sgtrobo

Yes, I rode the previous Diverge on a demo day ride (I actually rode the S-Works with Di2...*sigh*) for just shy of a metric century. The 2018 Diverge darn sure felt fast as can be to me. The Diverge is fast. It's not as fast as a Roubaix or a Tarmac on the road, until the road gets rough, then it really shines. If you have a lot of chipseal, then the Diverge could probably be just as fast, and the rougher it gets, the "faster" it gets, relative to the road bikes. However, there's a reason you don't find a Diverge or a Warbird or an RLT9RDO in the Tour de France or races like that. At the highest level, it simply cannot (due to physics) perform as well on a pure road ride. However, unless you're prepping for the Tour de France, that might not matter in the least. Will a strongass local rider still be able to kill with it locally? Hell yes. If you have cruddy roads, a lot of chipseal, can you hang with a club ride if you're a strong enough rider? Hell yes. That's why I'm considering the idea of replacing my Roubaix with the Diverge.

If you need "race-level" road racing speed, then the Diverge is not the bike for you (stock) unless you take a lot of steps to make it more road-worthy. If you need "really fast" road riding speed, or "race-level" mixed surface speed, then the Diverge is ideal.

You said it yourself. "I was always one of the strongest riders". See comment above, "strongass rider killing with it". It's always more the rider than the bike. Always. Chances are good you could take a mountain bike on the club ride and kill with it.
That said, having read whta you wrote below, where you equipped it with road gearing and other lighter weight/more road-worthy bits, then yeah, there's no reason you can't take the frame and build a comfortable road bike out of it that is fast as hell.

I'm talking "stock/out-of-the-box" though. The gearing alone would prevent it, and the weight is a bit too notably different on several of the models

can't tell you about the Fuji or the Raleigh but the FutureShock darn sure didn't feel slower to me at all. It felt as fast as the previous Diverge, and I think, over a longer distance, a lot of folks will be even faster because of the fatigue-reducing aspects of the FutureShock and the more upright geometry. Perhaps top-level racers won't get the effects as much, but I think for most people, the Diverge would be an outstanding bike for both road and gravel riding.

And I'm putting my money where my mouth is as I just put a deposit down on a Diverge.

sgtrobo

ah ok, now I see where you're coming from. Yes, the frame itself is not much heavier than a regular road bike frame, so if you gear it and outfit it with "road bike" stuff (like a 53/39, etc) then yes, it will perform as well as a (for example) Roubaix, and for some folks, possibly even better because of the more relaxed geometry which would reduce fatigue.

P.S. this red is dedd sexay:

wheelhot

I guess it's worth noting that if the gravel you ride is fine with 32C, the 2017 Roubaix with FutureShock might be a good buy as well and will be a lighter bike by 1-2kg of the 2018 Diverge.

Lazyass

I agree. If you don't plan on running bigger than 32 you don't really need the Diverge. Unless of course you want to run those plug and play fenders, then you'll have way more room for them.

wheelhot

Yup and if you plan to ride even through mud, then you definitely will need the Diverge for clearance reasons

Nimbuslove

so I'm looking at this bike and I wonder is it technically a road bike with the soul of a mountain bike as I want a road bike that can handle being roughed around a little bit and does it come with the other two springs also that light turquoise is gorgeous

wheelhot

From Spesh definition of the new Diverge, it's similar to what you just mentioned and when you mention roughed a little bit, how rough are you talking here as most carbon bikes are stronger then what people think of it (ignore those ultralight carbon frames, those are definitely made for roads only, most endurance and gravel frames should be okay).

If I recall, the Diverge only comes with 2 springs

BluesDawg

The diverge is a road bike with a taste for rough and unpaved roads. It is in no way shape or form a mountain bike. You can ride it on MTB trails if you want. You can ride a time trial bike on MTB trails if you want. Neither is made for that, though I'd wager that the Diverge would handle it much better.

Rennvelo

The Diverge is much closer to a proper road bike than a mountain bike. It is a road bike that can be used on unpaved roads without beeing constantly afraid that the bike falls apart.

I am a huge fan of the so called gravel riding. For this kind of surface I prefer a bike like the Diverge over an mountain bike. Riding on a gravel road or on an even singletrack without climbing or downhill with a mountain bike is not much fun. The MTB is simply not fast enough. When the road has roots or bigger Stones then Ich prefer a MTB. Riding on such roads with a MTB ist much smoother. With a gravel bike such roads or paths are are not fun to ride to me. In the begining Ich thought that Thema Diverge would make my MTB obsolete. Bitte that is not the case. However, the Diverge is much more versatile than a MTB. Ich have fun on and offroad, AS long as the Off road parts are not too, well, of road. With the MTB I usually have to cover a considerable distance before the fun part starts.

ToiletSiphon

Has anyone tried or bought the new Diverge E5 without the FutureShock? (so either in Claris, Sora or Tiagra). How's the ride? Is the frame stiff enough for some good out-of-the-saddle uphill efforts without wasting too much power ?

Additional question: Specialized Diverge page, there is a graph regarding tire clearance
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/road/adventure/diverge

28mm is marked a a yellow triangle while 26mm is a red X. Why? It seems like the bike wasn't made for anything below 32mm.

curttard

Wait, do the E5 models not allow 650b wheels???

