dualresponse

Yeah...well. ummm...sortof...
I have tried a bunch of things in the past to endure in the land of endless gravel washboard.
1. Suspension forks. I've modified all my forks to remove all compression / even rebound damping and run lightest springs to react to washboard. Even modified, they simply cannot react fast enough. Even though they can't handle the small high frequency stuff, they are best for big hits.
2. Softride/ softflex suspension stems. Better than forks for gravel, but not as well for big hits. I've got a whole drawer full of them. They don't react fast enough either. They also wear out fast.
3. Specialized stem suspension thingee. Better than softride ( in reacting to washboard- and it's also new (not warn out bushings) -yet at least), but not as much travel. Not for big stuff at all. It is very subtle. It takes the edge off of things, but isn't suspension in the sense a fork or soft flex stem is. I have no idea how it will hold up over time (probably not well- but who knows). I bought the diverge despite the suspension thingee. When I ride a gravel road with one hand on the bar, and the other hand over the stem suspension thingee, you can feel it is moving a lot, so it is taking some of the jarring out. If you have not ridden with one before, when you get on it, the feeling is your front tire is 1/3 way flat in the way the bars feel- except the tire is not flat, it's the stem reacting with that much travel, which (for me) is LESS slop than a worn out softride stem. I find myself stopping at the beginnings of rides thinking "Oh crap, my front tire pressure is too low" - but it's fine when I check it, it's the stem compressing. I'm getting used to it now. The concept is that it is taking the edge off of 10000000000 little hits over time, which ads up over the long run.
4. Bigger tires with lower pressure. I think this might be the biggest winner for gravel washboard. Bigger tires can soak up the endless bumps faster than the forks/suspension stems can react to them. There's a fine line between narrow and high pressure vs. wide and low pressure (fast/ no bump absorption vs. too soggy/heavy) though.

Again- I bought this bike DESPITE the stem. Since the stem was mandatory for this bike, I figured it would be fun to experiment with. I have no idea if I will keep up with it, or jury rig a fixed stem option in the future. So far, so good though!

Just my 2 cents....

More gratuitous pics from today....