Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Gravel bike?

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Gravel bike?

Old 07-15-21, 09:26 AM
  #1  
Wrecks24
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Wrecks24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 18

Bikes: Focus Cayo

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Gravel bike?

This has probably been answered many times over, but my computer sucks and I wanna know.....

I started road cycling last year and bought a decent used carbon road bike. I bught used to see if this is something I would enjoy and now I have put several thousand miles on it since last summer. I love the sport and am ready to look at new more expensive bikes. I should mention that I live in East Tennessee and we have an abundance of "off road" trails...ie Tweetsie trail and the Creeper trail. So I am looking at the Specialized Diverge gravel bike. There are a couple of guys in our group rides that ride this bike on our 25-30 mile road rides, but they also take them down the gravel trails. The furthest I ride road is 50-60 miles at a time. Before I dump a bunch of money into the Diverge, I wanted some thoughts on it. Do you think this bike would suit me well for mostly road rides and occasional trails?

Thanks in Advance.
Wrecks24 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 09:41 AM
  #2  
KJ43
Dead but dreaming
 
KJ43's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Bay Area, CA (East Bay - Contra Costa County)
Posts: 407

Bikes: 2020 Santa Cruz Stigmata, 2022 Cannondale Synapse

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 157 Post(s)
Liked 318 Times in 178 Posts
I ride a Santa Cruz Stigmata roughly 90% road and the rest dirt (single track, fire road, "gravel", etc.). I love the ability to add and mix my routes up with the trails we have available here in the California Bay Area. I've done 80 mile full road rides and I've done mixed rides where I've hit multiple open space preserves.

I did mountain biking exclusively for over 25 years and wanted a road bike that I could still trail ride on and my bike is perfect for that. I never feel held back on the road and I suspect that would be the case for you as well if you chose the Diverge.

Tires and your gearing will make a difference. I have a 2x GRX drivetrain and I'm riding the 38mm Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires (tubeless) - they have a solid center ride so in a straight line its like a slick but in the dirt there are knobs for traction on the sides.

Last edited by KJ43; 07-15-21 at 09:56 AM.
KJ43 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 09:48 AM
  #3  
WhyFi
Senior Member
 
WhyFi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,505

Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo

Mentioned: 353 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20791 Post(s)
Liked 9,436 Times in 4,663 Posts
It really depends on the condition of your trails and your expectations on said trails.

Hardpacked gravel or dirt can be very fast and a lot of people have no qualms about riding those kinds of surfaces even with 23 or 25mm tires. The more loose and chunky things get, though, the more bigger/wider tires will help. At that point, it becomes a personal question of compromise. If I'm going to do a ride that's primarily gravel, I'm going to want 38mm+ tires. If the trails are hardpacked, though, and the ride is mostly pavement, I'll probably be happier with 28s and just easing up a little on the dirt/gravel.
WhyFi is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 09:59 AM
  #4  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,373

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3078 Post(s)
Liked 1,631 Times in 1,005 Posts
Oh for sure… Tweetsie and Creeper are rail trails, right? Yeah, you’ll be crushin’ those; the Diverge isn’t the most gravelly of gravel bikes in terms of geometry, so it’ll feel like a road bike. Stick some file tread rubber on there, like between 28c and 35c, and you’ll be good to get after it!
chaadster is offline  
Likes For chaadster:
Old 07-15-21, 10:15 AM
  #5  
Maelochs
Senior Member
 
Maelochs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,453

Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE

Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,453 Times in 1,823 Posts
Modern Cayo---racy endurance frame--https://www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au/bikes/focus-cayo-ultegra

2021 Diverge-https://www.specialized.com/us/en/diverge-sport-carbon/p/175286?color=290945-175286&searchText=96220-6044

Interesting bit here: riders suggest reason to buy or not buy the Diverge: https://www.bikeride.com/specialized-diverge/

Seems to me that if you want to ride serious trails, but not so seriously that you need real front suspension, the Diverge is decent. Not as good on pavement as the Cayo .... so keep both.

The tire clearance is amazing, but you would have to have at least two sets of wheels (optimally one for 28-32, one for 37-47, and a 650b set.

The people who can tell you most are the guys who actually ride them.

But .... for "occasional trails" I might see what width of tires i could fit on the Cayo. The only real differences between casual gravel bikes and road bikes are wide tires and Maybe lower gearing (IMO.) The Diverge is a much more serious gravel bike---personally I wouldn't buy one unless the majority of my riding was going to b off-road.

