Caledonia VS. Aspero
 

Hello everyone,

so I have a down payment on an aspero but Cervelo just released the Caledonia which probably suits my riding style better And the LBS said I could switch models if needed before the aspero ships in like a month. I used to do a lot of group rides with friends, charity century rides, commuting and pop into a local crit very rarely. So I am not a dedicated racer. But with the advent of gravel I thought a gravel bike more oriented towards road riding would be a great All around bike for me. I have not done much gravel or adventure riding but it seems to speak to me. I don’t have any large aspirations to be a gravel king but I do like the idea of doing some of the events here in the PNW and light bike packing on gravel roads. I live in Boise and not to far away we have some major gravel events which is probably try out as well. So I don’t know which bike I like more or is better suited for me. So I thought I would throw this out there to the world and see what you all think. Thanks!

If you are looking to do actual gravel events and/or bikepacking then you'll want/need larger tires than 34mm, which is the max on the Caledonia.

I own an Aspero and am extremely happy with it, and I think that it will suit your needs better than the Caledonia...the more I look into the Caledonia, the more I realize it's just a less versatile Aspero. Unless if you jump up to the Caledonia 5, then I think that they is enough of a difference to where one will suit someone better than the other...or give you an excuse to get both :)

Stick with the Aspero, pick up a second set of wheels, and you'll be very happy.

From what you are describing (bike packing) it sounds like you should be looking at something like the Jamis Renegade Carbon... You can tour on it with a rack and fenders, ride the MS150 in comfort and just about anything else...

Yea I think you are right and I should stick with the aspero. The Janis renegade looks cool but I already have a down payment on this bike and I am pretty stoked to get it. Just saw the Caledonia and thought I’d see what others think.

thanks!

For what you describe, I wouldn't think either bike is ideal.
But the Aspero is certainly closer to the mark so I guess that one is best.

I own two Aspero's (GRX 600) and a Caladonia, (Ultegra)
I got the Caladonia first and run it for 6 months, I absolutely love it.
This is what led me to buy the Apero's, for use on some gravel and mud trails instead of just on the road.
I've only been out on the Apero's a few times as I haven't been out as much in the winter as I wanted too, a combination of being too busy and also the dark / cold weather.
At first I thought they both felt almost exactly the same and very similar, may a just the tiniest of difference between them.
But today I've just been out on the Caladonia for the first time since November, and I think withit's road tyres and Ultegra gears, it's a nicer ride on the road - Makes sense.
However, the Apero feels great on the road too, but I've only been out with gravel tyres and wheels on it.
I'm going to put my road wheels and tyres on the Aspero in the next few days and do a side by side comparison ride, see if the differece is big or small on the road between the two.
When it comes to mud and gravel, I think it'll be a no brainer to use the Apero in the gravel setup.
I'll report back soon.

why do you have 2 Aspero bikes, especiay with the same component level?

2 of the same bike
 

They are housed at two different locations.
I have one at home where I live, in a small city and one in the in the countryside on the coast where I spend my weekends.
One of them spends its time with the Caledonia, so a bike for the muddy tracks and a bike for the road and the other one lives alone, apart from a couple of mountain bikes.
It saves me having to keep transporting the bikes back and forth each weekend.
The reason I found this thread is because I was asking the same question as the title and wondering If I should have bought another Caledonia rather than an Aspero to keep on the coast.
the Caledonia rides like butter, I think the Aspero does too but I’m going to need to put road wheels on it to see how big the differences are.
I suspect they will ride almost identical.
I didn’t ride them side by side yet on the same day or both with road wheels on. The Caledonia has been sitting in the rack over the winter until yesterday.
there is one huge difference I noticed immediately, the brakes on the Asperos’s are 1000% times better than the Caledonia’s. This could just be because my Caledonia’s brakes need setting up again and could just be my bike, they feel particularly bad, hard to pull the levers and then a slowing down effect rather than a stopping one. The Aspero’s stop you instantly, like car brakes.

Road wheels on an Aspero
 

So today I put road wheels and tyres on one of the Aspero’s and left the gravel tyres on the other one.
riding the two side by side, on the road mainly, the road wheels were very smooth and made a huge difference and the gravel tyres sapped my energy.
A couple of friends rode the two side by side as well and they said with the road tyres they could feel every little bump in the road.
I’d say that in the whole an Aspero with a set of gravel wheels and a set of road wheels is the absolute best combination of all rounder bike.
However, there is just still something extra that I think the Caledonia gives in terms of ride quality.
I’m taking the Aspero on a long run out tomorrow morning for the first time - let’s see if I still love it in the morning after a long ride.
At the minute my bike of choice would still be the Caledonia, every time.
It must be that the geometry suits me a lot better, it feels like the bike isn’t under you when riding, almost as if it’s not there, a bit like being on a running machine when riding hard, if that makes any sense to anyone.

I couldn't bare it any longer - today I bought a second Caledonia, witth he new ultegra Di2 12 speed groupset - it's great.
Everytime I go out on tthe Aspero, I love it but then a few days later I go out on the Caledonia and I love it a little bit more.
I'm keeping the Aspero and I'm going to put the gravel tyres back on it, I'll use it for what it was intended - Gravel - also, it'll be my wintter bike.
Hope this thread helps anyone else who is trying to make the decision between the two.
Caledonia for roads and hills, Aspero for winter and gravel, mud, loose terrain.

Good luck

Have you fitted fenders to either of your Caledonias?

Just curious which ones if so.

Mud guards
 

No, I didn’t get round to fitting mud guards yet.
I’ve only managed to fit some Zipp carbon wheels and continental gp5000 tubeless tyres.

I might fit some mud guards next winter, but I’ll have to take advice from lbs as what fits and is light weight.

Itching for the new S5
 

I really feel like I want to try the new S5 and also the R5, see if I’m ready for an out and out road bike?

Thought I'd make an update to the post.
I've been on some gravel rides and entered an event with the Aspero.
100% this is the right bike for this and it's amazing!
There's absolutely no way I would want to do these kind of rides on the Caledonia, long grass, gravel, big stones, muddy fields, cow muck and slurry.
I finally found a place where thr Aspero can call home and I feel happy riding it, I wouldn't want to use anything else.

So for an update, stick to the roads and light off road paths with the Caledonia and the crazy off road stuff with the Aspero and the occasional road.

I hope this helps if anybody is trying to chose between the two bikes.

I have an Aspero w/ 2 wheelsets and the thing absolutely rips on road and gravel. Can’t imagine any scenario where I would prefer a Caledonia