Specialized Gravel Bike With Full Suspension
Specialized have released a brand new gravel bike, named the 2023 Diverge STR. Built to be a long distance racer, this bike is the first ever Specialized to incorporate rear suspension in a gravel package.
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00:00 There's been a whole lot of new road bikes this year, but not too many new gravel bikes, that is, until today.
00:06 Specialized have just released this. This is called the Diverge STR.
00:10 There's quite a few eye-catching features, and don't worry, we're going to go through absolutely everything that this bike has to offer.
00:16 I'm also going to tell you about the things that I'm not the biggest fan of, so be sure to stay tuned for those.
00:27 So, like I said, the name of this bike is the Diverge STR.
00:31 Now, the weight of this bike does start at 9.5 kilos for the three different models that they're offering,
00:37 and the top-end model, the S-Works version, is 8.5 kilos.
00:41 So, a fairly respectable weight when you consider how much technology that they've packed into this.
00:47 Now, like on the normal Diverge, you've still got the Future Shock up front,
00:51 and you've still got those flared hover bars, which do work really nicely.
00:55 You've got clearance for up to 47mm wide tyres, or even a 2.1-inch tyre if you scale down to a 650b wheel.
01:04 At the moment, though, they've actually fitted some 42c tyres, and these are the Tracers, so ideal for kind of fast-rolling gravel.
01:12 Now, on this build, Specialized have gone to their in-house component brand, Roval, to find the wheels,
01:18 and they've gone for their Terra wheels, which is basically their gravel offering.
01:23 We've also got a carbon seatpost, and this is the one you can expect to see on basically any high-end Specialized bike.
01:30 We've got a power saddle, and then we've got a full SRAM Rival wireless groupset.
01:36 And looking at the frame, it is entirely possible to fit a Di2 groupset, as I can see all the usual bunks.
01:42 On to practicality, and we've got the SWAT storage down in the down tube here, which, again, a hallmark of the gravel bikes.
01:50 And then, of course, we've got the top tube mount here if you wanted to pop a bag for some snacks.
01:55 And then you've still got, obviously, your bottle cage mounts here in the usual places.
02:01 On to the fork, and you do have mounts here for a low-rider rack or cages, which is, again, ideal for those longer days in the saddle.
02:09 The bike itself is actually compatible with most bikepacking bags, which is really good.
02:15 The only thing that Specialized do say is that if you've got a top tube bag or a bar bag, which would then end up wrapping around the Future Shock,
02:23 they say, basically, don't use it because, in reality, it's probably going to rip that rubber boot right open.
02:28 So, on to the most notable feature of this bike, and it is, of course, the inclusion of another Future Shock down here at the seatpost.
02:40 Now, the question I asked myself when I first saw this is, "What on earth is that? How does it work? And is it a bit of a gimmick?"
02:48 Well, let's start off with how does it work.
02:51 Well, first thing to know is that in this part of the frame down here, that is where we've actually got the Future Shock.
02:58 And you can see the end of it popping out here, and then it attaches onto this thing here, which Specialized are calling the tendon.
03:06 That then wraps around the frame post, not the seatpost, but the frame post, and the frame post itself goes right down into the frame,
03:16 and then it's covered by this rubber boot here so that dirt, grit, grime, water doesn't then get into the frame.
03:25 Now, like I said, the seatpost slides into the frame post, and the frame post then slides into the frame.
03:32 And it's around the frame post that you have the movement.
03:37 And that is why this part of the bike is so wide and that it's so big.
03:41 It's because that frame post has to be able to move around inside.
03:46 But it's then the Future Shock up here, which is what controls that movement.
03:51 Now, speaking of control, you've got a switch here on the Future Shock, which you can set to three different levels of dampening.
03:58 Now, the way that it works is that essentially you've got your easy, your medium, and your hard.
04:03 When you're on really rough terrain, you'd probably want to have it in that easiest setting to get the most use out of the Future Shock.
04:11 When it's really smooth and compact, you'd then probably switch it over to your hardest setting because you don't need to be dampening out as much of the terrain.
04:20 As I said, the frame post plays a really integral role to how this rear shock is going to feel,
04:25 which is why each frame post actually has two different settings on it.
04:30 And it looks like it's fairly easy to change.
04:33 Now, when you buy one of these bikes, you actually get a second frame post, meaning you have four different setups.
04:39 And that is so you can tailor it to a different rider weight.
