Specialised brings damped suspension to Diverge gravel bike by ‘floating’ seat tube.
Editor’s be aware: This text was initially printed on Bikerumor.
The 2023 Specialised Diverge STR gravel bike provides a novel rear Future Shock seat tube with a hydraulic high tube movement damper to manage the flex. Mixed with the steer tube Future Shock up entrance, the bike retains the rider floating over chatter for a smoother, quicker journey.
The design is wild, leveraging nearly the complete size of the seat tube (not seat submit, however seat tube) to offer flex, giving it plenty of journey.
Right here’s all the things it is advisable to know concerning the new Diverge.
2023 Specialised Diverge
The Specialised Diverge STR will sit on the high of its gravel bike lineup alongside the Crux S-Works, simply with a really totally different rider in thoughts.
The Crux will stay its lightest, race-focused bike, however the Diverge STR will probably be the bike of selection for the model’s execs on rougher programs.
The usual Diverge design, with out the rear Future Shock, will stay within the lineup, too. In truth, the brand new STR mannequin shares nearly the identical geometry, with just a few delicate tweaks:
- Stack & Attain are an identical.
- STR BB drop is 85mm, 5mm greater than commonplace.
- Chainstay size is 429mm, 4mm longer than commonplace.
- Seat tube angle is 0.5 levels steeper.
On that final be aware — the marginally steeper seat angle is offset when you sit on it and the system sags, making the efficient seat angle the identical as the usual Diverge as soon as your weight is on it.
Specialised suggests sliding your saddle 5-10 mm ahead to account for the sagged flex, placing you in the identical place as on a totally inflexible bike.
Tire clearance is 700×47 (or 650Bx2.1″), and downtube SWAT storage comes commonplace with included software baggage (fill it with no matter you need, or stuff a rain jacket in there).
How A lot Does the Diverge STR Weigh?
An S-Works Diverge STR body weight is simply 1,100 g (claimed, FACT 11R body, dimension 56, painted with no {hardware}, and with out damper — hold studying), about 100 g greater than an ordinary S-Works Diverge body.
And it’s a “inflexible” body, which was the purpose. Specialised wished to maximise energy switch and total effectivity, so the bike handles like a standard inflexible bike.
Get up and the rear Future Shock does nothing, turning your legs and arms into the suspension. Fortunately, the entrance Future Shock nonetheless delivers its 20 mm of journey, standing or sitting.
All in with the complete rear Future Shock system, an STR body will weigh nearly 400 g greater than an ordinary body, however that features the headset, SWAT system, and {hardware}.
An entire 56cm S-Works Diverge STR weighs 8.5 kg (18.75 kilos) arrange tubeless, out of the field. A Professional mannequin weighs 8.9 kg (19.6 kilos), and an Knowledgeable mannequin weighs 9.5 kg (20.9 kilos).
How Does Rear ‘Future Shock’ Work?
To be clear, this isn’t a “full suspension” bike within the conventional sense. The objective is to droop the rider to allow them to stay seated, comfortably, and energy by chunky programs with out losing power hovering over the saddle or bouncing round.
Specialised has been engaged on how to do that since at the least 2017. Latest variations of the Roubaix and commonplace Diverge dropped the seatpost clamp decrease to provide the seatpost extra room to flex.
That was advantageous for endurance street bikes, the place you might race on cobbles often. However gravel bikes have been taking up ever tougher terrain.
Clockwise from the highest left within the picture above are prototypes beginning with an eccentric backside bracket that allowed an internal shaft to maneuver in keeping with the seat tube.
From there, Specialised moved to a vertically suspended seatpost with a rear air shock related to the underside bracket, holding efficient saddle top unchanged even because the rider felt some suspension.
Each of these early designs worked-ish, however could be far too sophisticated to fabricate at scale. Ultimately, the model moved to the prolonged versatile seatpost idea, which was easier and offered the specified advantages whereas maximizing stiffness and minimizing weight.
The rear Future Shock supplies as much as 30mm of journey through the use of what’s successfully a extremely lengthy seat submit anchored very low within the body that’s unattached to the highest tube or seat stays.
There are, really, two seat tubes on the body. The exterior one you see, and a separate inside carbon-and-glass fiber tube that bolts into the body simply above the underside bracket. That attachment level acts because the pivot, permitting the complete tube — and the seatpost inserted into it — to behave like a leaf spring.
The exterior seat tube is ovalized close to its high, creating room for the interior tube to flex rearward.
Specialised will provide 9 totally different seat tubes, and every of these has two distinct flex traits because of totally different layups and materials mixtures, offering 18 whole “tunes” to work for nearly any rider weight.
Every bike will include two tubes protecting the anticipated vary of rider weights for that body dimension, in whole protecting riders from 110 kilos to 275 kilos. (The bike has a complete rider plus cargo weight restrict of 275 kilos.)
Right here’s the catch: A very lengthy carbon leaf spring may flex rather a lot, after which rebound fairly forcefully, bucking the rider. So, it wanted to be managed, and that’s the place the hydraulic damper is available in.
Primarily the identical because the damping circuit present in a suspension fork or shock, the STR damper has separate compression and rebound circuits.
The compression (which, on this case, handles the extension of the “shock”) has a three-position adjustment: open, medium, and agency. This controls the movement, stopping it from catapulting you ahead on each rebound, and eliminating any “bobbing” that would happen from an undamped system.
