The new Specialized S-Works Diverge is an interesting, albeit somewhat confusing, sign of the times. It sits in a space between road bikes and... just about everything else.
With wide 38mm tyres, a suspension unit in the steerer tube and even a dropper seatpost, the S-Works Diverge is an abomination to the road bike purist. Sometimes, though, the rules have to be broken.
When the original Diverge was released in 2014, Specialized saw it as a niche product, to the extent that the US company was reluctant even to export it to the UK and Europe.
However, its popularity in this country surprised everyone, to the point where road category product manager, John Cordoba, now believes, ‘The Diverge will be biggest category in two to three years.’
While the previous iteration of the Diverge fitted squarely into the category of ‘gravel bike’ – wider tyre clearance, disc brakes and slacker geometry – this new version doesn’t.
Instead, it sits closer to what many have termed ‘GravelPlus’. The aim is to go beyond simple gravel tracks or bridleways and be capable of taking on mountain bike trails, which is why the new Diverge is compatible with smaller-diameter 650b wheels.
‘There’s a sweet spot in terms of tyre width where the 650b wheel and the 700c will give a similar ride quality,’ says Cordoba. ‘For 700c that is 38mm, while on the 650b it is 45mm, but with the new trend for wide rims the tyre changes shape a lot. On some 650b rims the bike will accept 47mm tyres.’
The new S-Works Diverge even has a dropper post, allowing the rider to drop the saddle by up to 35mm at the press of a lever to improve control and lower the centre of gravity on steep technical terrain.
Up front, the Future Shock offers a degree of suspension at the handlebars. It has been field tested on Specialized’s Roubaix line and the system has been stiffened for the Diverge, but we’ll return to that later.
It’s a far cry from Specialized’s high end road bikes of just five years ago, when bikes were built for 23mm tyres. The reward is increased versatility, but has the Diverge sacrificed the speed and handling that marks out a great road bike? Time to find out…
One for the road
When I first saw the new Diverge, I can’t pretend I found it attractive. Its curiously slack geometry, tall front end, strange integrated ‘SWAT’ box at the bottom bracket (not pictured) and enormous cassette and tyres felt like the antithesis of the clean lines of a classic road bike.
It had a job on its hands to impress me, and I was also certain that on my first ride I would be dropped and ridiculed by my ride partners. But no such thing happened.
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Probably the most revelatory aspect of this test was that the Diverge is, underneath it all, a fast road bike. Even with 38mm tyres, I kept pace on a Sunday ride with keen racers.
In fact, the only part of the ride where I was outdone was in the sprints, where I simply couldn’t find an effective cadence on the 42-11 biggest gear on the 1x groupset.
I’d planned to slim down to a 28mm tyre for road rides, but it wasn’t necessary. Despite its off-road spec, the bike is still fairly light (8.5kg) for a disc road bike and was admirably stiff under acceleration and while climbing.
Of course, the Venge ViAS or S-Works Tarmac are much quicker bikes than the Diverge on the road but, viewing the bike in terms of versatility, the Diverge handles the road just fine.
Comfort is predictably in a different realm to a normal road bike. It consumed the cracked and scarred roads of Surrey without difficulty.
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In that sense I preferred it even to the Roubaix. While the Roubaix’s Future Shock unit uses a linear spring system, the Diverge uses a progressive spring – creating more resistance as it compresses.
It makes it very hard to bottom out the handlebars and in general it feels more robust than the Roubaix.
Despite its road-worthiness, however, the Diverge’s real playground is on the mud and ruts of unpaved tracks – the ‘upside down’ of road cycling.
I used to view off-road riding as an esoteric pursuit best left to people who wear baggy shorts and say things like ‘gnarly’.
Increasingly in my reviews for Cyclist, bikes such as the Open Up and GT Grade have dragged me off the road and onto gravel tracks. Each time, it endears me more to the idea of bikes that venture beyond the road.
The Diverge takes that to the next level. At the bike’s international launch in New Jersey, USA, I took it on mountain bike trails that I’ve never dreamt to venture onto riding anything resembling a road bike, and the Diverge handled it all with ease.
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Playing dirty
Back in the UK, I was inspired to try out the tracks around my usual riding territories, and I found myself jumping onto the saddle far more often than I usually would during the grim winter months.
