Good thing that Specialized_UK chose a slow news day to launch the Diverge STR... ...Here's liamcahill1's First Ride Review from a very wet Germany Cycling Truss Boris
Specialized put itself in a bit of an awkward position last year with the launch of its new Crux. Its cyclocross/gravel bike featured the same tyre clearance as the Diverge, was lighter and faster too. So it was only a matter of time until its proper gravel bike, the Diverge, got an update. And it’s quite a big one.
I will point out now, however, that you’re not changing the saddle height when you hit a bump. It’s more the reach that extends. Anyway, we were soon onto the gravel and the first climb highlighted an area where this system is both good and not so good. But as the climb got steeper, I found something that I’m not so keen on. If you’re having to mash the pedals to keep yourself moving forward while also manhandling the bike to get it up and over larger rocks, the movement of the saddle really isn’t helpful. This is where I would flick the small lever on the shock to stiffen up the system and get my saddle fixed in place.
The new frameset, with the new Future Shock Rear does lead to a 400g increase in frameset weight. I was on the Rival ETAP AXS model, the heaviest in the range, and the bike did feel a bit sluggish on the steeper climbs, with extra muscling required to pop the bike over larger rocks on technical climbs. It might also lose out a little in tighter corners, but I’ll leave that to off.road.cc to test properly.
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