2026 Cervelo Aspero Apex XPLR AXS 1

In 2019, Áspero took the gravel world by storm, heralding a “new era of speed in gravel.” Fun, but flat out. The new Áspero remains true to its original brief, but with some improvements: a threaded BB shell, neater cable routing, and a UDH-compatible derailleur hanger for those who want to use SRAM’s Transmission drivetrains. And it’s more aero, of course. In the case of Áspero, aerodynamic performance is less about pure speed as a result of drag reduction, and more about conservation of energy. After a big day in a headwind, the three watts saved over the previous Aspero might add up to one less energy gel your stomach has to digest—WORTH IT.

In addition to the drag reduction, we also dropped the seat stays to give a bit more compliance out back, and reduced front-end stiffness slightly to make the last hours of a long race less painful. Between those dropped seat stays, we added in a bit more clearance for mud, too, taking what we learned from R5-CX (and the Unbound mudfest in 2023). It’s a lot of seemingly small improvements, but they add up to a lot. The result is a bike that feels a lot like the original Áspero, but is faster, more comfortable, and more versatile.

THREADED BOTTOM BRACKET

Aspero uses the asymmetrical T47a threaded bottom bracket we pioneered on R5-CX. It’s a simple, rider-serviceable interface that allows us to deliver the benefits of BBRight in a more user-friendly form. 

UNIVERSAL DERAILLEUR HANGER

We used SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) standard on the new Aspero. It’s ideal if you want to live your best ‘business in the front, party in the back’ life with one of SRAM’s Transmission drivetrains today, and ensures compatibility for future drivetrain developments.

INTERNAL CABLE ROUTING

Aspero shares the same bearing dimensions as R5, Soloist, R5-CX, and Caledonia, which means you can use any combination of bearing caps and stems. Want a super-racy, fully-internal look? Grab the ST31 and HB13 from R5.

All bikes purchased from iRIDE will have been pre-assembled by our mechanics and test ridden. You will also receive a multi point checklist of all the safety checks and bike build elements we work through to ensure you bike is correctly assembled, and then tested so that it runs as it should. Bikes being sent to a customer who is unable to collect it from iRIDE, will have it boxed, wheels, saddle and bars generally off and re-packaged.

The delivery of bikes will be organized once a freight fee can be determined based on weight and delivery location.

Assembly should take no longer than 10-20 minutes. It is recommended that a skilled mechanic assemble, or check the bike. If possible your local bike shop is likely best placed to do this from a safety perspective to ensure all is as it should be. If a rider is having any issues we can hook up an online video chat, or talk over the phone. If this service is required email us at workshop@iride.net.nz to organise a time that suits all parties.