Cervelo Aspero: Assembly Completed

Finally the Cervelo Aspero has been completed! It is not easy to build up a bike from scratch, as you need to gather all the parts and components needed, without making any mistakes. After that, it takes quite a bit of work to assemble all the parts correctly. If you had made any mistakes when choosing your components, you will realize it during assembly.

As you already know, this Cervelo Aspero will be used as both a road bike and a gravel bike. It only requires a quick wheelset swap to convert between these two types of bikes.

Let's take a look at the completed bike in both road and gravel configurations. Finally, I will show the Di2 wiring layout for this bike, and also the final component list.

PRO Vibe cockpit, with the PRO Vibe Aero Superlight handlebar and stem.

Another look at the PRO Vibe stem. The carbon headset spacer has an outer diameter that is bigger than the stem, which affects the appearance of the bike.

With the new Bracket Cover on the shifters, and the fresh Lizard Skin bar tape.

Aero handlebar with a flat top area, which is claimed to improve aerodynamics. I like it for the comfortable flat holding surface.

Di2 Junction A, EW-RS910 tucked neatly into the right side of the handlebar drops. Di2 wires run internally inside the handlebar.

The hydraulic hoses and Di2 wire exits from the bottom of the handlebar near the stem. Di2 wire that runs to Junction B is routed together with the rear brake hose.

Rear brake hose and Di2 wire enters the top tube. Front brake hose runs into the left side fork leg.

There is a plastic cable cover that is used to cover up the cable entrance.

Dura-Ace + GRX drivetrain! Shown here is the GRX RD-RX815 and the 11-34T HG800 cassette.

The gravel setup uses the Panaracer GravelKing SK 650B tires that are 43 mm wide.

Here is how the 650B tires look on the Hunt 650B Adventure Carbon Disc wheelset.

About 7 mm of clearance between the tire and the chain stay. Also enough clearance between the 4iiii Precision power meter and the chain stay.

With the SKS Explorer Edge frame bag installed.

Full view of the gravel bike! The wide gravel tires with brown sidewalls look nice on this bike.

No toe overlap when using these gravel tires, which are smaller than standard road tires.

Here is how the road setup looks like! The Teal coloured frameset stands out well from the black components.

The paint job looks fantastic under sunlight, where the glitter can be seen reflecting through the gloss finish.

Did I say I love the paint job?

Three bottle cage bosses for you to choose the position of the water bottle.

The glitter looks really nice under sunlight. Indoor pictures are not able to show how awesome the paint job is.

Glittery paint with light coloured paint splatters makes this frame unique. Plus it hides most of the dirt, so I don't need to clean it so often.

With these standard road tires, there is a bit of toe overlap. Can be avoided if you position your foot correctly during sharp cornering.

Comparison with the Canyon Endurace. The components have been moved over to the Cervelo Aspero.

Handlebar height on the Cervelo Aspero is slightly taller, but the reach is also slightly further forward.

Di2 wiring layout on the Cervelo Aspero. Wiring around the handlebar area is unconventional, but it hides the wireless unit neatly inside the handlebar.

Full component list, with the numbers in red highlighting the main areas where the weight gain comes from, compared to the Canyon Endurace.

The Aspero frame weighs about 370 grams more than the Endurace, while the fork also weighs 50 grams more. Compared to a full Dura-Ace road setup, the GRX RD weighs about 100 grams more than the Dura-Ace RD, while the special BBright bottom bracket also weighs about 90 grams more than Dura-Ace SM-BB92. With a heavier frameset, it is expected that the Cervelo Aspero will weigh more than the Canyon Endurace.

Cervelo Aspero road setup without pedals: 7.6 kg
Canyon Endurace road setup without pedals: 7.0 kg

Cervelo Aspero road setup with pedals: 8.0 kg
Canyon Endurace road setup with pedals: 7.4 kg

Compared to the Canyon Endurace (full Dura-Ace), the Cervelo Aspero weighs about 600 grams more, even with the road setup. About 400 grams comes from the frame + fork + thru axle lever, while the other 200 grams come from the heavier GRX RD and Wheels Manufacturing BBright bottom bracket.

Gravel setup, with the wheelset, tires, brake rotors and cassette switched.

By isolating the weight of the wheelset, the weight difference for the gravel setup can be determined. The table above shows the weight of the gravel wheelset (inclusive of tires, inner tubes, disc rotors, cassette), and it weighs almost 500 grams more than the road wheelset.

Although the Hunt gravel wheelset is 200g lighter than the Reynolds Assault road wheelset, the heavier gravel tires, inner tubes and cassette adds back the weight and more.

Cervelo Aspero gravel setup without pedals: 8.1 kg
Cervelo Aspero gravel setup with pedals: 8.5 kg

In summary, this Cervelo Aspero weighs 8 kg in the road setup, and 8.5 kg in the gravel setup. Not a lightweight bike, but it cannot be helped due to the relatively heavy frameset weight.