Baetis

So here it is. I have a gvl bike that I HATE. Kona Sutra Ltd, 50 mm tires. I just think it is too harsh of a ride. I also have a Specialized S Works Di2 that I LOVE. My wife thinks I should look into a new gvl bike (I have a great line on a Cervelo Aspero 810 2x) I am considering selling the first two bikes to facilitate the purchase of the Aspero? And maybe a dedicated set of CF rims. I was considering the Aspero to use also as my road bike replacement. What does the hive mind think of this reasoning? No real rush to make the decision. I will be trying out the Aspero in Tucson the end of Oct. More about me: my road riding has been reduced to basically 3-4 weeks in Tucson when we visit spring and fall. The lack of roads around here and the dramatic increase in traffic has really limited my road riding. My wife would prefer me to be off the roads and do more mtb and/or gvl. Last year i did 15-20 road rides and over 50 mtb rides. (We currently iive in So Central CO)

Steve B.

Keep the Specilized, sell the Kona. Get a gravel bike plus a 2nd set of wheels and put asphalt tires and maybe different road gearing. I ride my Topstone mostly as a 2nd road bike, with 30mm tires at lesser air pressure, it’s somewhat more comfortable than my carbon road bike that can only use 25mm tores at 100+ air. The Topstone is 5 lbs heavier and as such I use the carbon when I do fast road group rides, but the Topstone for all else,

Koyote

You lost me right there.

What psi are you running in those 50mm tires?

Baetis

30. My mechanic recommended to drop it to 20-25. But, you know, I got the go-ahead for a new bike so.............

tempocyclist

Keep all the bikes, buy the Aspero. 😁

Steve B.

I’ve heard this before from a buddy had a Sutra. It’s heavy and a slug. He sold and went to an aluminum Topstone, which he likes much better,

Baetis

Welp, need to get the new one w/o any cash deficit. PLUS, we're most likely headed to Europe for a year and limited to one bike. Like my mechanic said tho, if I WANT to mtb, i could always rent one over there.

Random11

You'd probably find the Aspero to be a nice road bike. I have a Specialized Diverge 2x with 700x38 tires which I ride mostly on paved roads and it's a very enjoyable ride. I also have a Cervelo Caledonia, which is more responsive and feels faster, but the Diverge is just as enjoyable to ride on pavement, and is good off-road too. I've never tried an Aspero, but I'm guessing it would ride much like my Diverge. For solo riding, I consider the Diverge just as good on the road as the Caledonia. If I'm riding with others, I'll take the Caledonia because it's faster. If I'm riding off-road, I'll take the Diverge. On solo rides on paved roads, one is just as good as the other. The Aspero seems like a good option for you.

Canker

Looking at trailforks for your area I'd forget the road/gravel bike completely and just get more MTBs. Almost looks like there are more mtb trails than roads.

David_Harris

Keep the bike you love. Sell the one you hate. If you need a gravel/MTB, get one of those in Europe.

tomato coupe

I use my Aspero for both road and gravel when traveling. It works fine for both -- just swap out wheels.

Jklotz

I agree with this. If you love your Specialized, keep it. There's no guarantee you'll like a new bike you've never ridden as much, no matter what it is.

Iride01 

So which S-Works bike do you have? Might make comparing to the Kona Sutra Ltd a little easier to understand why you don't like the way you perceive the ride of the Kona.

eduskator

Selling a bike that you love is never a good idea. Learned this the hard way.