The Diverge’s knobbly 38mm tyres coped with all surfaces happily, and I never considered switching to wider tyres on a 650b wheel.
The Future Shock front suspension did a good job of absorbing big hits, although adjusting the headset pre-tension with a combination of 2.5mm and 2mm allen keys was frustratingly fiddly.
The dropper post was fun, and undoubtedly useful whilst out in New Jersey. For the kind of riding I do day to day, though, I’d probably look to swap this out to save weight (and ideally cost too).
The Diverge has stirred in me confusing existential issues. I’m a road rider at heart, but this bike has opened up the trails, gravel roads and tracks that I previously didn’t know existed around my local area.
I may not want to hang this bike on my wall as a work of art, but I don’t believe there’s a cyclist out there, even the most traditional and cynical, who wouldn’t have fun riding the S-Works Diverge.
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Spec
| Groupset | Shimano XTR Di2 M9050 |
| Brakes | Shimano RS805 hydraulic disc |
| Chainset | Easton EC90 SL Carbon |
| Cassette | Shimano XTR Di2 M9050 |
| Bars | S-Works Carbon Hover Drop |
| Stem | S-Works SL alloy |
| Seatpost | Specialized Command Post XCP |
| Saddle | Specialized Phenom Pro |
| Wheels | Roval CLX 32 Disc |
| Weight | 8.50kg |
| Contact | specialized.com |
Specialized S-Works Diverge 2018: Launch, first ride review and gallery
Peter Stuart, 19 June 2017
Specialized’s all-road endurance platform, the Diverge, was a surprise smash when it came out in 2014 and sold out in numerous countries.
That success has given Specialized carte blanche to push boundaries with this year’s redesign.
First glimpsed in a promo video with Peter Sagan driving doughnuts in a muscle car, the Diverge has been revealed in full at Specialized’s Summer Road Camp in New Jersey, United States.
In a significant vote of confidence, Specialized has for the first time created an top tier S-Works Diverge, with gravel racing in mind as much as touring and bikepacking.
It comes with a number of new technical developments that make it virtually unrecognisable from a normal road bike five years ago.
It has arguably gone beyond the 'gravel' category, and entered into the ‘GravelPlus’ category, a term coined by bike manufacturer Open to describe drop handlebar bikes that are capable of more demanding off-road riding, or what many call 'adventure riding'. It’s a category that includes the Cannondale Slate, the Open U.P and 3T Exploro.
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The new Diverge's major features include a dropper seatpost, a Future Shock front suspension unit similar to that on the Specialized Roubaix, and extremely wide tyre clearance that has been further opened up by compatibility with smaller diameter 650b wheels. Despite all the extra bits, the full build as shown comes in at a surprisingly light 8.5kg.
The S-Works frame itself comes in at only 880g, and Specialized has built a unit with a few minor adjustments (including removing the dropper post) which hits exactly 8kg.
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‘Gravel is the fastest emerging category in our entire line,’ explains John Cordoba, product manager for Specialized’s road category.
Specialized speculates that it will continuing to grow at a fast rate. ‘We believe that Diverge will be biggest category in two to three years.’
That’s a huge claim for a brand selling in the quantity that Specialized does.
Future Shock
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The tech on show for the Diverge is a lot to take in. First and foremost is the carry-over of Specialized’s Future Shock front suspension system from the Roubaix platform – a spring that sits between the stem and head tube to provide damping at the handlebars.
The unit has been tweaked for the demands of serious off-road riding.
The new Future Shock uses a progressive spring, meaning the spring generates more resistance the more it is compressed, unlike the Roubaix Future Shock spring.
‘The Spring on the Roubaix is a linear spring, so throughout the whole travel it has the same amount of force,’ explains Cordoba. ‘The Diverge Future Shock unit is the same but the spring inside responds in a different way – it’s not exerting the same pressure.’
The aim is to make the Diverge more robust than the Roubaix but also reduce the chance of bottoming out when going off a significant drop.
‘As you get through the travel of the Diverge you get more and more stiff so you don’t bottom out so hard and also you can control the handlebars a lot better,’ Cordoba explains.
‘The progressive spring goes from 150lb [pounds per inch] to 230lb whereas the Roubaix is 100lb all the way through the travel,’ he adds.
