First spotted at Unbound in May, the Specialized Diverge 4 boasts increased tyre clearance, updated geometry, bigger SWAT storage and SRAM's UDH – and includes the latest Future Shock 3 suspension system.
Tyre clearance across the range has been increased to 50mm, with 7mm clearance on all sides, or room for a 2.2in mountain bike tyre with 4mm of clearance.
The geometry has been tweaked to accommodate these bigger tyres, with a longer wheelbase and lower bottom bracket.
SRAM’s latest Transmission AXS drivetrains feature heavily across the range, thanks to the updated compatibility with SRAM UDH. All the bikes ship with 1x drivetrains, but the frame can still fit a front derailleur.
The Diverge’s USP – Future Shock – has been updated to the latest 3.0 model first seen on the Roubaix SL8. Internal frame storage has also been increased in size and now also features on the E5 aluminium models.
The Specialized Diverge 4 is available from launch online and at Specialized retailers, with prices starting from £1,999.
What’s new?
The new Future Shock 3 boasts improved damping.
The adjustable Future Shock 3.3, with its easily accessible dial to tune in the suspension, features on the Pro LTD and Pro models, while the Expert, Comp, Sport and alloy models use Future Shock 3.2. The latter doesn’t offer any adjustability, but comes with three different spring weights that can be fitted to offer some personalisation.
The new SWAT 4.0 storage features on the 9r carbon frame, which Specialized says has a larger, updated door with a simplified, more robust design.
The alloy models use SWAT 3.0 – first seen on the Stumpjumper Alloy mountain bike. Specialized claims the “Diverge is the first and only alloy gravel bike with downtube storage”.
While UDH is another key update across the range, the Diverge 4 is compatible with all major gravel groupsets.
Specialized says: ”Diverge 4 is compatible with all 1x or 2x drivetrains with wide chainlines (47.5mm). For example, Shimano GRX, SRAM XPLR/Transmission with DUB Wide Cranksets, and Campagnolo Ekar all work nicely. The frame features a UDH dropout, and is compatible with all SRAM full-mount rear derailleurs. Diverge 4 is not compatible with cranksets with a standard road chainline (43.5mm).”
The tyre clearance has also been increased to keep the Diverge in line with the trend for wider tyres on gravel bikes. The Diverge is officially rated for a 50mm tyre with 7mm clearance all round, but will also accommodate a 2.2in tyre with 4mm clearance.
Updated geometry
Specialized has slightly tweaked the geometry to “help provide a more stable and confidence inspiring ride on off-road terrain”.
The head tube has been slackened by half a degree to increase the trail and lengthen the wheelbase, and the bottom bracket has been dropped by 5mm to offset the wider tyre capacity while keeping the “feeling of riding 'in' the bike, not 'on' the bike”.
The chainstays have been lengthened by 5mm to balance the handling with the longer front-centre and boost the tyre clearance, according to Specialized.
The range starts with the E5 Sport alloy model – priced in the UK at £1,999 / $2,099.99 / €2,299 – which utilises the new Shimano Cues U600 11-speed hydraulic groupset. Specialized quotes the weight of this model at 10.74kg in size 56cm.
Moving up to the carbon fibre models, and – perhaps surprisingly – Specialized has used the same Fact 9r carbon across the range. Prices here start at £2,999 for the Sport and top out at £8,499 for the Pro LTD, with a claimed weight of 8.01kg. Specialized's quoted weight for a painted 9r frameset is 1,150g in a 56cm size.
However, the flagship S-Works line has been cut from the range. Specialized claims “the Pro LTD has already proved itself as our Athletes have been racing it, with great positive feedback from and showing its capabilities of performing well during races”.
There is no frameset-only option at present, either.
Despite being able to fit a front derailleur and 2x crankset, all the Diverge models ship as 1x, with a variety of groupset options from both Shimano and SRAM – with all the SRAM-equipped models utilising the latest AXS XPLR Transmission drivetrains thanks to the new UDH compatibility.
Full global pricing for the eight new Diverge models is as follows:
| USD | EUR | GBP | AUD | |||
| DIVERGE E5 SPORT | 2,099.99 | 2,299 | 1,999 | |||
| DIVERGE E5 COMP | 2,699.99 | 2,799 | 2,399 | 3,800 | ||
| DIVERGE SPORT | 3,499.99 | 3,499 | 2,999 | 5,000 | ||
| DIVERGE COMP | 4,199.99 | 4,499 | 3,799 | 6,200 | ||
| DIVERGE EXPERT AXS | 5,999.99 | 6,299 | 5,249 | 8,200 | ||
| DIVERGE EXPERT Di2 | 6,499.99 | 6,499 | 5,499 | |||
| DIVERGE PRO | 7,999.99 | 7,999 | 6,999 | 11,200 | ||
| DIVERGE PRO LTD | 10,499.99 | 9,999 | 8,499 | 15,900 |
We’ve had the Diverge 4 Expert AXS in for testing over the last few weeks, so watch out for a full review soon.
