The new Áspero remains true to those early, simpler days of gravel, but with some improvements—a threaded BB shell, neater cable routing, and a UDH-compatible derailleur hanger for those who want to use SRAM’s Transmission drivetrains. And it’s faster, of course. We shaved off three watts worth of drag in the redesign process. We also dropped the seat stays to give a bit more compliance out back, and reduced front-end stiffness slightly to make the last hours of a long race less painful.
Between those dropped seat stays, we added in a bit more clearance for mud, too. Aspero will clear a 45mm tire by ISO standards. ISO mandates a minimum of 4mm of clearance between tire and frame in all dimensions, but we’ve found (and we think folks at last year’s unbound will agree) that sometimes you need a bit more than 4mm in muddy conditions. We designed the Aspero around 42mm tires with an additional 3mm of clearance on top of what ISO requires, but if you’re feeling lucky (or your rides are typically dry), feel free to push that to 45mm.
It’s a lot of seemingly small improvements, but they add up to a lot. The result is a bike that feels a lot like the original Aspero, but is faster, more comfortable, and more versatile.
FORK Cervélo All-Carbon, Tapered Áspero Fork
HEADSET FSA IS2 1-1/4 x 1-1/2
THRU AXLES Cervelo Aero Thru-Axles, 12x100/142
REAR WHEEL Alexrims Boondocks 7D, 12x142mm, 28H, 23mm IW, HG freehub, 6 bolt, tubeless compatible
FRONT WHEEL Alexrims Boondocks 7D, 12x100mm, 28H, 23mm IW, 6 bolt, tubeless compatible
TIRE WTB Vulpine TCS Light Fast Rolling Dual DNA 60tpi 700x40c
CRANKSET SRAM Apex 1, 40T, DUB Wide
BOTTOM BRACKET SRAM DUB Wide, T47 BBright
CHAIN SRAM Apex, 12 speed
REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM Apex XPLR, 12 speed
CASSETTE SRAM Apex XLPR, 11-44, 12 speed
SHIFTER SRAM Apex, 12 speed
HANDLEBAR Zipp Service Course 70 XPLR Alloy, 31.8mm clamp, 5 degree flare, 11 degree outsweep
STEM Cervélo ST36 Alloy, w Cable Management
BRAKE CALIPERS SRAM Apex
SADDLE Cervélo Saddle
SEATPOST Cervélo Alloy 27.2 15mm Offset
BRAKE ROTORS SRAM Centerline 6-Bolt
ACCESSORIES Smartpak 400A