The rebound is adjustable with a hex wrench by a port below the highest tube, making the system absolutely adjustable.
Find out how to Alter Future Shock Seat Tube Suspension
Every inside submit has two efficient layups, with a clocking groove that retains it aligned. Merely rotate it 90 levels to change the stiffness. The posts are clearly marked with numbers.
The upper the quantity, the stiffer the submit, and it’s a linear development. That means, a submit that’s marked “60” is twice as stiff as a submit that’s marked “30.” In different phrases, a 30 submit will flex twice as a lot as a 60 submit.
The numbers point out flex as measured in N/mm, which, truthfully, means nothing by way of which submit it’s best to select … however, you understand, enjoyable truth?
Specialised says the 2 posts included with every bike ought to make most riders joyful, giving them 4 distinct choices. Additionally they say most riders can inform a noticeable distinction with a ten% change (similar to going from a 40 to a 44 submit), and {that a} 20% change may be very noticeable.
Mix these with the three compression damping settings, and it makes it straightforward to fine-tune for anybody’s choice.
The damper connects to the submit with an alloy “tendon,” and it has a wrench face to carry it degree when unbolting it so that you simply don’t bend and harm it when swapping posts.
However you solely have to loosen it to swap inside posts; your precise seatpost could be adjusted and eliminated like regular. And it makes use of a standard 27.2 seatpost, so you should utilize any submit you want, even switching to an alloy submit if you wish to scale back total flex.
What About Body Luggage, Racks, and Fenders?
The fork has three mounts, letting you run accent cages or a lowrider rack, and fender mounts. The rear, although, has no mounts for both rack or fender.
High tube bag mounts come commonplace, and strap-on body baggage can be utilized so long as they don’t intrude with the damper or rub the rubber boot across the seat tube. Saddle packs and baggage can be utilized like regular, but when it’s heavy you might need to use a stiffer submit.
2023 Specialised Diverge STR Costs & Choices
All fashions use a threaded backside bracket, flat mount brakes and through axles with full inside routing for brake hoses and wires, it’s designed just for digital shifting teams.
You’ll discover solely SRAM builds right here, nevertheless it’s best to nonetheless have the ability to construct a motorcycle with Shimano Di2, because the internal seat tube is hole and would enable the battery wires to cross by to the seatpost battery.
An S-Works frameset ($6,000), together with a fork with Future Shock steerer is obtainable for those who’d love to do simply that. A small wire entry port sits below the rear brake hose entry on the head tube, and there’s an exit port simply above the rear dropout.
As for dropper seatposts, there are not any mechanical routing choices, however you could possibly set up a Reverb AXS submit. The body is 1x solely, so that you received’t be giving upfront derailleur compatibility so as to add the wi-fi dropper.
All bikes get Supacaz Tremendous Sticky Kush handlebar tape, which is superior.
2023 Specialised S-Works Diverge STR
The S-Works mannequin will get the top-of-the-line FACT 11R carbon frameset. MSRP is $14,000 (€15,000 / £13,000). Spec highlights embrace:
- SRAM Pink eTap AXS shifters, Quarq power-meter crankset, brakes
- SRAM Eagle XX1 derailleur, 10-50 cassette, chain
- Roval Terra CLX wheels with Roval LFD hub & ceramic bearings
- Roval Terra carbon handlebar
- Tracer Professional 700×42 tires
- Physique Geometry S-Works Energy carbon saddle
- S-Works carbon seatpost
- Satin Forest Inexperienced/Darkish Moss fade
It’s price noting that that is the primary full bike that’ll ship with the 3D-printed S-Works Energy saddle, and that these Roval Terra CLX wheels are new, too.
They mix the already mild Terra rims with the lighter LFD hubs from the Alpinist CLX II street wheels, which use a DT 180 Ratchet EXP 36T inside (10-degree engagement) and SINC ceramic bearings. They’re mild and can have an official launch with all of the tech particulars within the close to future.
2023 Specialised Diverge STR Professional
The Diverge STR Professional is available in a vibrant Satin Blaze/Violet Ghost Pearl coloration and retails for $9,500 (€9,500 / £9,000). Spec highlights comply with:
- SRAM Power eTap AXS shifters, crankset, brakes
- SRAM Eagle X01 derailleur, 10-50 cassette, chain
- Roval Terra CL wheels with DT350 hub
- Roval Terra carbon handlebar
- Tracer Professional 700×42 tires
- Physique Geometry Energy Professional saddle with ti rails
- S-Works carbon seatpost
2023 Specialised Diverge STR Knowledgeable
The Diverge STR Knowledgeable downgrades to plain FACT carbon and retails for $7,500 (€7,500 / £7,500). The spec highlights comply with:
- SRAM Rival eTap AXS crankset, shifters, and brakes
- SRAM GX Eagle AXS derailleur, cassette, and chain
- Roval Terra C wheels with new DT 370 Star Ratchet hub
- Specialised Journey Gear Hover alloy handlebar
- S-Works carbon seatpost
- Tracer Professional 700×42 tires
- Physique Geometry Energy Knowledgeable saddle with ti rails
The Diverge STR Knowledgeable is available in two colours: Satin Black/Diamond Mud, and Satin Harvest Gold/Gold Ghost.
Framesets are solely obtainable within the U.S. and Australia ($8,500 AUD), and Australia solely will get the Knowledgeable full bike ($10,500 AUD). Keep tuned — we’ve been driving one and can submit the assessment quickly.
