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FAST BIKE FRIDAY – CERVELO ASPERO-5 FORCE E-TAP AXS

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

This week’s Fast Bike Friday feature casts its eye over the simply stunning, glittery, iridescent Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS gravel bike, a premium gravel race bike packed full of cutting-edge technology and performance-focused features. Before we get into the details just take a minute to appreciate that attention-grabbing paintjob with its magical colour-changing properties. Cervelo’s Aspero gravel bike has been around for a couple of seasons now and during that time has quickly gained a reputation as a gravel bike with its sights set firmly on speed, efficiency and performance; back in April this year Cervelo launched a small sub-range of the Aspero – the Aspero-5 featuring a number of significant upgrades from the original Aspero and taking the performance capabilities of this gravel race-bike even further.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The iridescent paintjob on the Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS is simply stunning, click the link and see the colour change as we move our camera.

 

So what do we mean by ‘performance focused’, well, as we’ve highlighted before in previous Fast Bike Friday features while the discipline of gravel biking is relatively new it’s already beginning to diversify into a broader range of sub-genres. In the same way that the term ‘mountain bike’ can be applied to a cross-country bike, a trail bike, an enduro bike or downhill bike which are all distinctly different and excel in different areas so too can the term ‘gravel bike’ be applied to a wide range of bikes that all excel in slightly different areas. From tough utilitarian bike-packing machines, affordable alloy bikes with geometries that are closer to more traditional road bikes, playful burly options with 650b wheels & dropper posts, carbon gravel bikes with cleverly engineered technology designed to isolate you from rough terrain and super-lightweight aero race machines such as the Cervelo Aspero-5 built to perform at the highest levels of gravel bike competition.

The Aspero-5 has been designed specifically to generate speed, with Cervelo describing it as an off-road race bike. As the gravel bike market matures we increasingly see more and more cyclists coming into the discipline from different cycling backgrounds. The Aspero-5 suits committed, competitive roadies coming over to gravel, bringing their higher fitness-levels and performance expectations with them.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

Looking beyond that mesmerising paintjob it’s easy to see just how aerodynamic the front-end of the Aspero-5 is. 

 

What are the key differences between the original Aspero and the new Aspero-5? There are two main distinctions between the sub-ranges; firstly the grade of carbon used in the construction of the frame and fork – a lighter, stiffer ‘Aspero-5’ carbon on the higher-spec models compared with Cervelo’s slightly lower-grade ‘Aspero All Carbon’ material used on the standard Aspero. The second difference is more obvious, cast your eyes over the Aspero-5 chassis and you’ll quickly notice a much more integrated cockpit on the Aspero-5 with no exposed cables on the bike and that really neat setup for the handlebars, stem, frame and forks with the junctions between those components appearing to be virtually seamless. The benefits of this setup are the increased aero-efficiency at the sort of speeds you’ll be doing in training and competition as well as an increase in durability and functionality, with the cables shielded from the elements (not such a factor on this wireless drivetrain model, but more on the later); oh and another important consideration? Just how good it looks!

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The Aspero-5’s chassis is super-light and stiff in the right places making it ready to perform on race-day.

 

Cervelo have certainly built some versatility into the Aspero-5 too, engineering in the option of running a standard diameter 700c wheel (which are spec’d with the complete Aspero-5 bikes) and a tyre max width of 45mm or running a smaller diameter 650B wheel size with a max tyre width of 51mm. This flexibility is facilitated by the Aspero-5’s ‘Trailmix’ dropout system in the fork which allows you to fine tune the wheelbase of the bike to suit the two different wheel sizes and their respective contact patches with the ground.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

Cervelo have engineered some versatility into the Aspero-5 with their Trailmix fork system allowing you to choose between wheel sizes.

 

Cervelo understand the importance of engineering in some comfort into the Aspero-5 chassis. This has been achieved with those dropped seatstays, helping to give a small amount of vertical compliance and have combined this with a slightly more forgiving 27.2mm carbon fibre seatpost to keep you comfortable in the saddle, even after hours of mixed-terrain riding. With some sophisticated carbon fibre layup in the manufacturing process Cervelo have been able to add small amounts of flex where it’s needed and contrasted that with super-stiff areas such as the bottom bracket, downtube and head tube to give a responsive feel and instant acceleration under power. That stunning carbon frame and fork with its beautiful paint finish is going to need some protection from off-road riding and the risk of flying debris so there’s some rubberised downtube protection to protect the carbon frame from small rocks and stones flipping up from gravel roads.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

Those dropped seatstays give some vertical compliance to the Aspero-5 frame helping you stay comfortable in the saddle, even on all-day epics.

