First Impressions Review
If you’ve seen Part I of this series, you know that I have gotten quite gravel-curious over the winter. It was a much-needed palate cleanser for my tired body and mind. Riding had gotten a little stale, and a niggling elbow injury made rough rides a multi-day recovery affair. It turns out bikes are really great, and no matter what surface they are rolling on, there is satisfaction and fulfillment to be gained from the process of tiring out your legs and expanding those lungs. My fitness wanders, especially during the winter months. I find myself often choosing rest over long bike rides, too. I wanted to lower the threshold of “yes!” to bike rides. If mountain bikes weren’t gonna do it, it had to be something else.
Diverge 4 Sport Carbon in Deep Orange. There are also Obsidian and Emerald Metallic options.
The Diverge is now on its 4th generation.
The problem is, I am not as open-minded as I claim to be. Stuck in my ways, I built a significantly less capable version of a mountain bike with my Stigmata. It sure is pretty and plenty comfortable for commuting to the bike shop a couple of times a week. With 780mm wide bars and a dropper post, it is hella fun on a local segment called the “Escape from Bear Island.” It’s a flat-cornered, champagne gravel and moss-covered twisty piece of heaven. It’s a place where you want to go extra slowly and stop every few meters to observe the stunning landscape and the abundant ecological wonders. But it is also a place where the Stiggy comes to life and just about out corners any conventional gravel bike setup. The problem with a bike that is excellent on that segment is that it is less so on the rest of the ride. Different-shaped bars had to enter my life. While the overall fit of the bike was adequate, the little voice in me that sounded awfully close to Cooper’s told me it was time for curly bars. The dark side was calling.
I like the GRX levers. Great ergonomics and light lever feel.
It’s like a jungle sometimes…
Specialized Diverge 4 Sport Carbon
The Diverge 4 comes in a few different versions, but there was a reason I chose to review the Sport Carbon. First of all, I wanted to test the Carbon frame. While there are diehard metal fans, I am not one of them. At least not for aluminum. I also wanted a wide-range cassette with this bike. The 10-51t afforded by the Shimano drivetrain seemed like the only option. I also wanted a battery-free bicycle. If touring and bikepacking were to happen, I wanted to be detached from walls if possible. The sport carbon is a reasonably priced (4,499 CAD), mechanical GRX-driven, alloy-wheeled spec build that makes the most sense for many people. Higher-end builds of the Comp, Expert and Pro are a mix of Shimano GRX Di2 and SRAM Apex, Rival and Force AXS groups. There is even a Pro LTD model with a Shimano XTR Di2/GRX and Roval Terra CLX III option.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can jump onto a Diverge 4 Sport Alloy for 2,749 CAD with a Shimano Cues 11-speed drivetrain. There is much happiness to be found on the lower end of gravel bikes these days, where cables and sensible mechanics are lurking.
What I would love to see in the mid-range gravel sector would be a mechanical T-Type setup; Eagle 90 operated by mechanical brifters. I hope SRAM is listening.
Size 54 fits this rider well, but I am an advocate for a proper bike fit by a professional. I will get my fit checked by a local pro asap.
172.5mm cranks are disappointing to see. 170 or 165 would have offered better pedal clearance on corners and potentially better biomechanics, too.
Sizing
You should ask an expert for an opinion on road and gravel bike sizing. This expert might be a local bike shop, a local bike fitter or at least someone you trust. An ill-fitting bike will do a great job of destroying your knees and back, and erase any joy from cycling in general. Take this as a PSA and get the correctly sized bike. Specialized has a pretty good size calculator on their website. You enter your height and shin length to arrive at a suggested frame size. For my 175cm height and 43cm shins, I landed on a size 54 bike as I expected. This calculator does not take into consideration your arm and torso length. So if your length comes mainly from your upper body, start with a longer bike or longer stem for your fit. If you are mostly legs, a smaller bike might work with a shorter stem. There are limitations to how far you can raise or lower a seatpost, so ask an expert.
Roval Terra CLX III wheels are insanely light, exceptionally comfortable and absurdly expensive.
The carbon spokes are made by ARRIS, and Specialized supplies a few extras per wheel, just in case.
Wheels Matter
The Diverge 4 Sport Carbon comes with very decent, somewhat heavy, DT Swiss G540 wheels and Specialized hubs. The rims have 24mm internal width and are perfectly suited to the Diverge’s intentions. They are comfortable, tubeless, and can rock the 45mm Specialized Tracer tires all day long. However, I do have an affinity for nicer wheels. Without soliciting on my part, Specialized also sent a set of Roval Terra CLX III carbon wheels to go with this bike. Now, these are some pricy wheels. They roughly cost the same as the Diverge 4 Sport Carbon itself at 3,399 CAD (3,199 USD // 3,100 EUR).
