Gravel: Giant Revolt or Specialized Diverge

[Baracuda]

Good afternoon,

 

I would like to ask some advice from folks who have ridden both the Giant Revolt and Specialized Diverge.

I would like to commute from Muizenberg to town which is a combination of off road paths and tar.

May do the Swartberg or proper gravel race once or twice a year.

One can get a Revolt Advanced 2 38k or really good condition Expert Diverges for similar second hand.

 

All advice would be sincerely appreciated.

 

Cheers

[Face Plant]

I would suggest looking at the Titan Racing switch pro, cheaper than the Revolt 2 and comes with full Ultegra groupo, also look at the Merida Silex 7000 about the same price as the Revolt but also comes with full Ultegra, i have one myself and this bike just amazes me!

[Baracuda]

Thanks. The Titan looks great, but I can't find a review on it. I am not sure if it will be compliant or stiff as. Also the crank is 160 or really short so I would need to replace it. But it is a great looking bike with good components.

I read that the Merida is a bit too upright? MTB geometry. Is it still reasonable on road compared to a "normal" road bike?

Thanks for the advice.

[Face Plant]

Thanks. The Titan looks great, but I can't find a review on it. I am not sure if it will be compliant or stiff as. Also the crank is 160 or really short so I would need to replace it. But it is a great looking bike with good components.

I read that the Merida is a bit too upright? MTB geometry. Is it still reasonable on road compared to a "normal" road bike?

Thanks for the advice.

do a search for Titan switch there is a few threads where the guys have raved about it, as far as i am aware it has standard cranks so nothing needs to be changed, wrt to the Silex, in my opinion you get the best of both words, it does really well on the road ( I do find myself riding in the drops a lot on the road but with the flared bars its very comfortable) with the standard 35c tyres it comes with, it is good on gravel as well but if you going to be doing something more than district road / Tar i would go for a 40C thats what i changed to and i find it still works well on the tar

Edited September 3, 2019 by Face Plant

[coppi]

Have a good look at the Momsen R 355

[Schnavel]

Don't forget the farr carbon gravel bikes - really good value for money with great specs for the price:

 

https://ridefarr.com/bikes-2/

[megs]

My husband has the Giant Revolt and loves it (he even raced the Melrose Arch Crit on it  , so very stiff and responsive)

 

I have the Titan Switch and it is my new favourite bike - basically using it as a second road bike at the moment

[Baracuda]

Thank you for all the advice. We really do need a gravel bike comparison test for models available in South Africa. There are these tests: https://granfondo-cycling.com/best-gravel-bike/

But most of the bikes are not available in SA and they testing them on smooth Euro gravel. Not 50km of corrugations between Fraserberg and somewhere else. 

Will try find a test ride on the one's mentioned. Thanks.

[GiantTjop]

Hi Baracuda- I've spent about 3-4 hours on a top-end 2019 Diverge. The tech in the frame and Futureshock is amazing.

 

I've ridden a short distance on a Revolt- just looks better. For your budget a 2019 Adv O (in black) might be a great ride. Carbon hoops as standard.

 

As a side note- i've gone the other way and converted a carbon HT 29er to a sort of gravel bike.

 

Enjoy the hunt!

[MarcW]

I do a similar commute to town.

 

Initially I tested a Diverge Expert and a Rondo Ruut CF. The diverge is great but I didn't like the feel of the futureshock on the road or when pedalling out of the saddle. The Rondo ticked all the boxes for me. 

 

Ended up buying the Alu Rondo Ruut from East City Cycles. Great bike with 1x SRAM Apex, does the job perfectly and still very competitive at the races! 

 

Titan is a winner if you are looking for 2x drivetrain. 

[Raf]

Currently have the Revolt 2... Very happy with it.

Looked at the diverge, Revolt had more clearance for wider tyres

Titan is good value for money but approx 2kg heavier (from reading the specs) but makes up of the weight with a great spec of Shimano parts

 

Our of the 3, the Revolts geometry is gravel spec rather than many others that are actually cyclo cross

[Nick]

Thanks. The Titan looks great, but I can't find a review on it. I am not sure if it will be compliant or stiff as. Also the crank is 160 or really short so I would need to replace it. But it is a great looking bike with good components.

I read that the Merida is a bit too upright? MTB geometry. Is it still reasonable on road compared to a "normal" road bike?

Thanks for the advice.

 

Just give me a couple more weeks for that Titan Switch review...

 

But to answer your questions: It is a very stiff, solidly build frame but the tyres deal with it well enough on gravel. I've done Swartberg and Around the Pot without any comfort complaints. You probably feel the lack of compliance most on the road when you pump the pressure up.

 

I'd have preferred a 50-34 chainring set. The cranks on my larger sized test bike are 170mm.

 

Otherwise, it's been excellent and the spec value is unmatched. Silverback come close(ish) and a good buy if you want 1x out the box.

 

Back to you original options:

 

I haven't ridden the Revolt but it looks good.

 

The Diverge is impressive, but some people really don't like the FutureShock. I'm in the like it camp, but I also remove the remote lockouts from my XC mountain bike forks. 

[Snafu]

On the fence with the Revolt 2 and the 2018 CAADX Ultegra. Two completely different bikes, gravel/cyclocross and carbon/allu but I'd be using them for mileage and some road events where both have good reviews.

C'dale lists a 38 as the max tyre size, do any of you have experience with the bike and have you fitted/seen a 40 used in the CAADX? This is cuddently the only thing preventing me to buy the C'dale.