Great bike. I wanted a bike that I can ride on mainly cycle paths, canal paths and those annoying paths that everyone uses. Great gravel rides, not so much as there isn’t much of that around the southwest, it’s more like short sections of hard packed mud and rocks, or crappy ground, ground you don’t really want to take your 28mm road tyres on and worry about punctures. And this is perfect for it. Eats up the potholes, rolls over the rocks effortlessly. The future shock on the front works without you really noticing which is good, and to be honest, I thought, il ride with the rear shock closed because i didn’t want it feeling weird, but as soon as I opened it, felt odd for a couple minutes, and then I just left it open as I didn’t really notice it. It was great. Looked down a few times and could see it moving yet couldn’t feel it so that’s a good thing, working without being intrusive is a big kudos to spesh. Il probably swap the wheels to pathfinders as that will suit my rides better.

The Specialized brand, in my opinion is second to none, and this is clearly reflected in my purchase of the Diverge STR Expert. Cutting edge engineering went into the development of the Diverge STR and this is evident in the outcome when riding this very compliant gravel bike. The Diverge has always been one of the models in my quiver going back about a decade, and the STR is a big improvement, in my opinion, over the previous model. Compliance is key when it comes to comfort. The STR has them both in a great blend of performance and comfort. Definitely a great value, as I purchased this from the Specialized website on sale. Definitely recommended.

I've had this bike for a few weeks and I've put on about 200 miles. It's extremely fun and SUPER FAST! Most fun bike ever.

Having spent 10 years looking for the perfect Canal towpath bike I discovered the STR, I did have a zertz Diverge so I knew the bike was going to be good....but not that good :-) Having now covered 200 miles on the English canal network I can simply say CHAPEAU Specialized, this bike is incredible. The 2.0 future shock is fantastic upfront (I put a spot of hyper green paint on the dial to see if locked off or not) but the rear futurshock just wow. I have it set in the stiff position for the road and have dialed in the rear a lot but still have lots of movement when the switch is in the open position. Even with the axs Dropper its still super comfy on the real bumpy stuff (the tow path). The 47mm tyres are a real compliment to the ride. Its no wonder the likes of Ian Boswell and Laurens ten Dam raced the STR in this years unbound, the bike is fast comfortable and really strangley is super lively in the sprint and climbs.

This bike is everything I've been waiting for - fast on smooth surfaces, nimble on technical single track, comfortable with extra mounts for bike packing. Yes it is pricey, and no I'm not road racing on it nor am I clearing jumps, but I am pushing it on everything in between, and having a sweet time of it :-). Waited 30 years for a bike that could meet my needs, and finally it's arrived. My only concern, will the tech hold up over the years, as I do tend to keep my bikes for a long time. I'll be pre purchasing some spare components just in case, and I might even get a second set of wheels, one for gravel, one for single track. This bike is a significant financial investment, and it's paying me back in some fast fun days in the saddle.