I'm becoming more tempted by the Fuji Jari or Raleigh Willard. 42 or maybe even 45mm tires, 650b wheels if you want, and they're lighter than the E5 Comp (well, the Jaris are). The downside is no Futureshock and while Diverge often gets raves from reviewers and owners as "riding like a dream", the Fuji and Raleigh don't seem to bring out such effusive praise, despite the fact that everyone seems to like them.

wheelhot

Hmm, my guess is the yellow triangle probably means the min and max allowed tire as anything lower than 28 and pedal strike might be an issue (remember that the new Diverge BB is 5mm lower)

Also if I recall, the new Diverge is designed around 38mm tires.

I'm genuinely surprised that you can't fit 650b on the allow models.

ATPAH

I'd wager that it's saying that you can't fit anything in a 650b that's big enough to keep your pedal stroke from going subterranean.

wheelhot

You most likely can't fit standard 650b tires, it needs to be one of those road plus tires

https://www.wtb.com/collections/road/products/byway

https://www.wtb.com/collections/road/products/horizon

I wonder what obstructions that will prevent any road bike that accepts 32mm wheels from using 650B and this tire, the only thing I can think of is the seat stay/chain stay design causing some obstructions.

Lazyass

Is that a new chart for the 2018's?

BluesDawg

Must be. The 2017 carbon frames wouldn't fit a 42.

Lazyass

I wish someone would measure the actual clearance. Manufacturers tend to be on the conservative side.

unterhausen

I assume the "650c" is a typo. I don't think there are any of the tire sizes they listed in 650c

sgtrobo

my LBS stuck a 42c Sawtooth on the new Diverge with room to spare, but not enough room for a set of fenders (FWIW)

Once I get mine, I'll see what I can put on it

BluesDawg

As ATPAH suggested, I think the issue is that the 650B tires that are narrow enough to fit between the stays of the alloy bikes would put the BB too low to ride without a high likelihood of a pedal strike.

ATPAH

I'd be concerned on the carbon frames, too. Between the increased BB drop and the reduced wheel diameter, you're losing over an inch in BB height with 650x47b tires relative to a traditional CX setup with 700x32c tires.

BluesDawg

Could be an issue for aggressive riders who pedal through sharp turns or for those who want to ride the bike on technical single track. But for the way I ride, especially on gravel and dirt roads, I don't think it would be an issue at all and the stability from the low center of gravity would be nice. Shouldn't be much lower than my road bike with 80mm drop running 700c x 26mm tires and I've never had a pedal strike.

nek4life

Tried the 2018 Diverge E5 Comp and the Carbon Comp at my LBS yesterday and I really liked how the bike handled. I tried both 54 and 56 sized frames and I think I could fit into either one with a few adjustments.

I liked how the 54 felt a little more nimble, but I did have a bit of toe overlap if my foot was slightly forward and I turned real slow. Not sure of how much of an issue that is or if it's a common thing. I didn't feel too cramped, but maybe the bike fit could be lengthened a wee bit.

The 56 I felt more stretched out and felt more pressure in my hands and neck when looking up. Again with a few adjustments I could probably ride this as well. The bike didn't feel quite as nimble in this configuration, but wasn't too bad. Definitely could feel the difference between the two sizes.

The carbon frame felt a little smoother than the E5 alloy frame, but it also had a CGR post and even bigger tires. I didn't get a chance to try this one out in a 56 as well, but the fit from 54 to 54 seemed pretty similar even though the bike had a riser bar and slightly different geometry than the alloy.

I'm a little stuck between going a model up from the E5 (Sport) with a carbon frame and Tiagra because of the smoother ride (but doesn't have CGR seatpost) and getting the E5 with CGR seat post either right away or down the road. The front of the frame seemed to ride pretty similar because of the future shock so that wasn't an issue. I'm also wondering if it's preferable to have a more stable bike riding a road bike or having a bit of a smaller bike. This would be my first road bike and I'm coming from a hardtail mountain bike which is why I think I liked this bike when I took it out.

Anyone else try out these bikes or have suggestions based on their experience? Any other considerations between the difference in the carbon and E5 frames? They seem to be slightly different from the specs and what I've read through here.

Thanks!

wheelhot

What's your height? As I would recommend you to follow Specialized recommended bike sizing guide and then adjust the fitting accordingly.

Reason why I say so cause I'm 180cm which is either a 56 or 58 Roubaix, my dealer convinced me to get a 54 and just like you, it felt good riding it but after riding it for 3 days, I can't shake of the feeling that the bike felt small, tried riding a 56 Allez and it feels much better even though it feels larger (but my guess is cause we come from MTB where we're used with our bikes being smaller cause of less frame size choices), thankfully my dealer accepted to exchange it but 56 went out of stock and now he's sourcing around to get it.

So a summary, choose your frame size based on Specialized recommended guideline and then get your bike fitted accordingly.

Also the reason why for Specialized bikes I would recommend to follow their bike sizing guide is related to their Riders First or something where the frames is optimised for the rider height and size instead of just scaling it up and down, so I would assume they'll take account of expected rider toe overlap and a few other factors to match the experience between sizes

nek4life

I'm 5' 9.5" (176.53cm according to Google.) I can't seem to find their 2018 size chart. I found some older ones, but the frame is quite a bit different. Generally from most size charts I look at I'm smack dab in the middle of two sizes, 54/56. I just wrote to specialized to get their opinion and also the sizing chart.

I should ask my shop if they have some similar policy if I get a size I really end up not agreeing with. Thanks for the advice!