Not on the Aspero, but my fitter reviewed geometry and fit report to comment on sizing of two bikes. Since it had been awhile since last fit, I offered to buy another fit before he invested a lot of time. I’ve had the bike for 4-5 weeks now and going for a fit on Thursday!
Would racing crits on an aspero be a bad idea? Been looking at the aspero as an N=1 and the only races around are crits and gravel.
I used to do trials on my steel CX bike—my signature move was a double-hop up onto a picnic table then a wheelie drop off the end. I guess “no limits” is in the eye of the beholder. Lol
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I hear it’s not bad when you flip the fork tab to be more aggressive.
I also own an aspero and a Ridley kanzo fast. Love the aspero
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Figured I would chime in with my experience here! I built myself an Open UPPER last summer and since then have done about 2500 miles on it, with probably 80% of that on the road. It could absolutely be my only bike, and having received some medical news recently that is gonna prevent me from racing bikes anymore, I’ve honestly been really considering selling my Allez Sprint.
I have a 30mm deep carbon “allroad” wheelset running Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass Extralight 35mm slick tires and they are almost as fast as the Conti GP5Ks I run on my Allez. I only notice them rolling a bit slower at higher speeds which I assume is due to the aero penalty of big wide tires on a narrower rim. The setup is so great as you barely give up any road speed but have huge increases in comfort and can hit dirt/gravel without concern. I have beaten tons of Strava PRs on the 35mm slicks that I had originally set on my 50mm deep rims & 28mm GP5ks on the Allez
I think gearing setup is the most crucial thing for a do it all bike! I am currently running GRX Di2 with 50x34 chainrings paired with an 11-34 cassette and it is perfect. I had originally built it up 1x with a 42t chainring and an 11-42 cassette and struggled with not enough top end speed as well as the big jumps in cadence.
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Speaking of the Aspero, the new “Aspero-5” is out. A bit lighter (120g per the CT review) plus internal routing through the bar + stem.
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For crits, if you are new to them, it’s not a bad idea to ride something aluminum. Unfortunately crashes aren’t rare and I would hate to damage my nice new carbon bike. Hence the popularity of the Allez Sprint. You can learn a lot about crit racing tactics and test your fitness on any frame material.
To answer your question, with the flip chips set appropriately, the geometry is pretty similar to an endurance road bike, meaning it has a longer wheelbase (by about 50 mm) and slacker head tube angle (by about 1 degree) but the trail is almost the same. This will result in the bike steering feeling normal (trail number), but the actual turning radius being bigger for the same input at the bars (wheelbase). For a beginner, it’s likely not going to be noticed.
A few other ways that a gravel bike may not be good for crit racing: you don’t want suspension, you want sufficient stiffness and aero should be decent. The Aspero meets those criteria, so for a gravel bike it’s fairly well suited for crits.
might have to sell my aspero and upgrade
Damn. I have the 2020 Aspero GRX 810 ($4200) that came with a wrong-chainline-for-GRX Easton crank and aluminum wheels. The 2021 Aspero GRX 810 comes with the correct chainline Shimano GRX crank and carbon wheels for $4500. I really wish I had the 2021 instead. Much better value.
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On the topic of having a N=1 gravel/road bike, would you go with Di2 GRX or Di2 Ultegra/Dura Ace shifters if you had the choice?
I’m scoping out a Di2 build right now. I can get Ultegra Di2 shifters for a pretty fair price and honestly like the aesthetics a bit more. But from what mostly everyone’s saying, the GRX Di2 shifter ergonomics are top notch (whether for gravel OR road).
I’m doing exactly this.
I have a T-Lab X-3 and 3 sets of wheels.
Full Gravel-Mavic Allroad with Yksions 40mm
Multi-surface - Shimano GRX with Gravelking SS+ 38mm
Just Road - Chris King/Nox with GP5k TL 32.
To be honest I ride the GRX 70% of the time., Nox 25% and Mavic 5%.
When I do run the Nox I get comments about having plenty of clearance 
I have a full GRX-Di2 group set. I’m not sure if it’s cross compatible with Ultegra / Dura Ace Di2.
