All New Specialized Diverge Gravel Road Bike Takes Back Roads to Adventure

Can we all try and stop calling this segment of bikes “Gravel Grinders”? What a dumb name.

Any knowledge about max tire size?

Will 40mm MSOs fit?

So it’s basically a Roubaix with more tire clearance and a shorter seat tube? That’s nice and all, but it begs the question- why can’t they pony up for new molds for a proper 650b mountain bike?

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Saris- I thought the Shimano 785 stuff was the Di2 hyrdo. Did you mean to say the 685 mechanical versions on the Expert and Comp Carbon?
I think it is funny that Specialized went with thru-axles on this when they were quoted earlier this year saying ‘thru axles don’t add anything’ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallery-specialized-tarmac-disc-and-new-rim-brake-tarmac-released
That dropper post sounds really rad! Will it work with a remote lever? Not sure how that would set up with drop bars, but I like the short travel design.

Calling the activity of riding dirt and gravel roads “gravel grinding” makes perfect sense. Calling a bike that can do that type of riding along with all sorts of other road riding a “gravel grinder”, not so much.
I have been anticipating this bike since it was first rumored. I like the high headset and the low bottom bracket on the Diverge, but if they really made it only fit tires up to 35mm wide, I may just stick with the Crux, which can run MSO 40s.

@miles So, it’s basically a bicycle with wheels and tires.

That’s some sweet prose, aside from the fact that mountain bikes exist.

Given that, it’s kinda lame.

@ miles, or miles_e on other forums, what’s your hangup with specialized? It’s not as if they are making funky geometry bikes by repurposing existing molds, they can tweek the geometry via the rear triangle and spacers, which is fine engineering practice.

im not sure why theres CX bikes and those since they both can do well in gravel, etc and on the road. but hey, maybe its easier to market, or maybe the geo is a lil more relax.

that being said ive been ridin my CX as a “gravel” bike for a long time and im not picking up the road bike. I mean, why care? The road bike is only advantageous if i would race or care being 3min early.

With the CX (or gravel bike or what not) i can take those sand, gravel, even muddy path with no problem. They also are SO MUCH MORE COMFY on the road. Running those larger tires at low pressure (100PSI is not low. 30PSI is.) is so addictive even on pavement/asphalt, what not.

Basically, yes, high performance CX/gravel bikes are a lot more fun even on the road for me. (and no, i wont get the diverge – the CX is fine for a few more years at least and works just the same)

Nice BB drop and overall geometry I think for its intended use. The Crux has a pretty good BB drop for a cross bike; many of the older European cross bikes typically had higher bottom brackets which I think degrades road use particularly if you do a lot of descending and I also prefer a lower BB even off road as long as it is not too rocky given the extra stability.

Anyway, looks like a great all arounder for those so inclined. I have a carbon cross bike that is good enough, but this one looks like a keeper for the crossover riding that some people like.

j

Hmm, perhaps this is the bike my Tricross wants to be when it grows up, but it still looks more like a racing machine than an “adventure bike”. Not much room for a Tangle pack, that’s for sure. A single CO2 inflater strapped to the seat tube? Yeah, that’s “self-supported” all right.

I do dig the skinny seat stays, though. It probably rides washboards way better than my aluminum monster… or it will when those Axis wheels are mounted in the garage where they belong. Are those through-axles? Good for them, everybody else step it up!

@ Mr anonymous

There’s a few hundred miles of singletrack within riding distance of my house, and a few fire/gravel roads.

Great road biking though.

I couldn’t use one here, but when I lived in North texas, there were gravel roads aplenty.

It must be a regional thing.

So…. we have road bikes, hybrid bikes (which includes the sub-specialties city, trekking, and comfort), mountain bikes, CX bikes, recumbents, trikes, cruisers, triathlon bikes, touring, randonnuers, 29’ers, 650B’s, time trial bikes, BMX, track bikes… There are more, I know, but already some of these are simply “refinements” of others and to me, are already not in a category of their own… (I happen to agree with many of the comments above where we simply took what we had and rode it where we wanted (I happened to have a purple 5-speed Huffy Railbird – when you’re a kid, it goes where you want it to).

“Gravel Bike” Really? Half of the bikes above can easily be ridden in/on “gravel”, without marketing a new bike based on a surface. So what’s next? Concrete bikes vs blacktop? Leafy road bikes vs dry and clear road bikes?

We really are suckers for marketing these days.

Whatever make ya happy!

the BB on my crux is about the same as on race road bikes. i also think this diverge is close enough to a crux. it targets a different market, but the bike can be used in pretty similar ways.

I think i would still prefer the crux for slightly more hardcore “gravel” tho, no weird zertz and slightly beefier frame (granted that the 2015 model comes with thru axels and all the tralala as well)

Contador.

All-Road bikes. Not “Gravel Grinders”, sounds like a kid’s Saturday morning cartoon series.

What about rack mounts?

That’s right John, tires are the absolute key and if you are going to use it offroad for events like that, 35s are nice with many liking the 40s. I personally use 33s since I just re-use my cross tires (Grifos) but I can tell you that I could use a little wider on some of our sandy SoCal trails with exposed rock in the hard pack.

I think the balance is that if 90-99% of your riding is on road, but you want more capability on a whim or for a few gravel rides, you can definitely get away with 28s for some limited excursions and be just fine. If you plan to have a higher mix of dirt, and the terrain is a little more choppy or washed out, then a cross bike or one of this new “gravel / all arounder” category is perhaps a better option and then I’d look for the ability to fit 35s.

If you plan to race cross, well then the answer is obvious….

Micro niches – we have tons of them. That’s why I like my cross bike since I ride it frequently as my all arounder as we have enough mixed terrain around here to keep it interesting and fun.

J

Saris – Which forums have the uploaded pages of the Diverge Ultegra Di2 model from the new dealer catalog? I’ve been searching, but have found nothing but actual photos from the dealer event.

Apparently it does have rack/fender mounts.

Bike Rumor: There will also be a base model with Claris. Comp Carbon/105: $2700, Elite/Tiagra: $1400, Sport/Sora: $1250, Base/Claris: $1100.

This bike has the DNA of DESAFIO 2014. A competition all terrain of 233 km, which takes place every year in the northeastof of Brasil. Who will test this bike is the rider Orlando Alves, brazilian champion of mtb marathon in 2014.

http://www.desafiodeciclismo.com…..