Gravel Grinders - 2018 Diverge E5 first ride by an ordinary cyclist

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Sales of gravel bikes are soaring and already Specialized (not the shops)have run out of stock of their cross-over tyres which are suitable for tar/gravel.

 

Having just bought my bike and looking for rider experiences to draw from in preparation, I find there is a lack of real knowledge about the sport.

Perhaps the moderators could look at creating a new Forum under riding for members to use to discuss this new field.

 

I bought the Specialized Diverge E5 aluminium model. This is the only alu model available and is not as well specced as the carbon, both in terms of equipment and also tyre size capability. Both, however, have the 20mm Future shock in the headset

 

The bike comes with 30mm road tyres which, even when ridden at 55lbs on the front, still leaves the bike skittish on sandy tracks. I will fit a set of 35 or bigger proper gravel tyres (when I can find some!)and can then give the discipline a better go.

 

My first impressions are:

• The bike is responsive - far better than the 2017 Diverge which felt sluggish and was good at nothing in particular.
• The Futureshock is awesome. It improves ride over rough ground, ensures my hands stay on the bars when I hit unexpected bumps, the front wheel tracks though bumpy tar corners brilliantly and general vibration is non-existent.
• The compact bars fit my needs i.t.o. reach and drop but I was uncomfortable with the 42cm width (having just come off 72cm mtb bars).
• The crankset offers a ratio of 32/48 which is a helluva jump in range. Coupled to the 32/11 11-speed cassette, I consider the 48 to be too large for the average fun rider. I will see if I can change to a 46 main chainring and have better use of my 'bigger' gears on gravel roads.
• When compared to the 2017 Diverge which had Zertz inserts in the rear stays, there is some buzz that comes from the rear wheel. The 2018 model has done away with Zertz so the bike looks cleaner with tight lines but now I need to fit a carbon seatpost to reduce bum-buzz.
• The Tektro TRP disc brake calipers did not impress. In fact they scared the bejeebers out of me when I gave them a maximum test. I wanted to see how they would perform when really hot, thinking they would be better than when cold. So, after repeat braking down a long road, I then entered a 9% downslope and started dragging the brakes for 50m. Then I hit them hard. The front bit well but then started to fade till eventually I had less than about 20% stopping. I call that a complete failure. I can only surmise that the brake pads glazed. When checking with my LBS about alternative pads, they told me I am stuck with Tektro or must change the calipers for something better. Shimano here I come!!

Overall the bike is very nice. Clearly it is not in the league of the bike which appears on test in Bikehub but for those who cannot afford the carbon models, this E5 at R28000 is a good buy indeed - except for the brakes to which I will say goodbye asap.

 

 

[AJG]

No need for a new forum. Gravel bikes are just another topic that many guys on here have experience with. Fire away with questions and I'm sure you will get knowledgeable people chiming in.

[Specialized Bicycles]

Hi FatFossil,

 

Please PM me your contact details so that we can contact you and have a chat about your experience.

 

Happy riding!

[lechatnoir]

Overall the bike is very nice. Clearly it is not in the league of the bike which appears on test in Bikehub but for those who cannot afford the carbon models, this E5 at R28000 is a good buy indeed - except for the brakes to which I will say goodbye asap.

 

I have TRP Spyres and I've made them better by

• Ice Tech rotors
• Deore pads (metal up front, resin at back)
• Sand pads on flat surface every so often

They work as well as I need them to. Not as good as hydro, but good enough...

[Chris NewbyFraser]

I have TRP Spyres and I've made them better by

 

• Ice Tech rotors
• Deore pads (metal up front, resin at back)
• Sand pads on flat surface every so often

They work as well as I need them to. Not as good as hydro, but good enough...

Thanks. Will change pads today

[TALUS]

Hi FatFossil,

Please PM me your contact details so that we can contact you and have a chat about your experience.

Happy riding!

I know the big boys have gone as far as closing a small LBS down. I hope there will be no behind the scenes "chatting". Why not make it informative for all of us and chat right here on the Hub?

[Specialized Bicycles]

Hi Talus,

 

We love the personal relationship between ourselves and riders, we also enjoy sharing riding experiences.

 

In saying that, we are more than happy to answer any applicable questions on this forum.

 

You are more than welcome to contact us directly on supportsa@specialized.com or call us on 021 808 7333.

 

Thanks

[Fat Boab]

Hi Talus,

 

We love the personal relationship between ourselves and riders, we also enjoy sharing riding experiences.

 

In saying that, we are more than happy to answer any applicable questions on this forum.

 

You are more than welcome to contact us directly on supportsa@specialized.com or call us on 021 808 7333.

 

Thanks

 

So as a sign of good faith, how about answering Talus's previously posed applicable question?

 

"Why not make it informative for all of us and chat right here on the Hub?"        

[Chris NewbyFraser]

To allay Talus's fears, Specialized had no agenda, merely had a private and innocent chat with me, thanking me for the info provided.