04:43 It's not just the rider weight you need to think about, though.
04:46 It's also any luggage you're going to be loading the bike up with.
04:49 You need to take into account that as well, which is why you've been provided with four different ways of setting the rear shock up.
04:57 Now, in terms of actually changing that frame post, you might be asking, well, how easy is that to do?
05:01 It looks like it shouldn't be too tricky.
05:04 I haven't tried it myself yet, so I can only speak to what I can see.
05:07 We've got a compression clamp down on the seat tube here.
05:10 It looks like if you undo that, undo a little grub screw down here at the top of the triangle, take the seat post out, take off the tendon.
05:19 You could probably slide everything out and then put a new one in.
05:24 As I mentioned at the beginning of this video, I did say I was going to talk about a few things that I don't like about this bike.
05:30 And I think we should get into those now. First up, I feel like this bike is a little bit confused.
05:37 When I spoke to Specialized, they said that this bike is for those performance athletes,
05:43 the ones who want to race things like Unbound and Grinduro, and they want to do those gravel races really fast.
05:52 And arguably, that should make sense.
05:55 However, for the people that are going out on big bikepacking adventures, being kept in a whole bunch of comfort,
06:02 which is what Specialized say the normal Diverge is currently targeted at,
06:08 you do kind of wonder if this technology would be better suited on a bike that could also take a lot of bikepacking essentials like rear racks and mudguards front and rear,
06:22 which at the moment, this isn't compatible with any rear storage or mudguards, which I think is actually a bit of an error.
06:32 It does just leave this bike feeling a little bit confused, in my opinion.
06:36 Whilst I think this technology is good and that it does work,
06:41 does it make sense for people that are doing gravel races over and above people that want to take on really long distance adventures?
06:50 And obviously, those people in that situation are going to want to be kept as comfortable as possible for those gruelling miles that they have to do day after day.
07:00 Another thing that I'm not the biggest fan of is the Future Shock unit that's in here is seen as a wearable part.
07:06 It's got a two year warranty. So if it breaks within that time, I'm sure Specialized would sort you out.
07:12 If it breaks outside of that, then actually you've just got to pay for a whole new one.
07:15 And Specialized are yet to confirm that pricing.
07:19 I'm also slightly sceptical as to the structural integrity of this tendon here.
07:25 It is a very thin piece of steel.
07:28 I'm sure Specialized have put this through a whole bunch of fatigue testing,
07:31 but this does just seem quite thin for what is probably taking a fair bit of stress,
07:37 especially over those lumps and bumps and rocks and roots.
07:41 One thing which I haven't quite bonded with entirely with this bike, and it is quite subjective, of course,
07:47 but the colour of this one for me isn't really what I'd go for.
07:52 Obviously, being Specialized, there's going to be a whole range of different colourways available.
07:56 But this one, yeah, it's not for me.
08:00 So to answer the final question, does it actually work?
08:04 Well, after a day of riding out here in the wilderness where this bike should be ridden, it does work.
08:10 When I glance down, when I've been over rougher terrain, I can see it compressing and doing something.
08:16 And when I'm riding along and I'm going over roots and rocks and lumps and bumps,
08:21 I can see the front shock going, I can feel the rear one going, and the feedback through the bike
08:28 doesn't match the terrain that I'm riding on, because essentially it is successful in doing the job that it's set out to do,
08:35 which is to suspend the rider.
08:38 I think the key thing to remember is that with this new setup, if you were going to be riding this bike,
08:45 you have to bear in mind that you start to adopt a new riding position and you adopt a new way of riding.
08:52 You find yourself sitting in the saddle a bit longer than usual because it's more comfortable to do so,
08:58 and you can then put out more power.
09:01 Now, while the technology does work, I feel like Specialized has narrowed their audience
09:06 by doing this for people taking on gravel races and fastest known attempts.
09:12 If they had the ability to mount rear storage, I think the number of people for this bike would be massive,
09:20 because the benefits are actually quite good.
09:24 So there we have it. That's the brand new Specialized Diverge STR.
09:29 What I want to know from you guys is what do you think about it?
09:32 And if you've got any questions about the bike, then be sure to drop them down below.
09:36 If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
09:39 and I'll see you again very soon.
09:41 Okay.
09:43 Hmm, what a delicious shade of brown.
09:52 And of course, we've got the usual bottle...
09:54 Oh, yeah.
09:59 (whooshing)