Temple90

I sold my Specialized Diverge Subcompact a little bit ago and am ready for another bike. It was my first bike and I enjoyed it for fitness, commuting and everything in between. Unfortunately with the lower end components and lack of tire size clearance I decided to sell.

I am now looking at another bike and am looking to spend between $900-$1,800.
I am open to another Diverge and have also looked at smaller brands like All City, Salsa and Surley.

It seems that the Diverge would give me the most bang for my buck in this price range, but open to suggestions.

tangerineowl

Leaning toward a steel frame?

Assuming you're aware of the recent Diverge models with the shock up front, an alternative would be including $135 in the budget for a Shockstop stem, fitted to a regular frame/bike model. There's your squish up front sorted, if you want it.

curttard

Bang for buck would be a Raleigh Roker using the corporate discount. Carbon gravel bike, takes up to 45mm tires. Fender mounts and you can use a seat collar for a rack mount, same as with the 2018 Diverge.

Next would be Fuji Jari at Performance, I think right now they are doing 30% back in Performance bucks or whatever they call them. Rack mounts, fender mounts, 3 bottle mounts, up to 42mm tires.

Also, Diamondback Haanjo.

scotch

I've ridden the Diverge Carbon comp. It's a sweet bike, but I wanted to be able to mount racks, so I sold it and got a Jamis Renegade Exploit, which I love. The Exploit is a bit out of your price range, but they have other models. I also love it because it's steel. It might be worth your time to check one out if you have a Jamis dealer near you.

Temple90

I have never ridden a steel bike. How does the ride feel compared to carbon or aluminum?

scotch

All personal preference of course, but for me, steel is a whole lot smoother than aluminum. And, again for me, smoother than carbon. Steel is heavier than either of the other two, but that's not an important factor for my riding. And steel is bombproof. Go try one. You won't regret it.

Ryder1

I recently got a Diamondback Haanjo Carbon Comp for a nice price. Very happy with it but still kinda crave a steel bike (or frame, at least). I see the latest Soma Wolverine is here or just about to arrive. Tough-to-beat for off-the-shelf steel (and sliding dropouts!) but you'd have to build it up.


I was also looking at Diverge, Salsa Warbird, GT Grade. Oh, check out the latest Kona Sutra. That LTD version is sweet (will probably sell out fast).

ATPAH

I'd agree that steel provides the best ride. I went for a carbon Renegade because the shop had it on hand and it came cheaper than ordering the Exploit. The light weight and snappy acceleration are bonuses. I don't need it, but it certainly is nice, especially since this will be doubling as a road bike, and it's nice to be able to get all the help I can holding the wheel of stronger riders. I'm a little nervous about the durability of carbon relative to steel, but this isn't a mountain bike, so I won't be laying it down in a rock garden anytime soon.

ATPAH

The Expat is a great deal at $1,100 retail. The TRP Spyre brakes and Tiagra drivetrain are solid options. The rear QR is not my favorite, but you don't need as much stiffness back there, and you'll always be able to get 135QR wheelsets, if you choose to upgrade or get a second wheelset. It's not like that standard is going to disappear from the parts market with decades of road bikes equipped with those wheels around for many years to come.

scotch

Well, you got an amazing bike. The CF version of the Renegade is about as nice a bike as you can buy, IMO.

RockiesDad

I wouldn't worry about it. Its tougher than you think...

Snappy acceleration is fun, huh... These CF frames and lighter wheels puts a smile on my face every time I ride... Now if I can find a steel bike that can do this I would be a happy camper...

Deskdreamer

I test rode the new 2018 Diverge Comp E5 with the future-shock and really liked the bike. From what I understand, it's quite different than the previous Diverge with more dirt emphasis.

Does anyone know if you can swap out the saddles for another Specialized model during purchase? That can potentially shave off another $100 or so.

AFHokie

How large do you want to go with tires? This year's Diverge has clearance for larger tires than before and their Sequoia has clearance for even larger. Giant's Revolt will fit up to 2in tires and the Anyroad will also fit larger tires. Both have models in your price range. The Jamis Renegade is another option with larger tire clearance and versatility for commuting, gravel, fitness, etc. There are many bike models that'll meet your initial requirements, the hard part is narrowing down your needs vs. wants. Do you want braze on's so you can mount pannier racks, fenders, etc?

Ryder1

I'm on MTBR.com far more than this site and am amazed how much more fear of carbon fiber I see here than there. The stuff is strong af.

[...]

Aluminum is a budget choice. It looks like ass, it rides like ass. If you wanna race on a budget, it's an option. I won't ride it.

ATPAH

Mountain bikes take a lot more abuse than road or CX bikes, so the fear at MTBR is somewhat justified. When CF MTBs first appeared, people would break chainstays all the time. They make CF much better now, but I still know two old guys who have cracked their CF frames in the last year who don't ride as hard nor weigh as much as me (plus one younger, bigger, harder riding guy who has broken two this year). My alloy frames have taken a ton of abuse without breaking. I can't think of a broken alloy frame among my friends, but I have seen several broken CF frames from a variety of manufacturers.

Fortunately, drops to flat and burly rock gardens aren't in my plans for my CX bike. Also, the CF ride quality is much more noticable without big tires and suspension to smooth things out, so I'll be glad to have it.

Ryder1

I was actually saying the opposite: mountain bikers seem unfazed (other than paying ~$3k for a frame). Perhaps they're danger-seekers by nature? I'll admit CF does break more often, but not in my case. I've broken steel, ti, an Al frames or parts, but never carbon. Frames, bars, rims, cranks, posts, forks - all fine. I've got 5 years on my Niner full carbon fork, despite it being leveraged by a 90mmX30d stem and 40mm riser bar. I had a *LOUD* rock smack my Pivot's downtube today and I haven't even looked at it. Hmmm...maybe I'll go take a look...