BB drop
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The control that the Future Shock offers has been matched by a rethink in the Diverge’s geometry, the most significant change being the bottom bracket drop, increased to 86mm from 74mm with the previous generation of the bike.
‘The BB drop has been increased, which is all about stability and confidence,’ Cordoba explains.
‘The Crux [Specialized’s cross bike] has a shallow 42mm BB drop, which works for cross racing. On loose gravel, though, the 86mm BB drop just plants you down on the gravel.
'While it increases the chance of a pedal strike in a corner, especially when switching to 650b wheels, the benefits in stability are significant for those doing more recreational off-road riding or gravel-specific endurance races.’
On the point of the lightweight frame’s resilience to damage when on rough terrain, Specialized is confident that the Diverge will survive the chips and pings typical to rough gravel riding.
‘We’ve been testing it for a while – we test the whole variation of carbon frames – and we’re confident on safety,’ says Mark Cote, head of marketing and innovation at Specialized.
Re-inventing the wheel
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The inclusion of 650b compatibility is a huge surprise from Specialized, who have never flirted with the smaller diameter wheel size on this scale.
This was an innovation first made prominent by Gerard Vroomen’s Open U.P, which comes as standard with 650b wheels on an otherwise normal road setup.
The brand has released a new Roval 650b CLX 32 disc wheel to coincide with the release of the Specialized Diverge, which will enable 47mm tyres to be run on the bike.
‘There’s a sweet spot in terms of tyre width for the 650b wheel, and the 700c which will give a similar ride quality,’ Cordoba says.
‘The sweet spot for 700c is 38mm, while on the 650b it is 45mm, but with all the new trend for wide rims it changes the shape of the tyre a lot. On some 650b rims the bike will accept 47mm tyres.’
The bike comes as standard with 700c wheels, and the CLX 650b will be available at the same price as the CLX 32 (currently £1,870).
The other startling development is the speccing of a dropper seatpost, which at the press of a button will drop down 35mm, and at another press rise back up.
The benefit is a lower seat height, which enables a lower centre of gravity and consequent stability over rough terrain.
The Specialized Diverge uses the Command Post XCP developed for the Specialized Epic mountain bike, and it is the first example of a dropper post specced as standard on a road bike from any major brand.
The dropper post weighs only 400g, but can be switched out for any regular 27.2mm seatpost for a minor weight saving.
Just as the Roubaix, the Diverge comes specced with Specialized’s SWAT box, which is an integrated storage unit above the BB containing spares and tools.
Specialized has stressed that the Diverge has been redeveloped as much for women as men.
‘There’s a gender equality to gravel,’ says Cordoba, pointing out that more of Specialized’s female staff than men race in gravel events.
There are women-specific models in the line, but there will be no separate platform for women.
Below the S-Works level sits the Diverge Comp, Diverge Sport, then the alloy Diverge E5 Comp, Diverge E5 Sport and basic Diverge E5.
The Diverge E5 Sport and Diverge E5 also come in women-specific sizing, going as small as a 44cm top tube.
UK prices are yet to be confirmed.
Head through to page two for our first ride review of the Specialized S-Works Diverge
Specialized S-Works Diverge 2018: First ride review
Verdict: The innovative Specialized Diverge makes a leap forward to encompass virtually all the terrain you could imagine while remaining a road bike at heart.
I had the opportunity on my first ride of the Specialized Diverge to ride on fast roads, on technical gravel and even mountain bike trails in the hills of New Jersey.
It certainly has some unusual quirks when first sitting astride it, but even on a first ride I managed to ride with more confidence on more testing terrain than ever before.
That said, there is more to the Diverge than its all-road angle.
Making contact
Contact points were initially a little unsettling on the Diverge. The strange movement of the front end on account of the suspension coupled with a minute twisting movement in the saddle, as a consequence of the dropper post, made the bike feel strangely loose.
It felt like the head tube needed to be tightened along with the saddle rails. It was a passing sensation, and quickly the bike came into its own.
The Diverge feels immediately like a nicely finished and highly tuned bike. The sizing is much in line with the Roubaix, with the Future Shock creating a high front end, while the wide tyres and lay-up choices all contribute to a very smooth ride.
