Cervélo says its new Áspero-5 gravel bike is so much faster than the competition that I’m having a hard time believing it

We’re well and truly into the busy period of summer, where brands from across the bike industry unveil the fruits of their respective labours.

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen six new groupsets from SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo and TRP/Classified. We also know there’s a lot more to come: I myself spotted eight new gravel bikes at Unbound, plus a gravel groupset, while my colleague Will spotted a further two at the Dauphiné, plus some wheels.

Today’s launch is none of the above.

In fact, it’s a race-focused gravel bike, and it’s already ridden to victory by Marianne Vos.

Specifically, it’s the latest iteration of the Cervélo Áspero-5, although to call it an iteration is doing it a disservice, as the brand looks to have given it a complete overhaul. Visually, it bears a closer resemblance to the S5, the brand’s flagship aero road bike.

Aero first

Incredibly, perhaps in both senses of the word, the brand claims it is both 37 watts faster than its predecessor and 34 watts faster than its nearest (unnamed) competitor.

“Cervélo has long led the industry in aerodynamics, and we’ve delivered a gravel race bike worthy of that reputation,” reads the brand’s release to the media.

It doesn’t, however, mention how this figure was achieved. There’s no whitepaper, no detail of the testing undertaken, and very little detail about the context of this saving, so take it with a healthy pinch of salt.

In claims like this, leaving the competitor unnamed is a relatively common approach. Brands don’t want to be sued for defamation, and making enemies is rarely a good thing in the bike industry.

But it begs the question as to which competitor was deemed an appropriate comparator.

For reference, when we tested road bikes in the wind tunnel, the difference between our very old, entirely un-aerodynamic 2015 Trek Emonda ALR and the Cervelo S5 was 23.38 watts. That test was with a rider, and at 40km/h speeds, which exceed even the fastest average gravel races.

Cervelo claims the new HB16 handlebar and stem – two separate pieces – are responsible for 5.7w of this improvement, but the rest is unaccounted for. There’s no mention of the speed at which you’ll see this wattage saving, nor indeed whether it was tested in a real-world setting or a wind tunnel, and if the latter, whether it was tested with or without a rider.

One thing that is confirmed, however, is that the bike was derived from the S5 aero bike, with the top tube angle on the new Áspero-5 matching that of the road race bike. It also borrows a very similar cut-out for the rear wheel. The latter is slightly adjusted, of course, to make room for wider tyres.

Intentionally mismatched tyres

The Cervélo Áspero-5 has clearance for 45mm tyres, a figure that will surprise many, given the trend towards bigger tyres over the past 12 months, and many bikes pushing beyond 50mm, with a select few offering room for 2.2in mountain bike tyres.

Interestingly, though, Cervélo says it has adjusted the geometry of the bike to allow riders to run a bigger rear tyre while maintaining a balanced position.

With matched tyres, Cervélo says the bike gets a more relaxed geometry, with a 71.6° head tube angle, 62.1mm trail and 72.6° seat tube angle to inspire confidence over rougher terrain.

But with a bigger rear tyre – suggested at 44mm rear, 40mm front – the ride shifts to a more aggressive position, with the head tube angle steepening to 72°, the trail shortening to 59mm, and the seat tube angle growing to 73°.

Of course, switching to mismatched tyres on any gravel bike would have a similar effect, but it’s interesting that Cervélo has chosen to embrace it.

Cervélo has also taken steps to ensure that the increased tyre clearance didn’t encroach on space for a big chainring, and offers room for up to a 52T chainring when running a wide chainline. A standard road chainline sees a limit of 46T.

Integration everywhere

As is becoming ubiquitous in modern gravel bikes, the new Áspero-5 gets a storage door on the downtube, hidden behind the bottle cage. Details of this are scarce, but Cervélo claims it was achieved without any compromise in frame stiffness, and at a penalty of just 60 grams.

Up front, the new HB16 cockpit boasts the adjustability of a two-piece system, but with the visual and aerodynamic benefit of integrated cables. The handlebar is deep and flat in profile, with a section that continues past the front of the stem faceplate.

Cables can be routed fully or semi-internally. In fully integrated cases, the cables exit through the centre of the bar and directly into a compatible stem. For semi-integrated setups, they can exit on either side of the stem, allowing the cable to run beneath it.

There’s also a new integrated fork brake mount, which the brand says reduces the need for metal hardware inside, and thus reduces weight without any aerodynamic compromise.

Weight

Overall, Cervélo says that despite the aerodynamic improvement, new handlebar and down tube storage system, the new Áspero-5 is lighter than its predecessor by a small-but-not-nothing 34 grams.

Pricing

The Áspero-5 will be made available as a frameset, priced at £5,000 (US $5,500 / €5,499 AU $7,900) as well as in three complete builds.

The first two are priced at £8,000 (US $8,700 / € 8,299 / AU $12,900), where there’s a choice of Shimano GRX Di2 and SRAM Force AXS. Both are equipped with Reserve’s 40/44 Gravel wheels and a power meter.

The flagship build, priced at £10,000 (US $12,500 / € 11,499 / AU $18,000), is equipped with SRAM Red XPLR, the same wheels (albeit with DT240 hubs), and a power meter.