NBD: I bought my first new bike!

Tl/dr: Finally upgraded from my decade old road bike to my first brand new bike. It is absolutely head and shoulders more amazing and comfortable than I could imagined.

Multiple times in my life have I told myself I was going to get into this sport. Id buy a used road bike (or at one point a triathlon bike), buy a new helmet, go on one ride, not touch it again and then sell it. I have done that three separate times. Finally about 18 months ago I told myself I was going to buy a bike and just hold on to it and ride it when I feel like it. It only took a couple of months of not putting any pressure on myself to ride and I had caught the bug. There’s nothing more fun than riding around a big city, dive bombing corners and sprinting off, and looking for the most gnarly gravel! Ripping around local parks, riding logging roads and single trail, and crazy climbs with a cliff on one side became my new norm.

I ended up moving out of the city, saving lots on my bills, and gaining financial freedom; which leads to three days ago. I had got done with my ride for the day and just found an absolute playground of gravel just two miles from my new apartment and decided to head to the bike store to buy some new pedals. On the drive there I decided I could afford a new bike (to be honest I had decided about a month prior but wasn’t sold on any one bike) but I wasn’t sure which one. I thought I wanted an aluminum frame to keep cost down and I wanted lots of mounting options for bags. However, after taking some time to really think about my riding and what the future looks like for me and my goals as a cyclist I decided that I really had no idea of what I wanted. So I left it up to the professionals. I told them how I ride (80/20, realistically in my daily rides it’s mostly road, but once a week or so I’ll make a trip just to ride some gravel routes) and I wanted to be able to do short one to three night self supported bikepacking. After talking options and narrowing them down to three the BMC Teammachine FIVE, Cervelo Aspero, and Specialized Crux I decided on the Aspero GRX610 1!

Why the Aspero? The very first thing I noticed was how smooth it was, it was like a hot knife cutting through butter while I pedaled, the shifting just as smooth. I knew I wanted a 1-by from the get go and the 10-45 cassette paired with the 40t crankset offered (almost) perfect gearing for me. The bars are comfy, the seat is comfy, the vibration from the road is nonexistent. The wide 40mm tires offer a comfortable ride that will roll over anything, and to be honest they’ll scream into some corners.

I’ve put 25 miles on this bike between two rides and about 1200 ft of elevation. On busy roads with no bike lane it’ll gladly jump off on the gravel shoulder and haul ass, keeping you safe and making you feel cool. Tough long climbs? Absolutely dream, even as a 1-by. Descents? Planted and nimble, ready to eat. Corners? Remember your on 40mm tires and not 23’s. The bike gives you the confidence to go for it in a full sprint and it’ll handle it but don’t outride your tires! I’ve already signed up for two gravel events next year and looking forward to putting thousands of miles on this bike!