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Specialized Diverge E5 Gravel Bike 2018 Red/Black
The Diverge E5 is equipped with everything you need to head to work, take the long way home, and hit some fire roads on the weekend. With a completely redesigned frame, the new Diverge is more capable than ever. And with the constant goal to best meet your needs, we took your number one request into account—tire clearance. The new frame will comfortably fit up to 700x42mm tires with plenty of room for mud, too. Along with tire clearance, weight was a large factor in the development, and taking some design cues from the development of the Roubaix, we developed an E5 Premium Aluminium frame that’s plenty light, certainly stiff for hard efforts, and undeniable durable. Next up, we moved away from a traditional ‘cross geometry, instead opting for something that hasn’t been seen before—Open Road Geometry. We know what you’re thinking, “it’s just another marketing term,” but for the Diverge, we truly did develop an entirely new geometry. With a touch less hyperbole, you can think of it as a road version of modern trail bike geometry. It provides playful handling and predictable steering for endless dirt skids and mid-corner drifts. The geo features a bottom bracket that’s over a half-centimetre lower than the previous Diverge, a slacked-out head tube angle, short chainstays, and a short wheelbase. These changes make for a bike that’s not only fun in the dirt, but also performs well on the road. And while riding gravel and dirt roads on a road bike may add to the adventure, there’s only so much that wider tires with lower pressures can absorb, in terms of bumps. With this in mind, we implemented a new version of our Future Shock into the Diverge design. It not only soaks up bumps with ease, but also adds the benefit of extremely predictable handling. That’s because the wheelbase isn’t lengthening when you hit a bump, so the front end of the Diverge keeps the same effective head tube angle. In other words, when you dive hard into a turn, you won’t be surprised by under steer or sloppy handling. Unlike the original Future Shock, the Diverge’s version features a progressive spring that makes this technology more suitable for off-road applications, where stiffer suspension is often needed to soak-up larger bumps and obstacles. To add to its multifaceted talents, we topped this Diverge off with three water bottle mounts, plus mounts for racks and fenders, so it’s equally adept at long trips as it is to short rides to the local brewery. The Diverge E5 Elite frame is topped off with Shimano Claris shifting, hassle-free mechanical disc brakes, and ultra-strong Axis Sport Disc wheels that are cased in fast-rolling Espoir Sport tires. Specialized Diverge E5 Gravel Bike 2018 Features Our Premium E5 aluminium frameset features our comfortable, but confidence-inspiring Open Road Geometry, Future Shock suspension with 20mm of travel, and front/rear thru-axles, making it the ultimate tool for your next adventure. The lightweight FACT carbon fork is plenty stiff, aiding in handling, rigidity, and an overall light weight. The Shimano RS200, with 46/34T gearing, provides precise shifts between rings, and makes it easier to spin up those leg-burning climbs.