The bike was a game changer for me. I switched from road riding to gravel riding. I had two models of the Specialized Roubaix. This bike was a perfect transition from my road bike. And as far as too much, you can adjust the seat post or use the second seat post included or buy two additional seat posts with different levels of flexibility. I set mine to a medium flexibility and it’s perfect. For me having back problems this bike is great. When I ride, I notice other riders holding a vibrating handlebar. This bike has no vibrations. I absolutely love it.
I’m glad to hear that. I was nervous to make this video since the bike didn’t work out for me. But in all honesty I do believe it’s an amazing bike for the right person.
Test rode that bike and a Crux last Thanksgiving. Opted for the Crux. Wanted to get a away from sole proprietorship systems after having replaced two FS cartridges on my 2018 Diverge. I will say the STR was extremely supple and hard to walk away from but I love my Crux.
Nice bike to get into gravel. I had one for a gravel event last year. Sadly, its geo doesn’t fit to my geo. Crux fits way better. A Crux Expert build with suspension fork sounds fantastic. Would love to see your build and impressions.
I have had a Diverge STR Expert for one month. I weigh 150 and, at age 70, only push about 160 watts. I ride mainly on the very rough asphalt roads and bike path in Ogden Valley in Utah. Both the front and rear suspension provide very little in the way of comfort. The only way to significantly reduce the BANG BANG BANG of rough spots and cracks is to have only about 15 pounds of pressure in the tires. Sadly, I could have done the same with a much less expensive bike. And the entry level Sram electronic shifting woks less well than mechanical shifting. Unfortunately I did not realize that I could have returned the bike after 7 days. Very disappointed.
As always, the editing is art. I also mispronounce Specialized's dumb made-up words: "roval" rhymes with "oval," not "stall." I guess it's not surprising the seat post leads to back problems -- your reach is being displaced up to 30mm every time you hit a bump. Strange this made it out of the spitballing stage. Still waiting for an off the peg drop bar MTB.
tried it on and its very very comfortable gravel bike but if you do care about weight, that bike is really heavy. hard to service that part, you can only service at specialized dealer store cuz other shops wont take it. that seatpost thing is like treks isospeed but isospeed literally no need to service but this STR model requies to regular check and serviced becuase of that open up design and especially if you are using this gravel bike, on gravel....
Great feedback. Confirms the regular Diverge is better for me. Flex seatbpost and future shock with great geometry. Oh and a Rudy on a crux? Voided warranty and comprimised geometry. I would look at another frame option
Never understood these STRs. Seems like a lot of things to go wrong. I would love to know how something like an STR compares to a drop bar Epic with a gravel tire on it and a bigger chain ring.
maybe your back hurts because you can go faster because of the front suspension but the fake back suspension is not really helping and your back gets shaken more then usual? imagine if your car wheels would only suspend front to back and not up and down.. i guess it would be a pretty bad ride too.
Pay a nosebleed price for a boat anchor of a gravel bike with proprietary gimmicks in the front and the back just waiting to fail and cause maintenance reliability headaches. No thanks! 🙂
That’s one thing that keeps me from mountain bikes or this type of bike. Anytime you’re getting shocks I would think those things need maintenance. Unless a person knows how to maintenance their own bikes with shocks, you’ll have to pay someone a good amount of money to do that. I own a Crux Carbon Comp and yeah it’s bumpy as ever and you’ll feel it as some point in your ride or afterwards. But I think that could be worked out by lifting weights and growing them muscles in the arms.
Shop: th-cam.com/video/XbFASeXVLrU/w-d-xo.html
The bike was a game changer for me. I switched from road riding to gravel riding. I had two models of the Specialized Roubaix. This bike was a perfect transition from my road bike. And as far as too much, you can adjust the seat post or use the second seat post included or buy two additional seat posts with different levels of flexibility. I set mine to a medium flexibility and it’s perfect. For me having back problems this bike is great. When I ride, I notice other riders holding a vibrating handlebar. This bike has no vibrations. I absolutely love it.
I’m glad to hear that. I was nervous to make this video since the bike didn’t work out for me. But in all honesty I do believe it’s an amazing bike for the right person.
i'd honestly prefer to have a Crux and put a redshift stem and post on it if i occasionally wanted some added mechanical flex.
