Cervelo Aspero: PRO Vibe Garmin Mount and Headset Spacers

The Cervelo Aspero gravel bike has been fully assembled. But that does not mean that the upgrading or modification stops! Sometimes there are areas that needs to be improved or modified, as I am not satisfied with it.

I have a Garmin Edge 530 that I used on my Canyon Endurace, and I would continue to use it on this new Cervelo Aspero as well. I had thought that a standard Garmin mount will work on the PRO Vibe handlebar, since it is not an integrated handlebar like the one on the Canyon Endurace.

PRO Vibe Aero Superlight handlebar, mounted on the PRO Vibe stem.

Some of the Garmin mounts that I have accumulated over the years. 

From left to right: Beefy plastic mount from Edge 530. Older plastic mount from Edge 510. Aluminium K-Edge mount with GoPro attachment at the bottom.

However, none of the many mounts that I have fits on the PRO Vibe handlebar, as there is not enough width beside the stem to fix the clamps. This is due to the airfoil section on the handlebar which leaves very little round section for the clamps.

After doing some research, I found that a special narrow clamp is needed for this PRO Vibe Aero Superlight handlebar. This is kind of annoying as I was not expecting a special Garmin mount to be necessary. This leaves me with no choice but to get it even though it is expensive.

Special Garmin mount for use with the PRO Vibe handlebar. Made by K-Edge actually, which means K-Edge pricing. This is the regular size which is shorter, meant for smaller Garmin head units.

Made in 3 pieces instead of the old type which is completely machined from 1 piece. Less machining wastage I guess.

The clamp is fixed to the silver section via a rivet, while the front piece is bolted.

These two bolts are not designed to be removed.

Extensive chamfering and removal of material around the clamp, to avoid interference with the airfoil section of the handlebar.

Another view of the chamfering around the edges of the clamp. The clamp itself is extra narrow as well.

Weighs 31 grams, which is lighter than all the other Garmin mounts that I have.

The narrow clamp is needed to fit on the narrow section of the handlebars.

Chamfering on the inner edges of the clamp is needed to avoid interference with the airfoil shape of the handlebars.

Regular size mount suits the Edge 530 nicely. There is enough clearance between the bottom of the head unit and the face plate of the stem to press the buttons located at the bottom of the head unit.

The angle is more or less fixed at about horizontal, as the rivet head on the clamp needs to fit into a recess on the stem face plate.

With this special Garmin mount, I am finally able to use the Edge 530 on the Cervelo Aspero. Not a fan of proprietary parts whereby there are no alternative options.

Another area which I was not satisfied with was the spacers under the stem. I have some standard carbon spacers, which I used to stack 40 mm under the stem. This raises the stem to the proper height without needing to cut the steerer tube.

However, as you can see below, the outer diameter of the standard carbon spacers are bigger than the outer diameter of the stem clamp. The stem does not have a nice integrated look with the spacers, due to this size difference.

Standard carbon spacers used under the PRO Vibe stem.

Outer diameter of the carbon spacers are much bigger than the stem, causing this step and a mismatched appearance.

Functionally, there is no issue, of course, but I never had this big mismatch problem when I used other stems with similar carbon spacers. I guess the outer diameter of the PRO Vibe stem clamp is smaller than usual. Examples shown below.

Fabike C3 with Controltech stem. Small mismatch.

Java Freccia carbon mini velo, also with the same Controltech stem.

 Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo, with a Fizik Cyrano R1 stem.

Guess what, after doing some research, I found that there are special stem spacers that can be used with this PRO Vibe stem. Another proprietary part, although it is not compulsory. No harm trying it out to see how it works.

Spacer set to be used with the PRO Vibe stem.

A special spacer is needed on top of the stem, if you wish to add some spacers above the stem.

Special PRO Vibe aluminium spacers that goes under the stem. The teardrop shape is to match the stem clamp shape. The spacer walls are thinner compared to the carbon spacers.

To get a spacer stack height of 40 mm, I will use 15 + 15 + 10 mm spacers. Weighs 32 grams, which is a bit more than a 40 mm stack of carbon spacers (22 grams).

The outer diameter and teardrop shape of the spacers roughly match the stem. Not very integrated still, and I am not very pleased with the outcome.

Now, the bottom of the teardrop shaped spacers does not match with the round headset cover. Guess it is one or the other.

After all this fuss, the appearance is still not ideal, since the teardrop shaped spacers are not able to match the round headset cover. This is something which I overlooked. If I want to really improve this, what I need would be aluminium spacers with a smaller outer diameter (thinner walls) to match the PRO Vibe stem, and forget about the teardrop shaped spacers. However, I have already wasted enough time on this small issue and will just leave it as it is.

In all, the PRO Vibe Aero Superlight handlebar and PRO Vibe stem looks good and works well, but there are some proprietary designs and parts that makes it unique, not in a good way.

Downsides of the PRO Vibe Superlight handlebar:
1) Flattened curve area of drops, not as comfortable as a standard round section.
2) Airfoil shape prevents the use of standard Garmin mounts.

Downsides of the PRO Vibe Stem:
1) Requires special top cap that is included with the stem.
2) Does not look good with standard carbon spacers as the clamp walls are thin.
3) Special spacers, although optional, are needed if an integrated look is desired.
4) Requires special spacer on top of the stem, if you wish to put spacers above the stem. If this is used, the appearance becomes quite bad as the top cap will not be integrated with the stem.

Next time, I think I will just get a standard FSA handlebar and stem, as they work well, look good, cost less, and are lightweight too, with none of the proprietary parts and unique features.