just keep riding
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Milledgeville, Georgia
Posts: 13,560
Bikes: 2018 Black Mountain Cycles MCD,2017 Advocate Cycles Seldom Seen Drop Bar, 2017 Niner Jet 9 Alloy, 2015 Zukas custom road, 2003 KHS Milano Tandem, 1986 Nishiki Cadence rigid MTB, 1980ish Fuji S-12S
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I like it. In fact, I placed an order for one today. Size 58 complete bike. Should be here in a week or so. UPS hasn't posted a delivery date yet.
I've been planning to get a new gravel bike for a while, bouncing between the Sequoia, the RLT9 Steel and the new Diverge. When they released the full info at midnight last night, I was up and started punching numbers into spreadsheets and online bike geometry sites figuring out how well this would fit. It works for me. I was hoping for but not expecting a little taller stack so I could avoid an upswept stem, but I can live with that given all the other geometry numbers and features. The Diverge was perfect in that regard (I have a very immobile neck that requires that my handlebar be slightly higher than my saddle). But I didn't especially like the short chainstays on the Diverge. Good steel vs carbon was pretty much a wash for me, though I do have a special love for steel. The Diverge also has a press fit BB, which is not a deal breaker, but I do prefer a good old English threaded BB. That was also the main thing that kept me from pulling the trigger on the Niner RLT9 Steel. I would already be riding the Sequoia if not for the high BB. Every time I considered buying it, that just stuck in my craw.
I'll make a few changes off the bat. I have an unused set of Roval carbon wheels just waiting to put on this bike. Glad the Whisky fork uses a 15mm TA instead of a 12mm so I won't need to use an adapter. I'll need the previously mentioned upswept stem . Hopefully the stem mounted Garmin and the top tube bag will minimize the aesthetic impact. I'll swap the crankset for the Sugino OX601 46/30 that I currently have on my AWOL. I could have lived with a 48/32 like comes on the Diverge, but I know from experience that a 50/34 is too tall for my legs and lungs on the gravel roads I want to ride on this bike, especially when I'm carrying even a moderate load. I'll keep the 11-32 cassette for now.
I'll post plenty of pictures and relay my impressions when I get it and start riding it. Anyone need a Large AWOL?