I also don't like the ''my wife would prefer me doing XXXXX''. Do whatever floats your boat and buy the bike that fits your needs - riding is all about pleasure.

mstateglfr 

1- try typing the full word out. Gravel. Its fun to type vowels on message boards and not pretend to be trendy race directors that cant fully spell words. Gravel. Give it a shot- I bet you like it.
2- the Sutra LTD is a really slack gravel bike that is more for bikepacking or for someone who wants to underbike with dropbars on some rough singletrack. Oddly, that seems like your situation based on location and posts, but if it doesnt work for you it doesnt work for you.
3- An Aspero will be night and day different from your Sutra LTD. The Sutra LTD has a super slack HTA, long chainstays, and a long wheelbase/front center.
4- You mention how many road rides and how many MTB rides you did, but dont mention any gravel riding. Would you do any gravel riding if you had the Aspero?...if there isnt much use for it, why buy it?

cyclezen

Sell the Kona, keep the Spesh... Find some way to 'store' the Spesh while you're in Europe.
I travel over there most every year for an extended period (over a month...), have my family home there, and keep some bikes there for my use. I was gonna ship a bike there, last year. It's now very expensive to ship a bike there. Specifically a gravel bike. Decided to NOT ship, bought a budget (Decathlon) gravel bike there. I have an older S-works Tarmac over there, which was my go-to while there... The Decathlon $800 gravel bike QUICKLY became my goto ride - perfect for the area I'm from... The Sworks dropped to just 25% of rides... still LOVE it though...
Traveling with Bikes, to overseas, limits what else you might want to take... but flying with one is a consideration.... Flying with 2 (I'm assuming your spouse also rides ?) would be more difficult.
You can easily buy a bike over there ...
But if the Aspero is a good deal, here, and you can ride/test it... try to do that... Then decide ...
...what I would do...

work to not experiencing HATE... it's a condition/emotion which is poisonous to the person experiencing it. Even using the word 'HATE' brings internal negativity. Dislike happens, and one can find ways to mitigate and focus on more productive things.
If something seems to bring on that 'HATE' emotion, become 'determined' to change that, and relieve that condition...
Focus on the things which Bring JOY... JOY does not limit anything else, like achieving, creating, planning, everything which moves us through a happy and productive life.
Words matter... especially for humans, since so much of what we express is done through language... and language brings on our own reaction and that of others...
My language has lost 'hate' and other very similar terms for many decades now. Losing 'hate' doesn;t mean you can;t be passionate about what is important to you. What it does mean is that your 'passion' remains positive, about the things you 'LOVE' and bring 'JOY'.
The change was remarkable for me. I became a more joyful, productive and happier person, and play much better with others.
... works for me...
a simple change, and fairly easy to do... worth a try?
Ride On
Yuri

Baetis

SL4 Di2. All CF. I put my FSA handlebar on it when I got it.

Iride01 

Thanks. They made both the Roubaix and Tarmac with SL4 frames that were very different in geometry. Probably a little moot now since it sounds like you decided on the Aspero. I'm not quite certain but SL4 or SL(n) doesn't describe a particular bike model. It's a series spec or something like that that lets you see what generation or version a frame build was. Fact(nn) is more specific too to let you know what type carbon lay up the frame was built with. They made both the Tarmac and Roubaix's with SL4 frames and through the years continued on with SL6, SL7 and are now up to SL8.... for both Roubaix and Tarmac. Both way different frame geometry. And the SL(n) might apply to other models too.

Aspero looks like a nice bike for gravel. Might not like it on the paved road if you are a fast rider. The Kona seem to be a very upright sitting bike. So probably if anything you had a lot of weight on the saddle. That and for certain it's not a road bike for paved roads would be a no for me. The Aspero seems like it'd give you half a chance to enjoy a ride on paved roads.

Baetis

w/o a doubt I'd probably do a lot more gravel riding if I liked my gravel bike.

Baetis

It's probably the Roubaix but there is NO MENTION anywhere on the bike or the paperwork. It is definitely not the Tarmac.

Jrasero

Hard to understand how 50c tires at low pressures isn't comfortably, but with that said comfort is subjective. If you only road ride 4 times a year yeah ditching the road bike might make sense but I am kind of more interested on what kind of gravel you ride where 50c tires just don't just cut it. I think at this point if large tires aren't doing the trick than a gravel bike with mechanical dampening like the Roubaix or even the Diverge STR might make sense.