By Jack Lynch
Cervélo’s top-end gravel bike has decided the only way forward is fast
It was only a matter of time, really. Cervélo has always been an aero bike company.
Its P-Series TT and triathlon bikes are legendary, its S-Series roadies are winning races on the regular.
Now the Canadian crew has offi cially given us a fully fl edged aero gravel bike. Just look at the thing and you see an S-Series road bike, don’t you?
Cervélo’s iconic seat tube hugging the rear wheel and the flat handlebars shadowing the stem faceplate are both hallmarks of S bikes past and present.
Add to that the 48-tooth front chain ring, the 380mm handlebars, 165mm cranks and 42mm slick tyres, and yep, this is definitely set up for those who want to ride fast. But what makes it a gravel bike as opposed to an all-road bike or what we’d once have called a comfort road bike?
For starters, the geometry includes a slightly slacker head tube angle, higher bottom bracket, longer wheelbase and longer chainstay length. These tweaks work together for a smoother ride, more capable and sure-footed on rougher terrain.
The Áspero-5 also has downtube storage and tyre clearance up to 45mm.
When compared with a size-51 non-aero Áspero (the bike released last year that Cervélo is calling its ‘more relaxed’ gravel bike), its bottom bracket drop is 1.5mm higher, its head tube is 9mm shorter and the head and seat tube angles are slacker.
This adds up to a 5mm lower stack height and a 2mm shorter reach on the Áspero-5. Hardly a monumental change, but – especially when riding in the shallow drops the bike is fitted with – I felt tucked and tight even when using several headset spacers to get the right fit (the 99mm head tube proved just too racy for me).
Read the full review in Cyclist Aus/NZ issue 76…
