For that same price, you can get a GRX Di2 Cervelo Aspero from Competitive Cyclist…
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I’d have to ride it to compare. The site doesn’t list what type of rims are on it or what tire width capacity is. I do like how light the crux is and that it can clear 700x47 tires.
They are the Shimano GRX wheels…
- Rolls on the Shimano GRX WH-RX870 Carbon Wheelset with 40c Maxxis Rambler Tires
I have put 45mm Ramblers in my Aspero with no issues, FWIW.
I moved from Diverge to a Crux and love the lighter weight and nimbleness of the bike, especially for fast gravel racing. As you said, don’t think you can go wrong with your list. I was interested in all those bikes as well. My only criticism of the Aspero is the limited tire clearance. Maybe you will never need a bigger tire, but as we have seen, even the pro field in the fastest races are using bigger and bigger tires.
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That’s also why I’m hesitating with the Aspero. The Giant, Trek and Specialized can all take 45mm or wider. I just feel like the Checkpoint and Giant are better all-rounder and perhaps not as quick. Maybe I’m biased because my current Checkpoint SL5 is quite heavy (and sluggish) with the stock wheels and my previous 22 Giant Advanced was not the Pro model with the lighter set-up. The Crux will probably feel like the gravel of my SL7 which is not a bad thing and there’s no added weight of useless (for me) options of adding bottle and bags everywhere. There’s just too many options these days…and everything is so expensive with Rival AXS being over 7K Canadian . Perhaps prices are better in the US but in Canada 7K doesn’t get you much these days…
Again, many of us have successfully used 45mm tires on the Aspero.
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I had both,
The crux and aspero with the same exact parts (only changing frames) was about a .75lb lighter.
I personally preferred the Aspero more, but tire width was never a problem for me. The Aspero just felt stiffer and more solid then the crux to me and I am a larger rider with a decent 1-sec power/sprint. The bikes geometry-wise are very similar to one another.
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I’m also looking at a new gravel race bike for next season, and it seems like this has turned into a general discussion thread so here goes, match me with a suitable bike:
My feature wish list includes:
-Frame storage
-Threaded BB
-Clearance for 45mm+ rubber
-Decent road manners (i.e. not mega-slack HTA or mega-high stack numbers)
-Some kind of hidden-ish cables would be nice (I recognize that this is not really a performance advantage but I like the look.)
Bikes that tick these boxes that I know of:
-Trek SLR-level Checkpoints (don’t love the IsoSpeed thing though)
-Enve MOG (lovely but man it ain’t cheap)
-Rodeo Labs Trail Donkey 4.0 (looks cool but more on the bikepacking side than I probably need, and therefore heavy. Some concerns about buying from a very small brand in the current climate, as many seem to be at risk of disappearing.)
Bikes that come close:
-New Grail (PF BB)
-Orbea Terra (PF BB)
What else should be on the list?
Thanks for the feedback - I’m on the smaller side and the comfort on the bike is a concern - so I would opt for a little more compliance and more tire clearance. The lower weight appeals to me even though it’s not a huge amount. The other thing is that I love the mustardy yellow color. Last thing is that the new dealer store just opened in my area and I’ll have them at my disposal for any warranty/service needs.
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I’m researching with the exact same parameters as you right now. The Giant Revolt AP0 is at the top of my list so far, only difference between it and the 1 being the paint and Rival vs Force.
Where have you seen the Cervelo 2024s? I was under the impression that the ones listed on the website are 2023 right now.
Looking at the Canadaian website I can see 2 models for the Rival Etap AXS 1 model, one with the Reserve 32 wheels which I know for a fact is the 2023 model and another model with the Reserve 40/44 wheels which I can only assume is the 2024 specs but I might be wrong and it could maybe be a mid-year spec change as well. Truth be told I’m actually quite pleased they changed the 32s for the 40/44 model.
I just bought the Crux Expert and it truly is an all rounder for gravel, CX and road. It feels nimble like a road bike with the 38mm Pathfinder Pros but if the gravel gets chunky throw on some 45-47mm gravel tires, lower the pressure and go for it.
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Sounds like all of us are looking for the same gravel bike for the spring and coming to similar conclusions. The Crux has the clearance, threaded BB, decent road manners, but doesn’t have the frame storage or hidden cables.
Aspero has the hidden cables, clearance (barely), but doesn’t have the storage or the BB.
I think I’ll probably end up with either a Checkpoint or a MOG (but man that price).
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Curious- what don’t you like about isoSpeed?
Have you done a lot of singletrack with the Crux? I’ve read that the higher BB makes it a little more twitchy than a more conventional gravel bike geometry that has a lower BB and longer wheelbase. It would bike like your sitting on top of the bike rather than into the bike.
My Diverge BB must be low, because I’m regularly striking rocks, bolders and obstacles when pedaling or at least a couple to a few times per ride depending on terrain. The Crux’s BB height 275 vs 264 for a difference of +11mm. I did ride it on singletrack a few months back and I loved the responsiveness…I’m scheduling another test ride before I pull the trigger just to be sure. What are you on @stonerider ?
Yeah the MOG does appeal. Does ENVE stuff ever go on sale? I think the concept of “value” is antithetical to their brand, so probably no.
The new Grail has storage and semi-hidden cables (though a PFBB), but none of the limited number of builds is quite what I want, nor is the 1-piece cockpit. Then again a nice Grail with Force AXS and Zipp Firecrest wheels is the same $$ as a MOG frame, so maybe a Grail with some parts swapping is the way to go. Canyons just kinda fail to excite me.
It’s just an added bunch of complexity and parts (and weight) that I don’t feel adds a ton to the bike. Hand/shoulder fatigue is typically more of a limiter for me in very long events than butt fatigue, so a compliant rear with a more rigid front isn’t something I feel like I need.
Yeah, I’m generally not a fan of proprietary/gimmicky add-ons, so I get it. That said, I am a fan of the rear isoSpeed. I’ve had it on my Madone road bike (early 9 series), a Domane(when it was Trek’s gravel bike), and most recently my Checkpoint. The Domane had isoSpeed front and rear and I had issues with the front working loose (racing chunky gravel courses), but have never had an issue with the rear IsoSpeed on any of the 3 bikes. As far as I know, all the issues Trek had with IsoSpeed were on the adjustable rear version. For me, the IsoSpeed is less about butt comfort, I just like the “hooked up” feel when you get into chunky stuff when trying to keep the power down (it doesn’t have the “bounce” you get from some of the bikes with lowered seat stays). Again, totally appreciate your position, just providing my experience in case you don’t have much time riding/maintaining a bike with it.
I’ve got a Checkpoint SL5, and am considering upgrading to something a little more race focused as well. I like the bike, but definitely not light.
I quite like the new grail, just annoys me they didn’t give it room for 45mm tires.
The Aspero5 can fit 45s comfortably? If so, maybe I’ll circle back to that again. Everyone that has one seems to like it.
Also considering the Scott gravel addict…I almost bought one when I got the checkpoint, and might look at it again.
The other issue is, ideally, Shimano comes out with Di2 GRX, and I get a bike with that on it. Of course not sure how long I’ll have to wait for that.