The Terra CLX III is one of the nicest and lightest gravel wheels on the market. Based on DT Swiss 180 EXP hubs, the carbon spokes by ARRIS and flat top Roval rims have a 27mm internal width suitable for the latest gravel race tires on the market. Impressively, these wheeIs weigh a little over 1,000 g. I mounted the stock 45mm Specialized Tracer tires on the front and the optional fast-rolling Pathfinder on the rear. This makes for an incredibly light wheel to spool up on the budget Diverge Sport Carbon. For me, this combination of carbon frame and wheels dressed up in sensible components makes the best sense. Would I spend my own dollars on these extremely pricy wheels? Hard to say at this point, as the Reserve 40|44 GR on the Stigmata are really good for a lot less money. I am hoping to run these wheels back-to-back for some real-world tests with a power meter.
The Specialized Tracers have been great so far in a 45mm width.
Aggressive enough without being an XC tire.
Pathfinders are well-loved in the Gravel community.
The smooth center strip rolls super fast, and I don’t ever see myself putting these on the front of a bike. For the rear, they have been great so far.
The Future is Shocking
The Graveleur has options these days. Fox, RockShox, Cane Creek and Lauf all have rather traditional devices to isolate the rider’s upper body from impacts felt by the front wheel during an impact. These forks cost around a thousand in most currencies. While they work really well, the forks are, of course, heavier than rigid carbon forks and require service. Some of them also have limited tire clearance for modern gravel tire sizes.
Specialized chose to move front suspension closer to the rider’s hands and upper body instead of at the wheel. The Sport Carbon Diverge has a lower price, with a less adjustable Future Shock 3.1 on the front. When it first showed its face on the Roubaix frame almost a decade ago, the Future Shock was a controversial piece of engineering. It turns the simple and unassuming stem/steerer interface into a 20mm stroke, hydraulically damped (3.2 and 3.3 versions), tunable suspension.
The 3.1 has three spring rates to choose from, plus preload shims. The 3.2 adds hydraulic damping to control the rebound, while the 3.3 adds an externally adjustable lock-out dial. All Diverge bikes have a box of spare parts and extra springs to tune for rider weight. I left the stock medium-weight spring in there for the time being.
There is seemingly unnecessary complexity under those rubber covers.
The truth is, regardless of the faff they potentially introduced into my life, they work as advertised.
Here is a table for Future Shock spring rates.
I was quite skeptical about my hands moving up and down with the bars, but it literally took minutes to get used to it on the road. While I sometimes wish for a lockout for on-road sections while I am climbing out of the saddle, I have no issues with the system as a whole. Ask me again in 6 months after many dusty and wet rides. The rubber boot that seals the system seems well-made and replaceable.
Here is a link to the service manual for online reference. It might come in handy for people searching online.
GRX 1X cranks with 40t chainring… Simple.
This GRX derailleur still has its clutch and works perfectly with the drop bar setup on rough stuff.
Drivetrain
The drivetrain is an interesting element of the Diverge. I am a fan of GRX shifter ergonomics. The reach adjustment on the GRX ST-RX610 levers has decent range. I have been running them halfway in, and the tops of the hoods are fairly flat. There is a mix of parts from Shimano on the Diverge Sport. The Cassette is a 7100 series SLX cassette*, which is heavy and probably sacriligious to put on the Roval Wheelset. The rear derailleur is a GRX RX822 capable of a 1×12 wide range cassette. The chain is also an SLX 7100. Cranks and 40T chainring are GRX RX610 also and work well with the BSA bottom bracket on the Diverge. There is plenty of climbing gear range on the Diverge. Compared to the Stigmata that is running a 40T 11-46T combo, the 40T 10-51T on the Diverge is both faster on the flats and easier on the climbs. 172.5mm cranks are not in touch with current trends for a size 54 bike. I was expecting 170 or 165. I have a fixed-gear urban riding background, and I pedal through corners a lot. I have come close to striking a pedal on a few turns on my commute.
*The new Deore 12-spd group absorbs the SLX. This cassette remains with a new number (7200) associated with it.
Literally right outside the backyard. There is plenty of gravel to be found on the North Shore.
The static, carbon seatpost will be my most frequent complaint. Justified or not.
Unfortunately, the Diverge breaks my “no bikes without a dropper post” rule. The carbon seatpost is fine; it is comfortable and has built-in flex. In everyday practicality, the no dropper has not been an issue. But sometimes at stoplights and the aforementioned Escape from Bear Island, it would be welcome.
The Diverge will get plenty of use this year. I will commute on it, and I hope to take it on a few longer trips. There are some plans to explore some cargo options if things line up. The fit is good, and the ride is comfortable. There is enough clearance for some really wide tires, and I hope to explore that too.
I am looking forward to as many miles as possible with the Diverge in the next while. We’ll see if it’s a keeper or misses the mark for what I am after. I am very optimistic so far.
Sprecialized Diverge 4 Sport Carbon 4,499 CAD // 3,499 USD // 3,499 EUR