Cervélo’s New Áspero
The original Áspero blasted onto the scene with an exceptional amount of thrill, making us rethink how we ride gravel altogether. With its sharp handling, rapid acceleration, and racing-forward geo, it behaved like a criterium racer’s brainchild of a gravel bike. With the latest Áspero, Cervélo keeps the fun alive but gears it up for faster rides on bigger gravel. Let’s see what’s new.
New Frame Design
It’s looking for a bit more classic gravel. To get there, the Áspero now has a lowered standover height, dropped seatstays, chainstays and bottom bracket, a thinner downtube, and larger tire clearance. It still looks every bit like an Áspero, and it should ride much smoother on wide-open gravel tracks with these precision updates.
The Soloist Facelift
The most noticeable newness is at the front end, where the Áspero now plunges the cables into the headcap as does Soloist. This not only makes for aero gain but also tidies up the front end without going towards the headache of entirely internal routing. Áspero is compatible with mechanical drivetrains in this configuration. But you could also upgrade to the internal-routing stem, as seen on the R5-CX, and go entirely hidden if you’d like (electronic drivetrains only).
It Still Hauls
The updated frame delivers enhanced stability, comfort, and handling, and the unique trailmixer dropouts let you decide between rolling 700c or 650b. The fit is unchanged from the original, so a racing-focused setup is still how we’d recommend building your Áspero. And its $2500 frameset price makes tinkering with your setup easier to swing. See all the specs and build up yours.