Originally Posted by 1855Cru

I picked up my Diverge Comp Carbon last week and after a couple of shakedown rides to dial everything in, I headed up into the mountains to give it a real examination. I plotted a 73 mile route with more than 10,000ft climbing. 90% was on gravel/mud and 10% tarmac roads. The gravel/mud sections had a bit of everything including 16-20% inclines, long ascents and scary fun descents. The tarmac was mostly downhill including some very fast s-bends and hairpins.

I have to say I was amazed at the bike and how comfortably it handled everything. The gravel sections were a breeze, the standard 32c Roubaix tyres handling them with aplomb. The bike is very nicely balanced and communicative. When things got a little slippery on the gravel descents it was easy to feel and correct. Very impressive. I was surprised that these tyres handled as well as they did in the sloppy mud too. Obviously wider tyres with different tread would have been better but the Roubaix managed to hold on and I even had enough grip to get up some steep ascents provided I kept my butt on the saddle and did not use too low a gear. I was surprised how well the bike climbed considering the heavyish wheels and tyres.

The disc brakes were amazing allowing very precise modulation and plenty of stopping power with great control. As good as they were on the gravel, they were even better on the tarmac descents. In fact the whole bike handled like a race car it was so planted, even at 50mph there was no hint of any steering wobble and a light pull on the levers shed speed very quickly. The wide tyres provided tons of grip and they are very quiet on the road too. I'm not sure there are many bikes that can combine all those qualities of agility, ability, comfort and a rewarding ride.

My Cervelo R3 will be seeing a lot less action this year methinks!!