The surprising impression with the Diverge is the responsiveness of the bike even with wide tyres at low psi. It is a strikingly light bike for its class, while the stiffness of the rear end sees it leap up to speed with impulses of power.
This was a huge benefit off road when navigating through deep turrets of gravel or rock, or trying to start moving on a steep incline.
The numbing effect of the Future Shock at the front of the bike did create a slight imbalance, where at first the back of the bike felt a little robust as there was more feedback from the road.
I came to realise that in isolation the rear was actually fairly compliant and comfortable, but again it’s a slight quirk on account of the tech on offer.
For my part, the Future Shock makes a great deal more sense here than on the Roubaix. Coming off a rocky drop or entering into a patch of serious rock and stone at speed, the Future Shock offers different levels of stability and control to anything I’ve experienced before anywhere within the confines of a road category.
The traction and confidence offered by the Future Shock touches on the feeling of a fully fledged front suspension fork, but obviously falls a long way short of the same travel and strength.
It does transform scary jagged rocky routes into a much less intimidating prospect on a road bike. That opens up altogether new terrain and ride settings.
I’m no off-road rider, but I was happily shooting along rough and loose gravel tracks. I took the Diverge on low-difficulty mountain bike tracks and felt totally comfortable, even eager to push harder through technical corners and over obstacles.
The bike is not light by high-end lightweight road standards, but feels very low in weight compared to other bikes of this versatility, and is a significant weight saving on a full-blown MTB.
The drop
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The dropper post helped a great deal with more technical rocky descents, and was a very neat feature I’ve never had the opportunity to use before.
Simply pressing the thumb lever drops the post when weighted, and it will spring up if the lever is pressed again when unweighted.
For very sharp and technical tracks, the lower centre of gravity and control made a huge difference to my confidence on the Diverge.
Riding in New Jersey we took on by far the most challenging terrain I’ve come across on a road bike, but I never felt out of my comfort zone.
In truth, I think I would look to switch this out quite quickly for a conventional 27.2 post for the majority of my riding – preferring the tamer side of gravel tracks.
It is an expensive addition to the spec, but it makes an important statement about where this bike is pitched.
The more conventional endurance all-road features all work well together. Shimano XTR rear derailleur has a clutch to avoid dropping the chain from chain slap when running a 1x front chainring setup.
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I found the 1x setup to be extremely well suited to the demanding terrain this bike is destined for. The range of gearing is plentiful for even the harshest gravel inclines.
For more road riding, I would possibly prefer a conventional double chainring setup, and I think it’s a good move from Specialized to spec the lower end carbon Diverge frames with hydraulic Shimano 105 groupsets.
Back on the road
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Moving over to the road, the Specailized S-Works Diverge is capable on the tarmac, even with the wide tyres at a low pressure. It cruises happily without any real sense of drag or sluggishness.
Much like the Open U.P, the Diverge offers a huge amount of fine tuning with regards to wheel and tyre choice. Trimming the tyres down to 32mm would make a big difference to the overall speed.
I would be eager to put the Diverge to the test on a narrower tyre width at higher pressure to see how it fares against serious endurance bikes.
Given the weight and the all around stiffness, I’m confident that it would be able to sit happily in amongst a decent paced group ride.
On the whole, Specialized's intelligent approach to handling for which the Tarmac is famed is put to use well here, and the bike is confident on descents on the road as much as the gravel.
Of course, Shimano’s hydraulic disc braking system offers another world to braking than conventional rim brakes.
There’s a lot of testing to be done with the Diverge to really determine its strengths across its different uses.
For many it will be tourer kitted out with mudguards and panniers, for others a high-end racer to fuse gravel, cross and tarmac rides.
The very fact that it spans so many categories is its main strength though.
I’m encouraged by the Specailized S-Works Diverge, not only as a bike in itself but a direction of bikes in the future. Too often the opportunities afforded by disc brakes in terms of wheel and tyre compatibility aren’t exploited in new bikes.
Specialized has taken the possibilities to the extreme and introduced new features to the road-platform altogether.
At the same time, those features will offer benefits at the lower end of the range for normal commuters in terms of comfort and versatility.
Above all else, the Specailized S-Works Diverge offers an incredibly fun ride, unlocking adventurous new roads, paths and trails without sacrificing the fundamental pleasure of road riding.
