Specialized Aethos 2 Pro Shimano Ultegra Di2

A better bike for most riders, but the gap to S-Works grows

- Ashley Quinlan

Once you get over the fact that part of what made it stand out from the crowd has gone, the Specialized Aethos 2 is about as unsurprisingly good as road bikes come. It's extremely impressive if you value all but aerodynamics, and immediately likeable in a wholesome kind of way. The bike remains expensive, especially in its topnotch S-Works guise, although it's worth noting there are markedly more bikes costing over £12,000 now than there were when the first Aethos launched. The tweaks to geometry and tyre clearance have also made it a better bike for more riders, while the integrated front end certainly modernises it.

However, part of the 'sell' here is the 'synergy' between the best of Specialized and that of their sibling component brand Roval, and given that you don't get the latest-and-greatest wheelset unless you plump for the top S-Works models, this Pro Di2 build looks to be only a marginal improvement on its predecessor.

You get what you pay for

A few weeks ago, I was in a small conference room at Specialized's UK headquarters in Surrey, being presented with all the info about the Aethos 2. This included details about the S-Works bikes, the second-tier-but-still-great models (at least, the ones more of us will have budget for) and that synergy between Specialized and Roval.

Alongside the Aethos 2 reveal, I was also told excitedly about Roval's new Alpinist CLX III carbon wheels, which are 134g lighter than before (according to Specialized) and designed to complement the new Aethos. The catch is, if you want said wheelset, you'll need an S-Works model. And, we were told, everyone else would have to settle for Roval’s previous Alpinist CL II or C38 wheels.