Bike of the Week: Cervélo Áspero-5 Ekar
- Posted on
- By Aidan Raynor
Designed to take KOMs, FKTs and big gravel wins on the LifeTime circuit the Áspero-5 is unapologetically fast. Read more about our fan favourite gravel bike here:
With 13 speeds of Italian perfection and a frame designed to tackle anything you throw at it, the Áspero-5 with 13-speed Campagnolo Ekar is one of the coolest gravel bikes we’ve seen in a while.
The Áspero-5 takes the cake for the most speed oriented gravel bike in our line up. So far it has been a hit as people look for a bike that they can still keep up with their friends on the regular road group rides as well as slap some chunky tires on to get rowdy in the backwoods. The Áspero-5 unlike the regular Áspero has an integrated front end with all electronic groupsets as well as a little lighter, stiffer as well as added aerodynamic features.
Gravel has taken over the cycling world by storm, more people have been looking for one do it all bike that can roll fast on the road and react like a road bike should as well as take larger tires and some extra bottle cages for longer off road adventures. It is rare to find that perfect bike but the Áspero makes a strong case to be the most road capable gravel bike. With smaller “road” tires the Áspero rides a lot like the Caledonia, not super aggressive like the Soloist or S5 but can still pick up speed quickly as well as corner on a dime and not feel sluggish. As far as it gravel capabilities the Áspero-5 shreds gravel like no other. The aspects that make it such a road worthy steed also make it extremely fast on the gravel. It you are looking for a gravel bike with all the mounts for super long bike packing excursions or a full suspension ride for the extra comfort maybe the Áspero-5 isn't the bike for you. But if you’ve wished your road bike could take 40c tires the Áspero-5 lives up to that and more.
As far as the Campagnolo Ekar 13-speed groupset goes it ticks a lot of boxes. The one-by drivetrain on gravel eliminates a lot of potential issues but sometimes you may find yourself searching for that perfect gear. The Ekar 13-speed 9-42 cassette is designed to elevate that search, with closer ratios near the bottom of the cassette then increasing the jump between gears as the cassette goes up make sure that you’ve got the gears to get up anything while still maintaining ratios for the flat that keep you in the right gear. Ekar still follows classic Campy shifting quality although with redesigned thumb shifters to make it easier to shift in the drops. The braking power on these is next to none, using a Magura-derived system and mineral oil they bite super hard.
The Áspero-5 Ekar at $8,000 comes stock with the carbon Cervélo AB09 handlebar, aluminum Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 as well as the Áspero-5 fork with adjustable trail. The Áspero hosts a two-position adjustment in fork to adjust the handling of the bike between 650b and 700c wheels. Cervélo designed the Áspero with clearance for up to 700c x 40mm tires or 650b x 49mm tires.
Come check out the Áspero-5 Ekar in store today and get yourself on one before the the season is over.