rseeker

That's hawt. Great bike, congratulations, I hope you enjoy the heck out of it.

I wish my garage had that much space ...

LaurieD

Thank you to everyone for all the kind welcomes to my new bike

Here’s my two week update. I can’t believe I’ve had my bike for two weeks already. I ride almost every day. I ride about 10 miles at a time. I have only been cycling for about three weeks, and this is the first road style bike I’ve had. So, the riding position took a little getting used to. I ended up moving the seat back a smidge as my body has adjusted to this riding position. I was feeling like my butt was too far back in the seat (over the back edge) and moving back helped. As I’ve adjusted, I also think I’m going to have the handlebars repositioned to their original position. I have enough bend in the elbows, and the upward tilt is now feeling a little odd.

I take the bike back to the shop today for post-purchase maintenance. They said that in the first few weeks the cables may stretch and a few adjustments would be likely. I also notice the disc brakes, especially the rear, squeal a little, particularly when braking at low speeds. It’s not super loud, but enough to be noticeable. They probably need to be cleaned up a bit. I will have the shop show me how to do it. While I’m there, they can reposition my handlebars. I may also purchase a somewhat shorter stem to try out. I am not having a reach issue, but I’ve been curious about how a shorter stem will affect the overall feel. So, wouldn’t mind trying it after the handlebar readjustment.

As for for the ride, I love it! I’m still thrilled with the handling every time I ride it. The bike feels really good to me, and I have a smile on my face the whole time I’m riding. I am using my Apple Watch and a cycling app (Cyclemeter) to log my rides, and I compete with myself to improve on times and distances.

I am happy with my purchase, and having a lot of fun with the bike.

LaurieD

I wanted to come back after a few months following my purchase and follow up. It's been a smidge over 3 months since I bought my Diverge. I have been riding at least 4 times a week, usually 5 or 6 times. So, I am getting a good amount of use out of it. I'm also still rather new to cycling (or anything athletic,) having only been riding about a week or so when I bought my Diverge.

Here is what I've changed on my bike since getting it.

1. The seat - I went for something a little wider to accommodate my bone placement. A good move.
2. The pedals - I got shoes with cleats and Shimano pedals to go with them. I was terrified of having my feet "tied" to the pedals at first, but very quickly got used to them. Now, I love them. I feel I have even better control, as well as additional power due to pulling up as well as pushing down.

I am still happy with my choice of the Diverge. It handles quite nicely for me. Even when I'm going down hills at faster speeds or around corners, I do not have to worry much that it'll get out from under me. I find myself being able to naturally "go" with the bike and keep it controlled. I was NOT expecting to be able to do this very well, so am quite pleased about it. I've only fallen once since getting the bike, and that was on day one of getting the cleats, in the parking lot of the LBS when the staff member was teaching me to use them. I didn't unclip properly before coming to a full stop. No harm to anything much but my ego.

I was a little worried that fewer gears than some bikes may be an issue. It hasn't been. There are more than enough gears for me to do what I need to do. The only thing I notice with the gears is that pedaling can be a little bit noisy on some configurations. This may be normal, though. Not being all that experienced, I don't know. However, it doesn't affect performance of the bicycle.

While I didn't necessarily care about disc brakes, these have been perfectly fine. In fact, they've performed better after some use (or I just got used to them, or both.) They were a little noisy at first, but that calmed down after some use. As long as I keep the discs clean, they aren't any noise issues.

Overall, I feel this bike is a good fit for me, and I'm glad I went with it. I also purchased it from a LBS that I'm very happy with. The staff there have been nothing but super nice and helpful any time I've gone in, always taking the time to be sure I'm comfortable with everything. This is such an added bonus to the purchase.

As far as my overall improvements as a rider.

1. Increased speed. I can certainly see that my strength has improved, allowing me to go faster, further and handle grades better. My husband says he cannot keep up with me now
2. Increased endurance. I'm able to go out on the bike trail and enjoy 25-30 miles now. At the beginning, I wasn't doing much more than 10-15. And, as long as I stay hydrated and take a 5 or 10 minute break as needed to drink water and give my butt a break, I could actually go further now.
3. Increased confidence. Bicycling is helping me feel more confident in myself, not only in my athletic abilities (which I felt I had NONE before,) but just overall, as well. It is improving my overall sense of well-being.
4. Starting to be able to stand while pedaling. This is something really new to me, but I am starting to be able to do this because of the added strength and confidence. It should allow me to need fewer "butt" breaks LOL.

N00b_Cyclist

First off, congrats! That's so cool. That first purchase and ride is such a great feeling, then the addiction sets in. Glad to hear you are enjoying the bike and hope you continue to have fun and make memories!

shelbyfv

Thanks for the update. Nice bike and you seem to be making great progress!

Maelochs

I hope you keep up with the occasional updates. it is refreshing and inspiring to hear from a person discovering cycling (for us jaded old pedallers who might have forgotten some of the basic joys.)

dadon

Baldy1953

Glad you are enjoying the new bike. The noise you are hearing may be some rubbing of the chain on the derailer. (cross chaining) It happens sometimes when you go too far in the small ring up front and get to the smaller gears on the back and just opposite on the big ring. Mine does that at times also. I just change gears and the drivetrain noise goes away.

You might have to experiment a bit to determine if that is the cause for the noise.