SPECIALIZED DIVERGE SPORT A1

It’s built for cruising

The Diverge’s tall front end, short stem (80mm on a 54) and ample weight (10.3kg) offer a riding experience that’s more about sitting up and admiring the scenery than battling for personal bests. There’s something refreshing about a bike without go-faster pretensions, one that encourages you to enjoy the ride rather than making your suffering more efficient. Having said that, the Diverge’s frame is pretty stiff, so is a more accomplished climber than its mass would imply.

It’ll do a bit of everything

With big clearances, mounts for Specialized’s ‘Plug + Play’ mudguards and/or a pannier rack, and all-weather friendly disc brakes, the Diverge is versatile. It’s classed as an adventure bike, but could be your commuter or a sedate winter hack. The 28mm Espoir tyres measure up at a real-world 30mm-plus on the wide alloy rims, and there’s room for even fatter rubber.

There are no real spec misses

The latest nine-speed incarnation of Shimano Sora, with hidden cables, may have fewer cogs out back than Tiagra or 105, but the shift feel is very similar and the lever ergonomics are identical. The Tektro mechanical disc callipers are basic single-piston units that will need fairly frequent adjustment, but they get the job done, as do the ownbrand alloy wheels. A big cassette and sensibly-small chainrings up front mean you’ll never want for gears.

ONE THING WE’D CHANGE The tyres

For all its elaborate tube profiles and vibration-absorbing Zertz technology, the Diverge isn’t all that refined a ride, and it can be a bit wearing on really rough roads. For this reason, we’d consider even bigger rubber, and perhaps even dabble with tubeless for plush adventuring at lower pressures.