ROUGH RIDER
The word áspero in Spanish translates as ‘rough’ and on its 2019 launch Cervélo described its Áspero as a bike “made to haul ass, not cargo”. And while it’s a bike designed for gravel, it doesn’t compromise on the key values that Cervélo is known for, qualities that include innovative aerodynamics and low weight. That was the story a couple of years ago, when I was hugely impressed by the Áspero’s performance both on and o_ road. This was a bike for gravel racers, stripped down and speedy, certainly not a bike for bike-packers or tourists but one for Cervélo fans looking to broaden their horizons.
When I heard about Cervélo’s upcoming new gravel bike, I expected the Canadians to crank up the versatility, adding fixtures and fittings like pretty much every other brand has done on their gravel bikes. But that’s far from the case. Instead Cervélo has boldly doubled-down on the Áspero-5. If you think of the standard Áspero as the equivalent of Cervélo’s S-Series bike, the new Áspero-5 is comparable to the radical aerodynamic Cervélo S5 of Wout van Aert and his