Could you expand on this a little bit? When I saw the flip chip option that’s exactly what I was thinking, but then I saw that they recommended using it when you change wheel sizes. I’m thinking about the new aspero for gravel racing and as a B-bike for cross. Sharper handling might turn it into a good CX bike.
The front fork tab. If you run 700c wheels and flip the tab backwards like you would for a 650 wheel set, it should turn in easier
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The intention is to move the flip chip when changing between 650b and 700c, to keep similar trail, but you aren’t limited to that. You can run the chip in either position with either wheel set. Do note that there’s also an adapter bracket for the front brake caliper that you add or remove when flipping the chip to keep proper alignment to the disc rotor.
As far as using it for CX, there’s a drawback, which is lower BB height. Gravel bikes typically have lower BBs than CX bikes to improve stability in the loose stuff.
That said, there is a pro rider that rode an Aspero in CX races, but he was sponsored by Cervélo so he likely had no choice. He used an eccentric bottom bracket to raise the crank and improve pedal clearance. Maybe he also ran a shorter crank, not sure.
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For sure. I was thinking a 165mm crank might be just the ticket.
I know it’s an old post…but how have you been enjoying the Jon Bon Pass tires? I’m thinking of giving then a shot. Is the extra light casing durable enough for road riding tubeless or would you recommend the standard? Thanks!!
This is my hesitation on going down the “one-bike” route, since I race CX as one of my main focuses. I’m sure there’s ways to work it, but is so hard to know without testing. I’m curious to see Cervelo’s new CX bike - hopefully coming this season. 
Yo yo! I really liked the Bon Jon Pass Extralight tires once I could start riding them, but they were a huge pain to set up! Had to feed them like half a big bottle of Orange Seal over the first 2 weeks as they just kept leaking air at the seams. Once they finally sealed up, they rode so nice and I had no flats for about a year but then got a sidewall cut that would have destroyed any other tire I’ve ever ridden.
I’ve since replaced them with the 38mm Barlow pass tires in the standard casing, and I am much happier with them overall. Sealed up with no issues with just the normal amount of sealant, and ride quality seems to be the exact same but I have the added benefit of more volume and wider tires. They are measuring about 39mm on my 21mm internal rims.
In my experience and from talking with others who have ridden Rene Herse, the Extralight casing seems to be a bit of a waste of money as you end up adding a bunch of more weight just in sealant to get the tire to actually seal
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Awesome thanks so much!!! Just ordered Jon Bon Pass in standard casing…can’t wait to try them!!
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The Groad Roubaix:
Nothing special to it, just installed 32mm Panaracer Gravelkings (tubeless, they measure around 33mm on the Roval C38) and then joined the local gravel ride. My rides are typically 60-70% road and the remaining on gravel/mild single track. The bike is not ideal for single track, many times I’m “kicking” the front wheel due to the toe overlap. Despite that it is still fun! I believe a 35mm tire will fit on the front, looks like there is 5mm clearance on the sides (I can fit a 5mm Allen key there). In the back I would not go higher than 33mm, the recommended maximum tire width.
A little on why I chose this one…The Roubaix wasn’t my 1st choice, I moved from South to North America earlier this year and I did not bring my diverge (moving during a pandemic is not fun). When I got to my new home I realized it’s nearly impossible to get the bike you want, I guess you all know the shortage is real. I wanted to get the Domane, Aspero or Caledonia but none was available. When I saw the right size Roubaix on ThePro’sCloset website I decided to pull the trigger. It meets the criteria I had, I can ride gravel and if crits come back I can also use the same bike to race. Unfortunately I can’t do cyclocross on it but I’ll have to deal with that.
I’m thinking about bringing the Diverge here but I know from experience that having more than one bike will lead to having one full time on the trainer and the other for outside riding. If I find a good deal on a frameset (mainly a Cervelo Aspero or Trek Domane) I might be tempted to do it but I believe I will allocate the funds on a mountain bike.
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