Cervelo Aspero Force eTap AXS 2021

Aero-gravel is a thing – with a fully integrated cockpit and fully concealed cables the Aspero-5 is designed to cut through the air.

 

We tend to see a mix of preferences from our customers when it comes to the type of drivetrain spec’d on a gravel bike; typically the split seems to be between riders coming into gravel biking from road or mountain biking with mountain bikers enjoying the 1X drivetrain option for its simplicity and functional performance off-road while roadies tend to prefer a 2X drivetrain giving them a slightly larger range of gears which are better suited to rides that are often a mix of fast road sections and more unpredictable off-road terrain. So with this in mind it’s interesting to see this SRAM Force 1X drivetrain spec’d on the performance-orientated Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS model; that said Cervelo have ensured there’s still a very good spread of gear ratios on this 12-speed drivetrain with the lowest 36x36T gear giving you a ratio that can easily handle steep, loose off-road climbs. It’s worth pointing out too that the smallest cog on the rear cassette is a tiny 10T so there’s less chance of you spinning out and running out of meaningful gears on fast road sections.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless groupset excels in difficult off-road riding conditions.

 

If you’ve not used a bike with SRAM’s wireless transmission before it’s worth highlighting just what a game changer it is. With the cable-free, electronic 12-speed rear derailleur receiving a wireless signal from the digital button on the gear / brake lever on the handlebars every gear change is crisp and precise with no chance of you fluffing a gear change in the heat of the moment during a competitive gravel bike event. Those precise movements of the rear derailleur are driven by a tiny motor within the rear mech, with the derailleur being powered by a small clip-on rechargeable battery that is quick to be fully-charged and lasts up to 60 riding hours on average.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The 12-speed wireless electronic rear derailleur performs flawlessly, providing crisp, precise gear selection even in the heat of off-road competition.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The gear ratios on the Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS are modest compared to some other gravel bikes, reflecting its focus on high-speed performance.

 

With this 1X drivetrain the SRAM Force eTap digital shifters are setup so that the button on the right shifter moves the chain up the cassette and the button on the left shifter moves the chain back down the cassette. This versatile digital drivetrain features its own software and app which allows you to fine tune the functionality of each gear selection and even lets you spec exactly how they work; so if you prefer, you can set the left shifter to change up the cassette and the right shifter to move down the cassette.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The SRAM Force wireless electronic gear shifter is simple to operate and precise-shifting, even with gloved hands.

 

Rounding out this hi-tech digital wireless groupset is the SRAM Force AXS carbon chainset with a 36T narrow / wide chainring designed to retain the chain safely with no risk of it unshipping over rough terrain when combined with the rear derailleur which features an internal fluid clutch designed to add tension to the chain and prevent it from flapping around on rocky descents. In a further acknowledgement to how Cervelo see the Aspero-5 being used the Force AXS chainset features a built-in power meter which provides power readings that are accurate within +/-1.5% and aren’t affected by climactic conditions, another welcome addition to this bike and a really useful training tool.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The 36T SRAM Force chainset reflects the performance-orientated nature of the Aspero-5 featuring an integrated power meter.

 

SRAM Force hydraulic disc brakes provide confidence-inspiring, controlled braking in all riding conditions, regardless of whether you’re riding in wet weather on loose, gravel trails or descending long, alpine-style roads with an endless amounts of hairpin turns. These flat-mount brakes callipers sit neatly on the front fork and within the rear triangle, with all brake hoses routed internally through the frame and forks; mid-sized 160mm Paceline disc rotors mean braking-heat is quickly dissipated while weight is kept to a minimum.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

Powerful SRAM hydraulic brake calipers provide ample braking even in wet off-road conditions.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

Neat flat-mount calipers and 160mm SRAM Paceline rotors keep you in control regardless of the terrain you’re negotiating.

