How does this new bike feel to race on chunky gravel? It's got a 20mm Future Shock up front and an adjustable 30mm Rear Future Shock in the back. I headed down to Bentonville, Arkansas to find out.
Solid and honest review of the STR. Although I appreciate innovation, Specialized seems to have over engineered the bike and created a solution to a problem that was small to begin with. As for the price, that speaks for itself. I’m not hating on Specialized as I own several of their bikes but this is a hard pass for me.
Couldn’t agree more. Riding the „old“ diverge I love the front suspension but the rear needs no suspension, perhaps just a flexibel seatpost which I put in for 200$ and my ride is more than smooth enough with the long and flexy carbon post.
@@veganpotterthevegan I never implied it was pointless or there wasn’t a market. But I suspect (and I admit I’m no authority by any stretch) that market is a small number of clients compared to their regular diverge.
I can see why that system may be a bit annoying. I’m sorry but the seat moving back and forth doesn’t really make sense to me. It changes rider position. Probably not the best idea. Of course if I rode the bike, I may change my mind. I had a Roubaix with the original future shock and had no problems and I liked it. At $14k, no thanks! I can add a Sage Titanium hard tail to my Barlow and spend the same amount money and have two really nice bikes. I just bought a 2014 Toyota Corolla for that amount of money. I’m a Specialized fan but I think this one is a miss. Don’t stop making the old Diverge!
great channel! you’re just like us regular folk but better. 4 flats on one ride is quite an achievement. is it just me or is anyone else wondering whether you ever found the flat and it’s cause? if you’re ever searching for future topics, i’d be interested in equipment and approach for race day flats. i’m always frantic about losing time so a flat is a “time trial event”. and of course this is stupid because i’m already so slow it doesn’t make any difference. in retrospect, should you have taken more time and “solved” the first flat? or do you just do your best and move along?
It was quite the achievement! Haha. Nope, never did find a cause for the slow leak. The tube was just a snakebite puncture, I believe. Anyhow - good shout on race-day flat idea. In general I'm a fan of having a Dynaplug Racer and a co2/breaker close at hand; I normally have those in my bib pocket. After failing with great pizazz at Unbound one year (22min stop - seriously); I've subsequently got it down to under 60sec for holes I can plug. As for 'solving' the first flat - I wish I could have! But I was stumped. I just could not find the cause. I don't think it's dumb to worry about losing time. The key is to stay calm and be prepared. (Something I fail at often!)
I have a Trek Checkpoint with Iso Speed rear and Redshift Suspension stem, I can't really feel the rear moving as far as anything that annoys me, yet a friend who was riding with me said he could see it moving (surprised me). What you say about the suspension stems rotating the wrists feels natural to me, if you think about it the lower your bars are the angle of the wrist naturally changes as the bars are further away/down and never even thought of it as detrimental. I like the Redshift stem and have a 450km road ride planned in a weeks time and fitted a spare Redshift stem to my Cannondale Synapse just for the added comfort over that distance. I spend a lot of time with my forearms on the tops (puppy paws) and it really mutes a lot of the bumps.
Good review across the board. What percentage of riders have the talent level to match the price tag and capabilities offered? Regardless, Well done to Specialized for moving the design and innovation forward which will eventually impact lesser builds across the industry.
Canecreek eesilk will provide just as much saddle suspension with less overall weight, far less cost and maintenance issues, and you can actually service the thing yourself, which you can not do with both the front and rear Spec Futureshocks. This STR bike is a perfect example of a solution addressing an already solved problem in a more complex, more costly, and more illogical manner. $7,000 to $14,000? ROTFLMFAO. My brand new Kawasaki Ninja 650 cost $7,500 and the suspension, braking, and powertrain systems on that all have exponentially more R&D, tech, and manufacturing cost in them than this bicycle joke. Plus the STR rear shock moves your saddle back in an arc on each Futureshock compression, which means your saddle tilt is constantly changing and then rebounding back on every rear hit. Easy pass! 🙂
I used a USWE (same one you have) for steamboat and loved it. Was able to carry a few spare bits and enough water to skip a few stops which helped my slow butt make up some time.
