First Impressions

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Fit:

True to size

Size Bought

54

Height

6` 0"

Weight

165 lbs

If you are thinking about this bike (Aspero GRX 815 Di2) you may be a lot like me: age group roadie enthusiast, on the bike 6 days out of 7. This is my fourth Cervelo. Gravel is going to be a big new adventure and challenge. Here are some first impressions that may help you evaluate this product. The build quality is awesome. I got the gold on black - in real life it looks absolutely stunning. Buying from CC - awesome experience. Highly recommended - consider working with a local pro bike fitter unless you really know what you are doing. My guy could replicate my current fit on this bike in the 54. At this level, the components are a joy to use. I really like the Reserve wheels - and I've ridden HED, Zipp, and Enve. With the stock Panaracer 38mm tires these feel good/solid, spin up well, and have good 'tone'. Consider getting a second set of wheels if you want to ride faster on tarmac, because it is not trivial to swap out tubeless tires. My aim is to keep this bike for many, many years and travel with it. This bike with the second wheel set should let me ride road AND gravel wherever I may be lucky enough to get to. The components on the bike can be worked on almost anywhere in the world. And there is nothing too exotic like suspension or complicated cable routing or integrated seat posts etc. Ride experience so far: On hilly roads and flat gravel, the bike transfers a lot of information about the road surface but stays glued to the road/gravel. I will be trying gravel climbs soon, maybe give an update. Riding this bike versus my C5, power is power. Meaning, the power transfer through the frame is awesome, no lag and no wasted effort. Spin up the power and the bike goes in a straight line forwards. In that regard the Aspero rides like my old R5. UPDATE I've had the chance to ride this bike on gravel and road and with three different wheel/tire combinations. It is a great all-rounder. It is indeed very fast on gravel. I have no issues with comfort. With road tires on tarmac - fast enough. I really like the GRX system. On steep gravel pitches I can drop from big to small chain ring, spin up the power and and the bike just digs into the gravel and goes straight up with no slipping.

Philip R.