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In my musings around a light and efficient gravel/away trip bikepacking bike my eye is drawn to the Spesh Diverge Expert Carbon.
I can only find glowing reviews of them online, any real world experience?
I have a Diverge Carbon Sport or maybe Expert (can't recall). Use it as my winter road bike - very nice bike - goes offroad as well as on - although mud and mudguards don't get on that well...
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51735790990_22749f8739_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51735790990_22749f8739_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2mPHsdo ]Specialized Diverge[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
My 'real' gravel bike is a Planet-X Free Ranger...
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52141742232_cfa9c4ae30_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52141742232_cfa9c4ae30_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2nrA4nJ ]On-one Free Ranger[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
My only grips is the Headshock thingy - custom fork, custom stem and custom inerds. I'd rather a normal fork etc and just use a Redshift stem. And the huge 'Specialized' brand tax (I bought mine in a sale).
I have a 2020 (maybe 21) base model carbon - mainly to avoid the down tube hatch thingie. Love mine - it’s pretty much still stock, apart from swapping out the wheels for DT Swiss, and adding some chunkier tyres. The Pathfinders are great, fast rolling tyres for dirt tracks, but I found they punctured easily on some of the rougher tracks around here.
Sounds good. I have the Futureshock on my Creo SL and quite like it !
It also would be gravel n+1, with the other being my Topstone Lefty which is more at the MTB end and on 650b.
Sounds good. I have the Futureshock on my Creo SL and quite like it !
Interesting, thinking about getting a Road Creo and chipping it......
Although the futureshock things messes up the front end, too high for a proper road bike. But the motors are easy to chip...
I love my Diverge comp carbon. Have done everything from Dirty Reiver to CX racing to 25mph chainy’s on it.
If it was 2kg lighter I’d have not bothered getting a disc road bike.
Riding position is ace. Geo is confidence inspiring off road but still nimble enough for club runs at least.
SWAT box is dead handy apart from the fact I always leave too much stuff in there 🤣
Futureshock definitely makes a difference. Even on roads where you’d not expect to notice- it makes for a sublime ride.
Highly recommended.
Have they increased the tyre clearance in these yet, it used to be a fat CX 38 max. If you are loading up for bike packing and using it properly off road and not just as a winter roadie/tourer I'd want 45mm minimum especially if it's a soft conditions tyre like a tundra
Having worked on a few future shock stem/headsets they aren't worth the hassle. I'd rather have a std steerer and a redshift/EE-silk stem
So other than that and it says specialized on the down tube making it the ford Mondeo if the grav world (efficient, boring, needs an update) I'd go for it
rOcKeTdOg
Full Member
Have they increased the tyre clearance in these yet, it used to be a fat CX 38 max.
I've got 700 x 45 in my (alloy) Diverge with space to clear. Can go to 50 with 650, I believe
Fair point, tyre clearance is very limited on mine, fine for 'fat' road tyres, but wouldn't fit the gravel tyres from my Free Ranger on it....
I did my futureshock 2.0 headset bearings myself last year and actually found the mechanism really intuitive and once I’d found the long thin spanner it came with- dead easy!
I don’t notice the futureshock until I go back to my road bike and then I miss it.
Tyre clearance is 700x47 / 650bx50 officially but thats really conservative if my 47mm Pathfinders are anything to go by.
I've got a 2019 carbon one and love it, great for everything, yes it could do with more clearance when it's muddy, not much room with 40 mm nanos. Future shock feels great and has been no trouble in four years.
Good to hear, thanks, the current one comes with 700 x 42s, so guess they have tweaked it a bit.
If you're after it for bikepacking, where are you looking at going?
Only ask as I've a Freeranger too, and even running 50c tyres prefer my HT for bikepacking - just so much easier for (proper) offroad when loaded, especially descending.
But for gravel, fireroads & estate/farm roads and the quiet/rough lanes & roads around us the Freeranger is my go-to bike.
^^^^ my other gravel bike is a Topstone Lefty with 650 x 47s on it.
If you’re after it for bikepacking, where are you looking at going?
hopefully have it in time for the Kintyre Way on the Coronation Weekend - a few of us doing a 5 day ride, starting from and finishing at Campbletown (was meant to be Troon, but Calmac ferry debacle put paid to that 🙁 ). So a mix of a small amount of quiet tarmac, lots of forest roads, not a huge amount of singletrack.
That probably typifies they stuff I do, last trip was the Hebridean Way, so similarish terrain
I have a 2020 Diverge E5 Elite (non Future-shock thingemyjig) - bought before Brexit idiocy kicked in from Bike 24 in a sale. It came set up euro style on the brakes and I've left them as they came. I actually quite like the rear being on the 'wrong' side! (Its my second Diverge having had for 5 years as my commuter mainly, and sold, the base model from 2015). I have swapped the wheels for Fulcrum tubeless compatible wheels as the stock Axis that came on mine can't be set up tubeless - or at least, I couldn't set them up tubeless! And I put a shorter/taller stem on, mainly due to neck issue. The tyre clearances on mine are 700x47 and 650bx2.1 - feel free to convert to metric on that one 😂. Only issue for me is that with the larger tyres, I can't use a front mudguard that sits inside the forks. Max tyre clearance I've got to work with a Mudhugger gravel guard is 40c and that was a tight squeeze so any crud just gets stuck. For winter stuff though I use speedrockers, currently with WTB Raddlers, with no issues - not perfect but more than adequate. For what I ride, which is far from gnarr, the 2x10 Tiagra is spot on.
I've looked at the Redshift stems and that may very well be the next investment for this bike.
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I have a 2021 model carbon - came out in 2020 and significantly different from the mk1 - 45mm+ tyre clearance (vs 35mm) and a lot slacker geometry. I used to ride 10miles from home down the Speyside Way to Glenlivet, do a lap of the red and ride home again. I run mine with Roval carbon wheels and 32mm Panaracer Gravelking slicks on the road, or 700x45 Cinturano M off-road. High speed handling is very good - having come down the Lecht at 50mph. Specialized Pathfinder tyres aren’t that good IMO - too narrow for off-road and too dead for road - gave them away after one ride. Never had a problem with the Futureshock - fitted the softer spring though. Did have a problem with the original carbon seatpost - the cradle bolt snapped and couldn’t get a spare - so Specialized did me an S-Works warranty replacement for the price of postage
sounds ideal, thanks. Button has been pressed, the kind folks at PedalPower in West Calder hope to have one later this week, for collection this weekend or early next week.
The Expert is a nice spec, except for the NX cassette and 11-speed freehub - on a +£5k rigid bike...
I ran an NX on my FS as a replacement for a worn out GX during Covid when I couldn't get stock - constant issues with it and wore out real quick.
The Expert is a nice spec, except for the NX cassette and 11-speed freehub – on a +£5k rigid bike…
Seriously £5k?
Think I paid less than £2k for mine...