Now, if only shops (dealers) could get the standard models of the Diverge...or any drop bar bike, for that matter, that's under $8K. I guess they're too busy making vacuum cleaners...and these fancy gimmicky models. Specs' post covid comeback is one of the worst in the industry, especially when it comes to customer service via our LBS. We're actually looking around for another brand because we're getting tired of making excuses for them.
Thanks for the honest review Ben!! Can’t agree enough that Bentonville should be a destination for every bike enthusiast. Did Lil’ Sugar this past weekend, suffered plenty but loved every bit of it. Can’t wait to go back and take the mtb. Not sure if this is in your lane for review, but tires. Kind of surprises me that you had so many issues. I’ve been using Teravail tires for years now, multiple DK/Unbound, Mid South, BWR Kansas, and now Lil Sugar without flats. I’m moving much slower which maybe allows for line choice benefits but would be interested in real world test/review content. Cheers!
Specialized made a cobble gobbler seat post - cost $200 and carbon. I have one and it works fantastic. Really smoothed out the bumps, just heavy. Good vid and I agree whole heartily about the price and the bike. My 2018 diverge with tiagra gears works perfectly good for me and I only paid $1,100 for it brand new.
I have a Diverge with the front shock. I have to say that I am on the fence about suspension. If you are running narrow tires, it is nice to have and reduces fatigue, but on the other hand, you can get bigger tires and negate most of what it does. Then you have a substantial weight penalty for having it, not to mention maintenance issues. I don’t think I have ever said that I wanted rear suspension in addition to the front Future Shock. The other issue is that the Future Shock and bike design limits the front geometry to endurance only and it is difficult to get into a more aero position. The later affects speed more than anything even if you are doing more casual events/racing. The price increases of the Diverge models also puts them out of reach for just about everyone.
You can remove the spacers and adjust the height of the future shock. Once you have done that, just use a stem with more drop, and you can get pretty low. I must say this depends on size, smaller riders will not be able to get as as someone on the bigger frame sizes, and with a long stem.
Nice review! This bike makes a 10K dollar custom titanium gravel bike look like a hell of a deal! I really like your idea of riding this bike back to back against a standard frame with an eesilk. Or maybe a soft tail???
I have the Ergon seatpost, the one used by Canyon. It consists of two leaf springs and is supposed to have 20mm of travel and is designed so that the seat angle stays constant. It makes the ride on my hardtail mountain bike slightly more comfortable.
I'm a big, heavy rider and these Ergon/Canyon seatposts offer a LOT more compliance than any expensive frame widget. I have them on all of my bikes (road/gravel/MTB). Just be *very* careful tightening them (use a torque wrench), as it's *very* easy to crack them if they are overtightened (yes I speak from experience)
I have the lastest Diverge, FS2, and I would say it takes the "jackhammer effect" from a 10 to a 5. Previously on a Ventum GS1 and the Diverge is drastically more comfortable on bumpy surfaces.
Thanks for a great review! Got a suspension dropper on my Diverge Comp Carbon which also has the Future Shock 2.0. Plenty of chatter soaking for ~1/3 the price. Diggin it!
Gravel is the one segment in cycling where tech innovation and design has been at its most significant and exciting, in recent years. It is great to see, and I have been lured in and succumbed to parting with cash for some of the new tech myself. This one does not float my boat. I think your comment of “too many complexities…” and the trade off from that (maintenance and higher risk of warranty claims or repairs) was spot on. My philosophy for gravel and comfort is bigger tyres 😁
I'd agree with the "value add" criticism of the new rear shock - but then the total price should be compared to the old S-Works Diverge which isn't thousands of dollars different. And continuing the comparison with the previous Diverge, while this new tech does add to compliance, its by only 10mm. Is the added cost, weight and complexity really worth it just for 30mm of travel over 20mm? Plus Diverge Bikepackers using a frame bag (cough) loose out with this frame shape too.... A real miss by the big S in my opinion.
Thanks, Ben, for testing bikes and gear in popular gravel events and getting back to us with the results. I've enjoyed learning about this Specialized gravel bike, but that price tells their off-road fans that gold is required to ride gravel. And we all know that ain't right.