 

A super-light, stiff and responsive gravel bike is only as fast as its wheels that are fitted; put a heavy pair of wheels with slow-rolling knobby tyres on such a bike and you’ll soon find that the performance potential takes a significant hit. Thankfully there’s no such wheelset on the Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS; Cervelo have spec’d an equally high-performing wheelset to compliment all they achieved in the making of the Aspero-5 with a pair of super-light Reserve 32mm DT370 wheels featuring 32mm deep carbon fibre rims that boast a 24mm internal rim width which really helps to give the tyre sidewalls a nice square profile preventing pinch flats and placing more of the tyre’s tread pattern in contact with the ground for increased traction and control.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The Reserve 32mm carbon wheelset boasts a 24mm inner-rim-width to provide a nice square tyre profile, increasing their capacity off-road.

 

The Reserve carbon wheels feature a pair of durable sealed-bearing DT Swiss hubs with strong straight-pull spokes built to handle the extra demands of gravel rides and the extra forces incurred at the hub by the hydraulic disc brakes.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

DT Swiss DT370 centre-lock hubs are smooth and durable, standing up well to the rigours of riding off-road.

 

Going back to our point regarding gravel tyres and the need to get that balance right between the amount of grip and the traction a tyre provides compared with just how fast and efficiently it roles, enabling you to hold your speed over long distances, Cervelo have hit the spot again with the Panaracer Gravel King SK tyres spec’d on the Aspero-5. These gravel tyres already have a strong reputation for being tyres that are fast and efficient on the smooth stuff while providing just the right amount of grip off-road when you’re negotiating tight, loose turns and creeping up super-steep gravel climbs. At 38mm these tyres aren’t super-wide and help to keep the overall weight of the bike down, but as we mentioned earlier there’s plenty of scope for other tyres here with the Aspero-5 taking a 700c tyre up to 45mm wide with no clearance issues.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

With tubeless-ready carbon rims and Panaracer Gravel King SK tubeless tyres you’ll be able to tune your wheel system to run lower, more grippy tyre pressures.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The tread pattern on the Panaracer Gravel Kings brilliantly blends a fast-rolling centre with a more grippy outer edge.

 

The Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS is right at the top of the premium, high-performance gravel bike tree, designed specifically to take your gravel riding to the next level when it comes to race results and / or demanding training rides spent negotiating endless miles of gravel roads, merciless climbs and super-technical off-road trails. This bike is so high-spec that it will easily eclipse a fair portion of the most sought-after road bikes out there let alone gravel bikes; with its light, stiff aerodynamic frameset, cutting-edge wireless electronic SRAM Force groupset and those fast-rolling, durable Reserve carbon wheels the Aspero-5 shines regardless of the terrain you choose to test it on. Speaking of shine we can’t sign off without acknowledging that stunning paintjob one more time. If you haven’t already, check out the link at the top of this feature to see how the colour constantly changes as we move around the bike!…

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS with its iridescent paintjob is guaranteed to turn some heads.

Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS 2021

The Cervelo Aspero-5 Force eTap AXS is available in-store and online now.

Full Specification:

  • Frame: Cervelo Aspero-5 Carbon
  • Fork: Cervelo All-Carbon, Tapered Aspero-5 Fork with Adjustable Trail
  • Head Set: FSA IS2 1-1/4 x 1-1/2
  • Shifters: SRAM Force eTap AXS HRD 12 spd
  • Rear Derailleur: SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide 12 spd
  • Cassette : SRAM Force 12s XG1270, 10-36
  • Chainset: SRAM Force AXS 1 with Power Meter 36T
  • Bottom Bracket: SRAM Dub
  • Brake Rotors: SRAM Paceline 160mm
  • Brake Levers: SRAM Force HRD
  • Wheelset: Front – Reserve 32mm DT370, 24h, 24mm IW, Center-Lock, Tubeless Ready
  • Wheelset: Rear – Reserve 32mm DT370 XDR, 24h, 24mm IW, Center-Lock, Tubeless Ready
  • Front Tyre: Panaracer Gravel King SK Folding 700×38
  • Rear Tyre: Panaracer Gravel King SK Folding 700×38
  • Stem: Cervelo ST32 Alloy
  • Handlebar: Carbon AB09 16 Degree Flared
  • Seat Post: Cervelo SP19 27.2 Carbon
  • Saddle: Prologo Dimensions NDR T4.0
  • Accessories Included: Cervelo Faceplate Front Computer/Accessory Mount, Cervelo Rear Accessory Mount, Smartpak 400A Top Tube Storage Bag

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

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