Test rode that bike and a Crux last Thanksgiving. Opted for the Crux. Wanted to get a away from sole proprietorship systems after having replaced two FS cartridges on my 2018 Diverge. I will say the STR was extremely supple and hard to walk away from but I love my Crux.
Also, just did the Mammoth Tuff 72 miler this last weekend and the Crux performed flawlessly... no regrets!
the faster you ride that bike (in wide open setting) the better it is.
weight penalty is worth the amount of body fatigue it takes away.
Oohhh I want a full boingy gravel bike!😂 to funny. Thanks for sharing the review you’re awesome
Interested in a niche shootout for diverge or topstone but wheels are rad.
Hah, I am considering either Crux or Diverge, and I currently ride Checkpoint. 😂
I got a checkpoint gen 2. Feels too long
@ right? I feel the same way, reason I am looking into other options.
@christopherp8441 what bikes you looking at??? Hard to get comfortable with the Checkpoint sometimes
@@pingpongballz5998 Got Crux.
Nice bike to get into gravel. I had one for a gravel event last year. Sadly, its geo doesn’t fit to my geo. Crux fits way better.
A Crux Expert build with suspension fork sounds fantastic. Would love to see your build and impressions.
Stay tuned for that build video coming out soon!
I have had a Diverge STR Expert for one month. I weigh 150 and, at age 70, only push about 160 watts. I ride mainly on the very rough asphalt roads and bike path in Ogden Valley in Utah. Both the front and rear suspension provide very little in the way of comfort. The only way to significantly reduce the BANG BANG BANG of rough spots and cracks is to have only about 15 pounds of pressure in the tires. Sadly, I could have done the same with a much less expensive bike. And the entry level Sram electronic shifting woks less well than mechanical shifting. Unfortunately I did not realize that I could have returned the bike after 7 days. Very disappointed.
Also have slipped discs so opted for a stiffer frame post than my recommended weight limit by specialized. Worked for me and excellent review 👍🏻
As always, the editing is art. I also mispronounce Specialized's dumb made-up words: "roval" rhymes with "oval," not "stall."
I guess it's not surprising the seat post leads to back problems -- your reach is being displaced up to 30mm every time you hit a bump. Strange this made it out of the spitballing stage. Still waiting for an off the peg drop bar MTB.
What was that shape again? 1:22 🤣
Great video and perspective on this bike thanks!!
When turning, do you not touch the wheel with your toe in this size?
How much does the new Checkmate move? Do you get the same back pain riding it?
tried it on and its very very comfortable gravel bike but if you do care about weight, that bike is really heavy.
hard to service that part, you can only service at specialized dealer store cuz other shops wont take it. that seatpost thing is like treks isospeed but isospeed literally no need to service but this STR model requies to regular check and serviced becuase of that open up design and especially if you are using this gravel bike, on gravel....
Looking forward to the crux video!
Great feedback.
Confirms the regular Diverge is better for me. Flex seatbpost and future shock with great geometry.
Oh and a
Rudy on a crux? Voided warranty and comprimised geometry. I would look at another frame option
Never understood these STRs. Seems like a lot of things to go wrong. I would love to know how something like an STR compares to a drop bar Epic with a gravel tire on it and a bigger chain ring.
maybe your back hurts because you can go faster because of the front suspension but the fake back suspension is not really helping and your back gets shaken more then usual?
imagine if your car wheels would only suspend front to back and not up and down.. i guess it would be a pretty bad ride too.
Boingy mode 😂✌
I dont know about the boing boing mode🤔
😂
Pay a nosebleed price for a boat anchor of a gravel bike with proprietary gimmicks in the front and the back just waiting to fail and cause maintenance reliability headaches. No thanks! 🙂
That’s one thing that keeps me from mountain bikes or this type of bike. Anytime you’re getting shocks I would think those things need maintenance. Unless a person knows how to maintenance their own bikes with shocks, you’ll have to pay someone a good amount of money to do that. I own a Crux Carbon Comp and yeah it’s bumpy as ever and you’ll feel it as some point in your ride or afterwards. But I think that could be worked out by lifting weights and growing them muscles in the arms.