Appreciate your vids, Ben. And good running into you on the square the day before the B.S. Two comments: (1). Last year at B.S. I, like you, had multiple "flats". Five. Like you, never could find a puncture. I was riding hookless rims. I recalled how many severe hits I took on the gnarly gravel/rock shelves and thought, "maybe I just burped my tire". Anyway, this year with hooked rims, not a single loss of pressure despite the big hits again. (Not to say it can't happen with hooked rims, yours were hooked I think). This area has the toughest gravel I've seen, and the hardest to figure out the right combo of tire and pressure. For this year's B.S. I ran a 60 tpi tire, as opposed to 120 or higher, with beefier sidewalls. Also cheated up a little on pressure. Yes, it made it more uncomfortable and fatiguing. But it seemed to reduce the tendency to bottom out the tires (and pop the seal?) on the big chunk. I'm also a big believer in inserts for this gravel. And (2). that stream you stopped and washed your face in? Be careful. There are LOTS of cows grazing out here. I imagine the E. Coli count is up there.
Great follow-up to your first-look video, which confirms for me that while none of us really enjoy the jack hammer effect you so well described, there is something delightfully purist in gravel riding when relying on conventional tyre and frame compliance, good old rider line-selection and those suspension elbows and knees. As for your tyre woes, I could feel your pain 😅, although surprisingly free of expletives.
To be fair, $14k is the S-Works top shelf model, I just bought the STR expert for my fiance which retails for $11.5kNZ, so somewhere around half in USD of what's being talked about here. She loved it and said it was a game changer.
I agree with your review, although the price tag is for the S-works version. In this case, it is the price for ANY S-Works, regardless of suspension. There is an Expert version that is almost 50% cheaper. I personally prefer the CRUX, but that's entirely personal :-)
Good honest review. When you were talking about the mini pump etc in the pack I was thinking, "hasn't it got S.W.A.T?", one feature that does make sense 👍
Great review. I was really thinking about the $7500 version but got a $4500 checkpoint with basically same groupset (and lighter, with just basic aluminum wheels). Also, could try tire inserts, run 3-5 lbs less pressure, and have a better overall ride quality?
Thanks for the honest review. It’s nice hearing a perspective from a cycling journalist that doesn’t just regurgitate the marketing that bike companies advertise. There seems to be a lot of that these days… just saying.
I'm thinking their in-frame rear sus, is not anywhere near worth it. You can get a suspension seatpost for a huge amount less - its not even a question. Wow, So many flats Ben - maybe some cushcore or victoria foam inserts ?
Thanks for the review! I just gotta throw out there, for people who can ride aluminum frames, the Diverge E5 Elite (GRX 10 speed build) is still offered as a full-rigid (no future shock), and for people interested in experimenting, I'm pretty sure it's possible to build a full-rigid carbon Diverge, using the headset and top cap from a Sirrus 4.0 or Vado 4.0 and a carbon fork from one of those E5 Diverges.
I have to say I'm disgusted with this frame. It's the most ridiculous, expensive, solution to a non-problem... I mean ridicule when I say ridiculous. Looks like a porn contraption. (or so I've been told) Canyon has a 220g carbon leaf spring suspension post in different setback choices for 250$, Cane Creek's post is proven. So simple and inexpensive. The USWE pack is awesome. I got one for MTB and it's so much more comfortable than the other packs I've had, and stays put. Specialized is great. Stumpjumper is next bike i will buy. But this bike is nuts.
The issue I see here is that both the suspension systems here change the geometry of the bike. Your reach and stack will keep changing. Same as the seatpost angle. Not sure that is a great idea for a gravel bike where you are probably worried about your bike fit. Maybe this is good for some applications, but I doubt it is a great idea for most.
Based on this review I'd imagine my cane creek eesilk is actually both a more lightweight and more comfortable solution. It weighs 300 grams, so about 100 more than a normal carbon post and you do not feel it while riding, because the saddle keeps the same position. The only time you it is very noticeable is when you use a different seatpost right after to compare them.
My thing on it is to keep it simple. With full suspension it requires more maintenance and I could be riding. Wider tires/rims, long carbon seatpost will do just about the same thing.
