Cervélo Aspero 5; A Lighter, Faster, More Aero Gravel Race Rig

When the Cervélo Aspero was developed and launched it changed the gravel game. Up until then, gravel bikes were either cyclocross bikes outfitted for gravel racing or “adventure” bikes with a bajillion mounts for racks and bags and usually “endurance” geometry designed for comfort.

Give ’em What They Want

But that’s not what competitive gravel racers want. They want a bike that they can race on gravel. Enter the Cervélo Aspero. A gravel race bike designed to race on gravel! They want fast, responsive geometry. They want a light, stiff frame. They want a frame that uses all of the aerodynamics to their advantage. And that’s what Aspero delivered without asking riders to sacrifice anything.

Cervélo Aspero 5

Flash forward to today and Cervélo has updated the Aspero with the all-new Aspero 5 lineup of gravel race bikes! Lighter, faster, more aerodynamic. And drop-dead gorgeous. Let’s get into it.

This is a Race Bike

The Cervélo Aspero is a gravel race bike. This isn’t a beefed-up adventure bike with tons of mounts for bags and whatnot and a relaxed geometry. This is a refined high-performance gravel bike. The geometry is road-race inspired with a remarkably steep headtube angle for a gravel bike and clearance for up to 700×42 or 650×49 tires.

Trail Mixer Fork

But there are times when riders (racers) want to run a narrower tire. Some courses call for 700×33 or 35 tires, which can be mounted on Aspero as well. Sometimes you want to run a 650b wheel and tire. But, when you make these changes, you change the trail enough that you throw off the handling because the fork is now in a different position, depending on the tire size.

That’s where the Trail Mixer Fork comes in!

This is essentially a “Flip Chip” for the front axle that changes the rake by 5mm. Set it in the rear position when you are running 700x35ish tires and set it in the forward position for 700x42ish tires. In the end, the optimal trail of 62mm will be accomplished to keep the front-end handling snappy and predictable!

“If it looks fast, it is fast.”

The Cervélo Aspero 5 has been further refined to take all of these refinements and dial them up a notch. The engineers came up with a design for the Aspero 5 that is even more aerodynamic, saving you 32 grams of drag when you’re out there, all alone, slogging it out into those headwinds.

The front end of the Aspero 5 is one clean machine. No cables means no drag. All of the cables are beautifully hidden inside the frame.

Lighter Than Ever

Finally, the carbon fiber layup of the Cervélo Aspero 5 has been completely updated to remove material where it isn’t needed and using a higher modulus material, dropping the already incredibly low weight. Cervélo claims that the new Aspero 5 comes in at 990g for a size 56, a weight savings of approximately 120g over the previous Aspero frames! You can even save 50-60 grams by choosing the minimalist black paint option.

The result is a remarkably low-weight, extremely aerodynamic, fast gravel race machine!

Cervélo Aspero 5 is available in three versions and a frame-only option.

Check them out!

Check out the Cervélo Aspero 5 models at your local ERIK’S location or at shopERIKS.com!