Cervélo updates Áspero gravel bike with more tyre clearance and increased compliance

The new bike is an evolution of the existing Áspero with design choices that aim to make the bike easier to live with

11:28, Tuesday 30th April 2024

Alex Hunt

Junior Tech Writer

The Cervélo Áspero gravel bike

Cervélo has released a new generation of its gravel bike the Áspero. The new bike marks a continued evolution of the Áspero platform with some design tweaks pulled from its road-going cousin the Soloist.

Sitting firmly in the category of gravel race bike, the Áspero has always been about going fast on the rough stuff. When the bike was first launched back in 2019, Cervélo said that the Áspero heralded “a new era of speed in gravel.” In this update to the bike, the brand is confident the bike has stayed true to its roots with the new bike building on the previous model.

Some of the design tweaks to the Áspero include a move to a threaded bottom bracket, a UDH rear derailleur hanger and neater cable routing. These are all, on their own, relatively small changes but as a package, they aim to make the Áspero an easier bike to live with and maintain.

Although the new frame might have changed slightly in its profile, this is largely due to a change in tube shapes and design. The seatstays now join the seat tube lower down than before in an attempt to increase compliance and the new bike makes use of some aerodynamic tube profiles borrowed from the Soloist road bike.

As far as geometry is concerned, the Áspero has been left as it was with no updates to the bike's overall configuration. Instead, the changes have been focused around greater frame clearances for both mud and chainrings.

The new bike has increased stand over clearance and improved compliance

Under the skin, there is a more significant change with the engineers at Cervélo opting to use a different carbon lay-up to increase comfort on the bike. They claim the new layup increases compliance without losing efficiency: they've decreased the stiffness of the frame at the headtube but increased the stiffness at the bottom bracket.

An omission in the Áspero’s design that a lot of riders will be happy about is that the bike does not feature completely integrated cable routing through the stem. Instead, it uses a D-shaped steerer tube with the hoses running to the side of the steerer. This is another small but significant design choice that should make servicing the bike a relatively straightforward task.

One of the features carried over to the new bike is what Cervélo call the 'Trail Mixer’. This is a flip chip-style dropout adjuster that can alter the position of the wheel by 5mm. Cervélo claims that using this allows riders to maintain a comparable feel on the bike when running narrow road tyres or wider 42mm gravel tyres.

With versatility in mind, the Cervélo Áspero uses a round 27.2mm seatpost, giving the option to swap it out for a dropper post.

Pricing and build kits

The new Áspero is available in six different build options and also as a frameset. However with six build options, there is plenty of choice. The range-topping model is built around SRAM’s Rival AXS groupset and a set of Reserve 40/44 carbon wheels, retailing for £5,200.

Áspero GRX RX610 1x

Shimano GRX 610 1x groupset
Alexrims Boondocks 7D wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40c tyres
RRP: £3,100 / $3,600 / CA$4,650 / €3,699 / AU$4,500

Áspero GRX RX610

Shimano GRX 610 2x groupset
Alexrims Boondocks 7D wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light tyres
RRP: £3,100 / $3,600 / CA$4,650 / €3,699 / AU$4,500

Áspero APEX XPLR 1

SRAM Apex mechanical groupset
Alexrims Boondocks 7D wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light Fast Rolling Dual DNA 40c tyres
RRP: $3,500 / $4,350 / €3,599 / AU$4,400

Áspero Apex XPLR AXS

SRAM Apex AXS groupset
Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40c tyres
RRP: £4,200 / $4,300 / CA$3,500 / €4,899 / AU$5,500

Áspero GRX RX820

Shimano GRX 820 12-speed groupset
Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40c tyres
RRP: £4,400 / $4,000 / CA$5,700 / €4,899 / AU$5,300

Áspero Rival XPLR AXS

SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, 12-speed groupset
Reserve 40/44 carbon wheelset
WTB Vulpine TCS Light 700x40c tyres
RRP: £5,200 / $5,500 / CA$7,400 / €5,799 / AU$8,000

What do you make of the new Áspero from Cervélo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and for all the latest tech news make sure to head over to the dedicated tech page on the GCN website.

Cervélo

Cervélo is a bike manufacturer based in California, USA. The company produces bikes for road, track, triathlon and off-road, all with a strong focus on innovation.