NBD! Cervelo Aspero GRX 820

Just got back from a 10 mile shake down, and damn!

Ok let’s back up a bit. I have a 2020 Trek FX3 Disc, and it’s a great bike. It’s exactly what I wanted when my wife and I bought bikes 5 years ago. But times and directions change, and it was no longer fitting its purpose. Long distance rides. Single track. Long gravel sections. Basically all the normal reasons anyone with a perfectly good hybrid bike wants to move up and on.

I spent a lot of time determining what I wanted. Drop bars, 2x, gravel race/endurance geometry, threaded BB, minimum 45mm tire clearance. And I didn’t want to absolutely ruin my bank account. The options list gets pretty small pretty quick when you start hunting.

I narrowed it down to a Trek Checkpoint SL5 AXS, which Trek has on sale currently. Phenomenal deal….. if you can find one your size. I could not. My hunt led me to a Cervelo Aspero GRX610 that they have on a great sale. Again, I was unlucky, as there are apparently only 3 in the country, and they’re all 61cm frames (I technically fit a 58, but should be on a 56).

Again, I found myself deflated that I would never find a bike I wanted in the budget I could justify. But here is where the LBS is always your best bet. I was in the right place, at the right time, and I don’t understand why they did the deal for me that they did. They had 2 brand 56cm GRX820 Asperos in stock, and let me steal one from them for an outrageously low price. My preference was for the white version, which they didn’t have, and was almost doubting if I would come around to liking the “woodsmoke” blue and green of the model they had.

So first thoughts then. It’s stunning. It’s smooth as silk. It’s beyond comfortable. And holy crap is it fast. There is a gear, 2 and 8, that it just begs you to spin the cranks. It’s uncanny. Huge smiles. And the color, I love it!

I need some bottle cages, pedals, tire repair stuff, and ya know, more fun toys to make it mine.