Inspired by the growth of gravel racing, adventure road bikes are all the talk this year at Interbike. And Specialized’s rendition is .
Simply put, the Diverge is a cross between the company’s popular endurance roadie, the , with the relaxed geometry and elastomer Zertz inserts for damping road chatter, and its , including clearance for up to 35mm tires. As expected for a bike built for taking on roads of any surface, from asphalt mountain passes to washboard fire roads, it has disc brakes (the excellent Ultegra-level hydraulic Shimano 785s), thru-axles in both front and rear, and eyelets for fenders.
Most interesting is the inclusion of the Command Post XCP, a new short-travel (35mm) dropper seat post that brings to the road market the convenience of moving the saddle out of the way for negotiating steep terrain.
The bike will be available later this fall, and, in addition to the premier Di2 spec, will include six additional models, two carbon and four alloy, ranging from $1,100 to $4,400.
Read about our other Gear of the Show winners from Interbike 2014.
$8,500,