New Cervélo Áspero-5: The most aerodynamic gravel bike of the moment?

We had already anticipated it a few days ago when Marianne Vos debuted in the gravel season sporting this bike and it has not taken long to confirm the launch of the renewed Cervélo gravel bike, the new Áspero-5 that arrives with competition gravel as its objective and aerodynamics directly derived from the S5 road bike as a means to achieve the best result in races.

Lighter and more aerodynamic, that's the new Cervélo Áspero-5

Despite a small update, the Cervélo Áspero, one of the most versatile gravel bikes on the market, remained unchanged since it was launched in 2019. At that time, gravel was still considered a discipline where the versatility of the bike was a hallmark. Currently, as has happened in other cycling disciplines, gravel has also been segmented, with differences growing between competition gravel bikes and those oriented towards adventure gravel.

Under this premise, Cervélo launches the Áspero-5 which aims to become one of the fastest competition gravel bikes of the moment. A statement of intent that begins with optimized aerodynamics and that cannot hide that it has drawn from the designs of the S5 road bike. However, it has some details that give it its own personality, such as the curious HB16 handlebar, which is anchored to a conventional stem but leaves a carbon section in front of the stem solely for aerodynamic purposes and which, according to the brand, allows saving 6 W on its own.

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One of the features of the previous Áspero was its adjustable fork dropout that allowed modifying the fork rake to adjust the bike's behavior to the desired use. Now Cervélo has removed that piece but, in exchange, shows how different tire combinations chosen affect the bike's geometry so that the same effect can be achieved. A design that, using tires of the same size on both wheels, provides what Cervélo calls balanced geometry, while if you want to have the greatest aerodynamic benefits and the most aggressive behavior, you must opt for a 4 mm difference between the rear and front tire, for example, 44 mm behind and 40 mm in front.

Cervélo has also worked on reducing the weight of its new Áspero-5 despite the increase in frame volume due to the aerodynamic profiles and the fact that the previous Áspero was already a very light bike. A challenge that Cervélo has achieved by reducing no less than 66 grams from the scale figure and without giving up a characteristic more typical of adventure gravel bikes than competition ones, such as the internal storage system that allows carrying tools and spare parts safely and, in the case of this Áspero-5, without it being detrimental to aerodynamics.

Of course, the bike features a UDH type derailleur hanger that allows mounting the new 13-speed SRAM groups, either the Red XPLR AXR or the recently launched Force XPLR AXS, the only available setups at the moment that are added to the frame kit option.