Cervélo Áspero 5 review: a rapid gravel racer that I wouldn’t take out in the mud

The new Cervélo Áspero 5 is rapid and reactive, but is it really a gravel bike?

The Áspero 5, according to Cervélo, was designed to be the fastest gravel bike on the market. It's a design inspired by the road-race bred S5, with geometry based on Cérvelo’s everyman racer, the Soloist. 

It begs the question, though, can an aerodynamically optimised lightweight race design with ‘only’ 45mm tyre clearance really be that fast for all kinds of gravel?

The short answer is no, but don’t dismiss the Áspero 5 just yet – its incredible turn of speed across a wide variety of surfaces (bar the most technical) could well make this a dream gravel bike for lots of riders, and all the drop-bar bike you’ll ever need.

The new Áspero 5 is priced at £10,000 / $12,500 / €11,499 / AU$18,000.

• Read more: New Cervélo Áspero 5 is the world's most aerodynamic gravel bike

Cervélo Áspero 5 frame details

The Áspero 5 frameset keeps the same stripped-down race bike ideals as the first, 2019 edition, with a fitting- and mount-free design. That, however, is where the similarities end. 

This Áspero 5 comes with aerodynamics at its core. Up front, the deeply bladed fork integrates smoothly with the head tube, looking somewhat like the Soloist, the bike Wout van Aert chose to ride the rugged cobbles of Paris-Roubaix in 2025. 

The head tube is deep with a tapered aerofoil tail, taking advantage of the UCI’s relaxation of the rules, much like we’ve seen from the latest aero road bikes.

The rear end looks very much like the S5, with an aerofoil profile and a chopped back, much like Trek’s Kammtail tube shapes on the Madone SLR. The seat tube curves, shielding the rear wheel’s leading edge.

The frame, as we’d expect of any 2025 gravel bike, comes with a UDH rear dropout, making the bike fully compatible with SRAM's latest full-mount XPLR groupsets. That said, the 45mm tyre clearance is modest, at best – especially considering lots of pro gravel racers are opting for 50mm+ tyres.

The frame uses Cérvelo’s aero-shaped SP27 seatpost, as found on the Soloist. It adds another layer of aero-optimisation, but takes away the ability to use a dropper post; you’ll need to look to the more adventure-oriented standard Áspero for that.

Despite the frame having minimal fittings, it has some features for carrying essentials. The down tube has a storage port that uses the same hinging cover as the Caledonia 5. Inside, there are twin storage bags that, at nearly 30cm long each, offer plenty of space for spares and tools. 

The top tube has bento box mounts, and the bike comes with a Cervélo-branded aero-shaped bag that adds lots of room for mid-race fuel.

Cervélo has carried over the T47 threaded BBright bottom bracket standard from the latest Áspero, and it all adds up to Cervélo's claimed weights of 1,023g for the frame and 393g for the fork. 

Add in the bar, stem and seatpost, and Cervélo claims it saves 66g compared to the previous model in a size 56cm.

Cervélo Áspero 5 geometry

Cervélo states two different sets of geometry figures for the Áspero 5; that’s because, in its full-on optimised race trim, it’s designed to run a 40mm front tyre and a larger 44mm rear. My test bike shipped with a balanced tyre approach – 42mm front and rear.

The geometry mirrors the Soloist, with a 71.6-degree head angle and 51.5mm fork offset, giving a 62.5mm trail (that drops to 60.1mm for the 40mm-tyre ‘mixed geometry’ option). 

The 395mm reach and 575mm stack on my 56cm test bike are quite long and low for a gravel bike, although very natural on the road.

The 80mm bottom bracket drop is 4mm lower than the previous bike, with the intention of adding stability. The chainstays have been kept short, at 422.5mm, to make the handling a bit more sporty.

Balanced geometry (42mm tyres front and rear) 

Mixed geometry  (40mm front, 44mm rear tyres)

Cervélo Áspero 5 specification

The aerodynamic overhaul continues through this premium ‘Red 1’ build. Up front, Cérvelo’s slick carbon stem clamps down on the new HB16 bar, which takes its inspiration from the AB04 bar on the 2015 S5.

The bar's deep wing-shaped top section includes an aerofoil section in front of the stem clamp that mimics a one-piece design, yet has the adjustability of a standard two-piece setup.

On my 56cm test bike, the bar is on the narrow side at 40cm (measured centre-to-centre), but that should offer a fairly aerodynamic position when on the hoods, while the 12-degree outward flare brings it out to a wider stance when in the drops.

The drivetrain consists of SRAM Red AXS shifters and brakes, paired to a 1x crankset with a large (for gravel) 48-tooth ring (the Áspero can fit up to a 54-tooth ring). This being the premium model, it also gets SRAM's spider-based power meter. 

At the back, it’s a bold choice from Cervélo, which has fully embraced the mix-and-match capabilities of the AXS family, opting for the SRAM Eagle XX T-Type rear derailleur combined with an Eagle XX 10-52 tooth cassette. 

