Some might say aero doesn’t matter on a gravel bike, but if you’ve battled a headwind across an open prairie, the thirty-two grams of drag you’ll save with the Áspero-5 come as a welcome respite. Most gravel racing is done without the benefit of a World Tour peloton—or World Tour tactics—and when it’s your nose in the wind all day, it’s nice to know your bike’s shouldering a bit of the load.
Trail—front-wheel response to rider input—is the most critical factor in high-velocity handling. Flipping the two-position "Trail Mixer" to compensate for the difference in circumference between a 650b and 700c tire maintains consistent handling by maintaining consistent trail figures.
We designed Aspero with clearance for up to 700c x 40mm tires or 650b x 49mm tires. Of course, there are variables—rim width, tire casing, and tread depth—which will affect final clearance. We (and the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO), always recommend 4mm of clearance between the tire and frame.
Red and Force builds include Quarq Zero powermeters integrated into the crank. The integration of a powermeter results in better stiffness, lighter weight, and improved accuracy over aftermarket solutions—and the DZero delivers power measurement accurate to +/- 1.5%, even in variable temperatures.