 

I put a pair of 35mm Continental race model(wire bead, thin sidewalls, tubes) CX tyres on - with the Race King tread on the rear and XKing on the front. Took the bike out along my fairly tame mtb route.

 

The bike was generally good - better than I expected. The front suspension bottomed out at speed over rocks( I need to install the intermediate spring to handle rough ground((my weight is 75kg) and the back wheel kicked my donkey pretty hard but overall I was surprised at how well the bike coped with rock. Its a bit light in the front on steep rocky climbs - which saw me wheelie off in unplanned directions - and the gearing of 32/32 was a bit tall for my unfit legs but generally the bike climbs much faster than a hardtail mtb. Fast bumpy downhills cannot be ridden on the drops - too much weight forward and an endo will definitely be part of the days package. Have to ride on top of the bars but this reduces the amount of brake force you can apply on top of the levers (hydraulic brakes will help overcome this problem).

 

I changed the entry level, very sticky plastic saddle out for an old WTB Rocket and this much improved my ride.

 

I also think the bike needs wider bars and will look for a 46cm centre/centre set.

 

I will fit a Thudbuster ST 33mm travel seatpost and give a review of this after the weekend.

[Ferro]

I have TRP Spyres and I've made them better by

• Ice Tech rotors
• Deore pads (metal up front, resin at back)
• Sand pads on flat surface every so often

They work as well as I need them to. Not as good as hydro, but good enough...

 

Thanks for this. Been looking for this kind of advice for a while for my Diverge.

[GLuvsMtb]

So as a sign of good faith, how about answering Talus's previously posed applicable question?

 

"Why not make it informative for all of us and chat right here on the Hub?"

Why do people always see something sinister when a company wants to engage with their clients one on one?

Well done Specialized for engaging with your clients and getting informative feedback that will hopefully translate to enhancement of a seemingly good bike.

And well done OP on sharing your experience and making good constructive suggestions.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Fat Boab]

Why do people always see something sinister when a company wants to engage with their clients one on one?

Well done Specialized for engaging with your clients and getting informative feedback that will hopefully translate to enhancement of a seemingly good bike.

And well done OP on sharing your experience and making good constructive suggestions.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

I saw nothing sinister. I just saw a response which ignored the question posed. If Spez don't want to engage on this forum about this topic, then say so. But don't say that you will engage, and then don't.

[Chris NewbyFraser]

Took the Mean Green 'Verge on its first true outing - The Choc Cow race at Northern Farm.

Before the ride I put a 33mm Thudbuster seatpost on and also raised the bar height by turning the stem into an up-pointing angle. Massive improvement in control. Also took enough weight of the front suspension to make it work better. I will probably still put in the middle strength spring to firm things up - this may unbalance the suspension feel from the softer rear so I might also have to put in the stronger elastomer in the seatpost.

Apart from pinch flatting after one kay (hit a rock at 40km/h riding blind in dust) the bike was a dream. The ButtSaver, er... Thudbuster.... must have been made in a magicians hat. It is fantastic and smooths all but the worst rough (and everybody likes a bit of rough now and then...).

The tyres held good lines and the light cyclo-cross type frame flew up hills - relative to my Camber. The brakes , well I don't use brakes very much so their poor performance didn't really hamper me.

The steering geometry made my eyes open wide. The bike's front handling does not tolerate mistakes well when following rapid direction changes on single track so a rider needs to be alert. It can switch from neutral to over-steer when turning tightly.

Going through deep irrigation mud (not clay) the skinny 35mm tyres dug down to the base layer and I had no problem pedaling through cow farm muck that was deep enough for my pedals to go into. Keeping control in this mud was easy.

 

Using the drop bars was good when on smooth roads - I made up ground on riders in front because of the overall faster bike. I still intend to find wider bars and maybe can get the Ritchey WCS VentureMax which has very shallow, flared drops.

 

Overall, I am really pleased I have sold my mtb and have moved to gravel. It is a good mix of both disciplines and has re-awakened my cycling pleasure.

[Ferro]

I have 32c Conti GatorHardshell currently running tubed. I was wondering if i could go tubeless with them on the Axis 3.0 rims. Has anyone tried it yet? How has the experience been?

[Chris NewbyFraser]

The Specialized website states bluntly that the E5 can only use 38mm tyres. So, of course, I put on 40mm Kenda Flintridge Pro. The fit OK into the stays but when the  outer chainring is engaged, the front derailleur lever/arm comes close to the tyre causing it to run when pedalled hard. So I have trimmed off the outer edges of the side knobs on the tyre to try create clearance. Also slightly adjusted the setting on the derailleur  so that created about 0.5mm additional clearance. Seems OK now and I have a fat tekkie to ride on.

The bigger tyres did have a noticeable effect on the gearing - I have probably 'lost' one gear so I am going to see how I can use a 34 or 36 on the back(by installing a Wolftooth link) and also drop the front 48 to a 46. Has anybody else tried something similar?