On paper, that gives an equivalent gear at the bottom end to a 52x11 combination, while at the lighter end, the 48x52 gives less than a 1:1 ratio. Unlike Red AXS XPLR, this setup is 12- rather than 13-speed.

Cervélo also offers a similar build for the new Force 1, with the slightly less expensive Force XPLR AXS in combination with SRAM Eagle components – that might well be where I’d put my money.

The bold choices don’t stop there; the Reserve Turbulent wheelset, combining a 40mm-deep front and 44 mm-deep rear, is all good. They are shod with Vittoria’s Corsa Pro Control TLR G2.0 slick race tyres in a huge 42mm width. Are they a good choice for a gravel bike? I’m not so sure.

The Reserve rims are built onto a set of DT Swiss 240 EXP hubs. The 240s have a reputation for reliability, so they’re a fitting selection for a gravel bike.

Finishing things off is the aero SP27 seatpost, topped with a carbon-railed Prologo Nago R4 PAS Nack saddle.

It’s without a doubt a full-on premium build and, at £10,000, certainly not a cheap option. However, it's £1,300 less than the equivalent Specialized S-Works Crux, and £1,350 less than the similarly aero BMC Kaius 01 One.

Cervélo Áspero 5 ride impressions

I didn’t expect to like the Áspero 5 as much as I do and I haven’t been enamoured by previous attempts to marry aero road with gravel. Bikes of this type from BMC and Factor have been devastatingly fast in the right conditions, but both were overly harsh to ride and suffered on anything approaching twists and turns.

The Áspero 5 isn’t smooth and supple like the latest Cannondale Topstone, but it's worlds apart from those aero-gravel racers.

The bold choice to fit a gravel bike with very-fast slick road tyres just about pays off – in my area of the UK, it has been a record-breaking dry spring and early summer. That means the gravel roads are compacted and firm, and they haven’t been cut up rough by horses, tractors or military vehicles out on my Salisbury Plain testing grounds.

Getting to the gravel roads on tarmac, the Áspero 5 feels much like a road bike – fast yet comfortable. If I hadn’t known the Áspero 5 was a gravel racer, I’d have sworn it was a competitor for Cannondale’s Synapse Lab71.

Once onto hard-packed gravel roads, towpaths and byways, the Áspero 5 maintained its epic pace. It sails at higher speeds than pretty much any other gravel bike I’ve ridden on surfaces like these.

I even took the Cervélo on a diversion to a few cobbled streets in the city of Bath, and found it was the same story there. It offers great bump absorption, paired with brutally efficient acceleration.

That’s the crux of the Áspero; it’s a superbly rewarding bike to ride; the more you put in, the more you get out of it.

That’s the good stuff, now for the flipside. I also took the Áspero on one of my more technically challenging loops, with rooty, rocky singletrack throwing up lots of tight turns, off-camber traverses and a few mountain-bike worthy bomb holes and slopes. It’s the terrain where bikes such as the Mondraker Arid and Parlee Taos have impressed me recently.

The Áspero is a fish out of water here. Yes, the handling is quick and the bike feels nimble enough, but it jolted and jarred this way and that. It’s fun, but didn't fill me with confidence. 

In the twists and turns of a downhill woodland singletrack trail, you can get the Áspero into some semblance of rhythmic flow, but it only takes a small mistake or overcompensating correction to come unstuck. As fast as the Áspero 5 is on smoother stuff, it is equally unforgiving here.

The slick tyres grip well enough on bone-dry dirt, and the highly compliant sidewalls take the sting out of hits and holes remarkably well. On the occasional corner with a layer of loose dirt, I experienced some front-tyre drift and a couple of unexpected rear-tyre breaks, sending up a plume of dust. Thankfully, this never turned into a full-on washout. 

As soon as the weather changes, any sensible rider will be stowing the slicks and reaching for a gravel tyre with all-conditions grip.

The drivetrain, with its big top end and light climbing opposite, is a winner. On the road, it’s great to have such potential to go very fast and not worry about spinning out of a gear on descents, with the security of a very light bail-out gear for when you run out of puff on a steep climb too.

Cervélo Áspero 5 bottom line

If you're looking for a fast gravel bike for unmetalled mountain passes, forest roads, byways or the type of wide-open gravel often found Stateside, the Áspero 5 would be a marvellous choice.

The tyres are great for the hard, smooth gravel and tarmac encountered in the summer. You will, though, be limited when it comes to adverse weather, and a set of true gravel tyres will become a must.

As an all-round gravel bike, the Áspero 5 has flaws, but as an all-encompassing drop-bar bike, it has many charms. If I could only have one bike in my life, the Áspero 5 wouldn’t be a bad choice.

The big question about the Áspero 5 Red 1 must be, would I buy one?

The answer is no, for the simple matter of new Force XPLR AXS. Given that gravel groupset’s performance, I couldn’t justify the upcharge to Red XPLR AXS. I’d save my money to the tune of £2,000 / $3,800 and go for the second-tier option.