But that's just me. I find it easy to tell other people how to live and even easier to spend their money. https://www.cervelo.com/en/aspero-5
Maelochs is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 11:52 AM
  #6  
Wrecks24
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Wrecks24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 18

Bikes: Focus Cayo

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by chaadster
Oh for sure… Tweetsie and Creeper are rail trails, right? Yeah, you’ll be crushin’ those; the Diverge isn’t the most gravelly of gravel bikes in terms of geometry, so it’ll feel like a road bike. Stick some file tread rubber on there, like between 28c and 35c, and you’ll be good to get after it!
Yes...Glad to hear. The only trails I would use it for would be trails like the Creeper/Tweetsie. Very simple gravel/dirt paths, but can still ride the bike on the road.

Thanks
Wrecks24 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 11:54 AM
  #7  
Wrecks24
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Wrecks24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 18

Bikes: Focus Cayo

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by Maelochs
Modern Cayo---racy endurance frame--https://www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au/bikes/focus-cayo-ultegra

2021 Diverge-https://www.specialized.com/us/en/diverge-sport-carbon/p/175286?color=290945-175286&searchText=96220-6044

Interesting bit here: riders suggest reason to buy or not buy the Diverge: https://www.bikeride.com/specialized-diverge/

Seems to me that if you want to ride serious trails, but not so seriously that you need real front suspension, the Diverge is decent. Not as good on pavement as the Cayo .... so keep both.

The tire clearance is amazing, but you would have to have at least two sets of wheels (optimally one for 28-32, one for 37-47, and a 650b set.

The people who can tell you most are the guys who actually ride them.

But .... for "occasional trails" I might see what width of tires i could fit on the Cayo. The only real differences between casual gravel bikes and road bikes are wide tires and Maybe lower gearing (IMO.) The Diverge is a much more serious gravel bike---personally I wouldn't buy one unless the majority of my riding was going to b off-road.

But that's just me. I find it easy to tell other people how to live and even easier to spend their money. https://www.cervelo.com/en/aspero-5
Not for serious trails for sure, I do have a mountain bike for that, but I like the ergonomics of a road bike and the ability to ride both surfaces if I want. Where I live I could ride road for 20 miles then jump on the Creeper trail and ride it another 10-15 miles, then ride road on my way home...!
Wrecks24 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 11:57 AM
  #8  
Wrecks24
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Wrecks24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 18

Bikes: Focus Cayo

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 7 Times in 5 Posts
I have gotten quite fond of my Cayo, however it doesn't have disk brakes or anything. But I will be keeping it and using on rides where I know for a fact I won't be hitting a trail. My wife likes to casually ride the Creeper/Tweetsie trails with her bike and with the diverge I could use it to ride with her.
Wrecks24 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 12:27 PM
  #9  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,373

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3078 Post(s)
Liked 1,631 Times in 1,005 Posts
To be clear, the E5 alloy Diverge has less slack geometry than the carbon fiber Diverge, specifically in terms of head angle and trail. The E5, therefore, should feel more at home on pavement, I think.
chaadster is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 01:10 PM
  #10  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
Originally Posted by Wrecks24
Not for serious trails for sure, I do have a mountain bike for that, but I like the ergonomics of a road bike and the ability to ride both surfaces if I want. Where I live I could ride road for 20 miles then jump on the Creeper trail and ride it another 10-15 miles, then ride road on my way home...!
I have a Cervelo C3, it's a road bike that can take 33 mm tires. Probably 35. But very much a road bike. Similar to what you're looking at. I love it. Wouldn't take it down a MTB trail, but I don't have to turn around just because the pavement ended. I prefer riding pavement, but I like having more options.

Can you rent or borrow one for a weekend?
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
Old 07-15-21, 09:01 PM
  #11  
Random11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: North Florida
Posts: 510

Bikes: 2019 Specialized Diverge, 2021 Cervelo Caledonia

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 257 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 378 Times in 197 Posts
Originally Posted by Wrecks24
...I am looking at the Specialized Diverge gravel bike. ... Do you think this bike would suit me well for mostly road rides and occasional trails?
My only bike is a Diverge, which I ride mostly on paved roads and occasionally on unpaved roads. I'm riding 38c tires, and the bike rides well on roads. I've done a century on it, but mostly ride 15-20 miles a day. I also ride a weekly group ride and have no problems keeping up with others who are on road bikes. I enjoy riding it on pavement and like having a bike I can take off-road if I want to. Sounds to me like a Diverge would work well for you.

One caveat: my cycling son tells me that if I had a road bike, I'd be 1-2 miles an hour faster. I have no good evidence on that, but the only drawback I can see is that other bikes might be faster. My Diverge does feel fast when I ride it, but I don't have another bike for comparison.
Random11 is offline  
Old 07-15-21, 09:03 PM
  #12  
Velo Vol 
VFL For Life
 
Velo Vol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Knoxville, TN
Posts: 51,053

Bikes: Velo Volmobile

Mentioned: 780 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 28441 Post(s)
Liked 1,832 Times in 1,300 Posts
No.
__________________
Originally Posted by Velo Vol
People here don't get it.
Velo Vol is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.