Cervelo Aspero - can you use it as a road bike and durability/Warranty
 

I test rode a Cervelo Aspero and found it to be very comfortable/a good fit.

I'm looking for a drop bar bike (my first!) to go on gravel group and road group rides. I'd like to be able to do about 30 km/hr on the road.

It was a low end version of the Aspero that I test rode with the 1x in the front. See specs below.

A few questions:

Could the Aspero keep up with a 30 km/hr road group ride (especially with the 1x)?

What the reputation of Cervelo in terms of carbon frame durability and warranty (espiecally for gravel bikes)?

Thanks.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Fork Cervélo All-Carbon, Tapered Áspero Fork with Adjustable Trail
Headset FSA IS2 1-1/8 x 1-1/2
Seatpost Easton EA50 Alloy
Shifters SRAM Apex 1 HRD, 11 spd
Rear Derailleur SRAM Apex 1
Front Derailleur N/A
Brake Calipers SRAM Apex HRD
Brake Rotors SRAM CenterLine 160mm Thru Axles Cervelo Indexed Thru-Axles w/ Lever, 12x100/142 Crankset SRAM Apex 1 40T
Bottom Bracket JY-BB 22/24
Handlebar Easton EA50 AX Alloy Stem Easton EA50 Alloy
Saddle Cervelo Road Saddle
Cassette SRAM PG-1130, 11 spd, 11-42 Chain SRAM PC-1110, 11spd
Wheels Alexrims Boondocks-7D, 28h (F), 28h (R), 24mm IW, 6-Bolt, Tubeless Ready
Tires Panaracer Gravel King SK Sport Folding 700x38 60tpi

40/11 is pretty low top gear and those Gravel King SK 38mm tires will also be a bit draggy for long road rides. Also the 11-42 cassette has some pretty big jumps in gearing.
Both of those are relatively easy problems to solve so if you otherwise like the bike I'd say yes... it can definitely double as a road bike. Maybe just plan on getting some faster tires and a bigger 'ring and possibly a more close-range cassette. A second wheelset helps if you frequently want to swap between road and gravel. If your riding includes lots of long climbing and fast descending, finding a balance on the gearing may become problematic.

I frequently ride a 1x cyclocross bike on faster group road rides with 28mm road tires on carbon wheels. I've found that 44t 1x with an 11-32 gives me plenty of range for flat road riding, but acknowledge that this would be pretty limiting for climbing. It's very flat here so this is fine for me, I have no trouble keeping up with the "A Group" which is usually in the range of 22-25mph (35-40kph) on flat roads. I also am more spinny on cadence than most, so. YMMV.

I'd say if you like the bike then go for it.

An Aspero would be fine to ride on roads.
I wouldn't want that gearing for roads...but I wouldn't want it for gravel either.

If you want to do both road and gravel with the bike, and you care how fast you go on the road, one nice answer is two sets of wheels. Keep the existing gearing for gravel.

Then a second set of wheels setup with a faster road tire, and a 10-33 or 10-36 cassette

I own the Cervelo Aspero and the Caledonia (Cervelo's endurance road bike) and putting different wheels and a faster tire on the Aspero the two are almost identical. There's small differences in ride quality and handling but speed really isn't a factor. Honestly, even with the stock wheels and tires the Aspero is a pretty fast roadie.

That said, if you can find the RX600 version of the Aspero it's $200 well spent. I test road both the Apex and GRX and for road riding the difference is pretty big.

I'm not a fan of SRAM mechanical shifting... Agree with phedge that you should at least get GRX... But the Aspero should be great for your use.

I have Force 1x mechanical and it's awesome. I also have GRX 800 mechanical on another bike and also... awesome.
I've never used Apex, but if it's anything like Force I'd have zero hesitations buying a new bike with this setup.

OP, you're questions are really all conditional. Conditional on what constitutes that 18 kph/hr ride. A ride on mostly flat terrain where elevation gain is limited to under 400m per 40 km can be a very mellow group ride. Do the same distance, at the same pace, but with 1000m of elevation gain, and the extremes of the ride can be very different.
A lot depends on you...
A 38mm Gravel tire is not gonna roll as easily as a 25 or 28 mm road tire.
The 40 ring with an 11 will give 43ish kph at 90 rpm. Very OK for even strong pace rides. But up the pace at times to over 50 kph, and you might be wanting for a slightly bigger ring, like 46 to 52.
2x always will give a better range and mix of available gears than 1x, so that might be a strong consideration for the 'One' Bike...
And as noted by others, having 2 wheel sets, the stock set for gravel, and another set for 'road', greatly increases the suitability of one bike.
everything I've read seems to point to the Aspero being a very fine bike for filling a number of roles.
Have read some 'negative' comments about SRAM APEX 1x, but nothing specific - just general stuff which points to other setups as 'better;'. I recently got a Framed Basswood with APEX 1 and was expecting 'less'. Well, surprise ! Apex 1 is good stuff ! Consistent, seemingly sturdy (only have about 11 rides, 300 ish miles total) solid shifting even under some 'load'. I think it's good stuff.
But if I could only have ONE bike for road and gravel, it would have to be 2x AND 2 wheelsets. An additional sizeable cost, but the clear advantages and riding experience will come back so much better, in spades.
Ride On
Yuri