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VeloNews.com Home News Gear Training Culture Events women's running podiumrunner triathlete bicycle retailer roll massif velopress VeloNews Logo VeloNews.com Join News Gear Training Culture Events My Feed Home News ‘I miss the Giro so much:’ Nibali, Evenepoel reflect on loss of season’s first grand tour The two GC contenders should have traded blows at the Giro's opening stage Saturday, but instead are having to wait until October for La Grande Partenza News How programs like The Cycle Effect are succeeding at getting girls on bikes Betsy Welch News Moolman-Pasio: Zwift racing a bigger opportunity for women than Paris-Roubaix Fred Dreier News Bernal not prepared to be sacrificed in Tour de France defense VeloNews.com Latest See All News Dutch authorities cast doubt over Amstel Gold Race this October VeloNews.com News Stages in Portugal removed from Vuelta route Andrew Hood Culture 11 years of NICA Jay Prasuhn News Mavic placed into receivership VeloNews.com News New racing calendar to pose logistical riddles across the WorldTour Jim Cotton Gear Shimano’s budget-friendly Deore group gets 12 speed treatment VeloNews.com Culture Day in the life: Giulio Ciccone James Startt News Zwift Tour for All stage 5: Meintjes win caps off NTT’s weeklong domination VeloNews.com Gravel Gear See All Gear 2021 Specialized Diverge Pro Carbon review Ben Delaney Specialized completely overhauled the Diverge for 2021 with progressive geometry, a hydraulic-damped Future Shock, hidden storage, and more tire clearance. This new iteration improved on what was already one of the best gravel bikes out there. RELATED • 20 gravel bikes I’m excited about for 2020 • Salsa Warbird, Why R+ and other gear tested at The Mid South • The perfect gravel tire width Future Shock 2.0, and a cleaner flexing seatpost The Future Shock 2.0 has 20mm of travel with adjustable compression and rebound damping. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews The Diverge has a 20mm suspension system underneath the stem, cushioning the ride at the handlebars without adding much weight. The old bike had an undamped spring; you could select one of three spring weights to tune it. This 2.0 system now has hydraulic damping for compression and rebound, both of which are tunable simultaneously with a 7-click knob on top of the steerer. The Future Shock is the most controversial piece on the bike. Some say it’s unnecessary or ineffective or gimmicky. I say it feels a little weird initially on pavement, but feels great when riding at speed on the dirt. Being able to quickly flick it from firm to soft is a big improvement. I got in the habit of riding it with a firm setting on the pavement, and a soft setting on gravel and trail. You can adjust stack height by 30mm. The Specialized Terra seatpost flexes up to 20mm. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews On the other end of the bike and the other end of the controversy spectrum, virtually no one will argue with a carbon seatpost that has a bit of flex for a gravel bike. The new Terra post has about the same amount of movement — 20mm — as the Future Shock 2.0, but this is delivered through flexing backwards. The old bike used Specialized’s CGR post, the cobra-looking thing with an elastomer tucked in the bend. Both posts flex the same amount; the new post just looks a whole lot better and weights about 50g less (~200g total). Progressive geo, but with an agile front end The bottom bracket still sits quite low, with 80mm of drop. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews The old Diverge was somewhat like a road bike with a crazy-low bottom bracket; the wheelbase was tight, the handling was quick, and the frame sat low (85mm BB drop). This new one gets longer and a touch higher (80mm BB), but the handling stays nice and quick thanks to a relatively short trail figure of 57mm (for a 56cm bike). Trail is the difference between the front wheel’s tire-patch center and the bike’s steerer column. The more trail, the more ‘stable’ a bike can feel. Making a bike more slack at the head tube is the primary way to increase trail, but fork rake and even tire size play into this number. For context, road bikes usually have less than 60mm of trail. On the far opposite end of the drop-bar spectrum, the MTB-inspired Evil Chamois Hagar has 93mm of trail. A Giant Revolt I rode over the winter has 71mm of trail. It holds its line pretty stubbornly, especially in fast corners. Bike handling is a matter of preference, of course. My bias is nimble, so I really like how the Diverge feels. The drive-side chainstay pinches down to a 5mm section of solid carbon fiber that allows for wide tire clearance. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews I also really like the low bottom bracket. To me, this helps the bike feel planted when taking corners. Also, it’s just easier to put a foot down at stoplights or whatever. The downside is that you can occasionally clip a pedal. Another cool thing about the new frame is that tire clearance went way up to make room for a (claimed) 47mm tire with plenty of mud clearance. This is done in part through lengthening the chainstays a touch, but mostly a section of solid carbon fiber on the drive-side chainstay, right where it gets pinched between the tire and the chainring. Hidden storage in the down tube A panel unlocks to reveal storage. The bike comes with one flat-fixing bag, and there is room for another similarly sized bag. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews A panel on the down tube underneath a bottle cage snaps off to reveal a little storage area. The bike comes with a bag containing a tube, lever, CO2, and inflator. It has room for another bag — or you can just tuck your own small bag or compact jacket or whatever in there. It’s a cool feature. I have only ridden the bike for a couple of weeks, so I cannot attest to the long-term durability of the seal. But in the short term, I have used it for storage and appreciated how it cleans up the look of the bike. The storage-panel door is locked in place with a latch you open by hand. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews 2021 Specialized Diverge Pro Carbon — things that bug me There are no levers on the wheel axles. To remove a wheel, you have to dig a 6mm hex tool out to use to remove the wheels. What’s wrong with just having the lever on the wheel? This, to me, is going in the opposite direction of the smart integrated storage. In Specialized’s defense, gravel category lead Stewart Thompson said more of their customers prefer the bikes without the levers for the looks and weight savings. And they have the data, so I won’t argue with that. But for me, I like being able to get a wheel off without tools. I really like the Easton EC70 AX bars. I just wish they were wider so that the width at the top of the hoods wasn’t narrower than on normal bars. Photo: Ben Delaney | VeloNews Another minor nit — and one that isn’t unique to the Diverge — is how the flared bars tilt the shifter hoods to a narrower stance than you’d have on a straight drop bar. The Easton EC70 bars are comfortable and well-made; I have no issue with the design. It’s just that a 42cm bar ends up being 40cm when you ride on the hoods, which I do often. So I’d like to see a wider bar put on to end up with a normal width at the hoods. How does it ride? The Future Shock 2.0 feels great on dirt. Photo: Kirk Warner | VeloNews Gravel bikes run the gamut, from rigid aluminum rigs that feel like stiff road bikes to the full-suspension Niner MCR, which has full-on suspension front and rear. I feel like the Diverge hits the Goldilocks spot of enough cush to take the edge off without making a major sacrifice in terms of weight or complexity. I like the quick handling. I raced the old Diverge in Roll Massif’s 12-hour mountain bike race Sunrise to Sunset last year on a tame course, as well as a handful of actual gravel races. The only time it bugged me was on long paved, rolling stretches where I was out of the saddle often and wished for a lockout. The Future Shock 2.0 all but accomplishes that with the adjustable d...