are evident in the Comp model, which has been downgraded from 10r carbon to 9r carbon. We presume this is heavier, but Specialized is yet to confirm the weight. It's priced at £5,000, and now features the new gloss metallic pine green smoke colourway 

SL7 

Despite the SL7 being superseded by the SL8, Specialized has released the following new colour schemes for the SL7. 

The SL7 Comp is now available in gloss metallic spruce/metallic midnight shadow, satin red tint over carbon/red sky and satin obsidian/smoke. 

Maybe they've got some stock to shift...

Crux

The Crux has always been the American brand's out-n-out cyclocross bike, but this latest generation with super wide tyre clearances (47mm) blurs the lines between CX and gravel. This current generation of Crux is coming up to its third birthday, but for 2024 it has been refreshed with the following colourways: gloss vivid pink/electric green and satin taupe/smoke/midnight shadow/metallic spruce. 

Diverge STR

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The Diverge is the brand's gravel bike designed to tame gnarlier terrain, and hasn't missed out on the new paint party either. The Diverge STR Comp is now available in gloss white sage/pearl and satin metallic midnight shadow. 

For more information go to www.specialized.com

Which is your favourite of the new colourways? Let us know in the comments section below...