It looks like a great example of "baroque design" and probably by people who had very little interest in perfecting an already existing design but still felt the need to come up with something new and different. Doing the latter for the sake of doing the latter is tiresome where half the time improvements are hardly proven and if one is more cynical are probably marketed to people with too much cash to spend with little knowledge or experience in the sport etc. I made myself a bamboo gravel bike and no I don't claim any high performance features but using the bamboo alone is a great road dampening feature, plus, the materials to build such a frame are less than $400. Anyhow we all could use less hype these days and try and return a bit to the grassroots by using our own good judgement and dare I say skills around going out and having a good time.
Yeah, this is a strange approach to suspension. Mountain bikes have suspension that travels vertically and when your butt is going over rough terrain, it’s bouncing up and down, so this makes sense. The rocking of this system does not deal with the forces encountered by the the butt (spine) on the trails. Very strange and unlikely this bike will be sold for long.
Why do you say to bring tpu tubes “especially for gravel” ? Gravel tupbes are small either way. Plus, or especially fatbike tubes is were I see a real benefit.
i rode the pirelli shakeout ride with you and was ready to see your review. i definitely appreciate the very honest review. hope to see you in bentonville more often
The sheer physics of this design seems a massive compromise. The movement is on the wrong plain. And a bigger tyre would be a much simpler solution. Over engineered and ready for the history of failed bike innovations already
I enjoyed your review. I am looking at gravel bikes presently and the price tag for this one is a hard no anyway but that suspension in the tropics I call home sounds like a recipe for disaster in terms of maintenance!
This is the stupidest thing I saw in a Gravel market up to date. I am 100% sure in few years time it will be show as an example of stupid technology that did not work out
i took the dropper post out of my diverge and replaced it with my old cheap suspension post from my commuter bike. im all for innovation, but not at the cost of a small house.
just curious. can you put a shimano grx 2by groupset in this? Im afraid it might be like a open wide gravel bike where it's just made for 1by. planning on getting one and putting a grx 2by on it as im gonna make it my all around and one and only bike and i want all the gears i can have and ill mostly use it for long rides in mix terrain not really racing.
Did you go to Boulder High? I was there in the early 80s and remember a Delaney. I think fatigue taking its toll on longer events full suspension is going too eventually make its way into the sport...
Something like that is impossible to know based on feel. As is knowing how much efficiency is potentially gained through staying in the saddle and pedaling when you might have to otherwise stand.
Just trying to add some context. But point taken - I'll try to be better about adding tables of content so folks can jump to the points that interest them.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney the races are dynamic. Each race has its own story, the hiccups, things that went well, wrong, that stuff. I enjoy seeing more of that content.
Yes! A separate race recap would be great. I did the Lil Sugar and loved the course! It definitely required your full attention. I appreciated a few pavement stretches where I could briefly give my brain a break.
@TheRideWithBenDelaney Good review! 👍👍 Quick thought: how would these gravel suspension mechanisms compare to something like a Brooks Flyer saddle? Honestly I wonder what those systems bring when compared..
Suspension that not act on the wheels is not a benefit. Wheels contact to grundsätzlich will not increase, also the benefit for the rider is more or less 0. Continously change of rider position by lowering stem (stack) and reach by moving seatpost bachwards will cost more energy you can save....
Honest review indicates to me that Ben is not posting this vid with a bias to promoting this bike. I use a Cane Creek previous generation Thudbuster ST ( about 35mm travel), on my flat bar gravel bike, teamed up with a Redshift suspension stem up front. Could not be happier with the feel and control when riding fast on coarse gravel.
A couple of decades ago the same principle - to dampen the rider instead of bike - was used in mountain biking. We all know how that ended. This idea from Specialized is just ridiculous. I wonder whether they did it intentionally so they could ‘discover’ the right solution later for the same price 🤑
Front futureshock I'm on board with...good stuff....rear sus though is the wrong approach to make a gravel bike more capable. Salsa knows this with the cutthroat. Slacker geometry and bigger tires will take you much further than rear suspension. There's a reason hardtails are still used for trail riding...no rear sus required.
