Specialized Diverge E5 2022 – Gravel With the Need for Speed [Short Review]

Specialized Diverge E5 review for 2022!
High-Speed Gravel Bike for less than 1,300$

[Diverge E5 vs Comp E5 VS Elite E5 VS Expert E5]
Tire clearance, weight, drivetrain, geometry

• Frame Material: Aluminum
• Fork: Carbon
• Wheel Size: 700c / 29″
• Max Tire Clearance: 38/42mm
• Weight: 9.3 kg

Back to the real stuff with one of the most popular gravel bikes around, the Specialized Diverge. Yes, you can get it for under 1,300$ if you go for the basic Specialized Diverge E5, mounting a Shimano Claris 8-speed groupset and Axis Sport Disc wheelset.

The Diverge by Specialized is a very sporty bike with a geometry slightly more compact than most competitors. It’s a responsive and agile bike that goes fast on tarmac and grinds the gravel pretty smoothly, with a max tire clearance of 47mm, improved for 2023 from 42mm.

You can think of the Diverge’s geometry as a road version of a modern trail bike. It cuts the corners and skids on dirt quite playfully but keeps stiffness up enough to satisfy your inner-racer.

To achieve this, Specialized lowered the bottom bracket (over a half-centimeter lower than the previous Diverge), slacked-out the head tube angle, shortened the chainstays and the overall wheelbase.

The aluminum frameset and carbon fiber fork are high quality, but for its geometry and general built, the Diverge is certainly not a bike meant to carry heavy loads.

One of the best gravel bikes for long day adventures on mixed surface or ultralight bikepacking trips

For UK and Europe check also the prices on Tredz

Specialized Diverge E5 – 2022 models compared in a nutshell

	Diverge E5	Diverge Elite E5	Diverge Comp E5	Diverge Expert E5
Price	$1,300	$2,000	$2,500	CA$4,199
Frame	Aluminium	Aluminium	Aluminium	Aluminium
Fork	FACT carbon	FACT carbon	Specialized Future Shock 1.5 Carbon	Specialized Future Shock 1.5 Carbon
Wheel Size	700c	700c	700c	700c
Brake Type	Mechanical Disc	Hydraulic Disc	Hydraulic Disc	Hydraulic Disc
Groupset	Claris	GRX 400, GRX 600	Apex 1, Praxis	GX Eagle, Rival 1
Drivetrain	2 × 8	2 × 10	1 × 11	1 × 12
Max Speed	63	58	50	48

Specialized Diverge E5 vs Elite Vs Comp VS Expert Specs:

Frame and Build

——–	Diverge E5	Diverge Elite E5	Diverge Comp E5	Diverge Expert E5
Frame	Premium Aluminum	Premium Aluminum	Premium Aluminum Future Shock suspension	Premium Aluminum Future Shock suspension
Fork	FACT carbon, full carbon	FACT carbon, full carbon	Future Shock 1.5 w/Smooth Boot, FACT carbon	Future Shock 1.5 w/Smooth Boot, FACT carbon
BB	Shimano 68mm threaded	Shimano 68mm threaded	Praxis 68mm BSA	SRAM DUB BSA 68 Wide
Stem	Specialized, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 7-degree rise	Specialized, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 7-degree rise	Future Stem, Comp	Future Stem, Comp
Bars	Specialized Shallow Drop, 6061, 70x125mm, 31.8mm clamp	Specialized Shallow Drop, 6061, 70x125mm, 31.8mm clamp	Specialized Adventure Gear Hover, 103mm drop x 70mm reach x 12º flare	Specialized Alloy Minirise, 6.5mm rise, 750mm, 31.8mm clamp
Saddle	Body Geometry Bridge Saddle, steel rails	Body Geometry Bridge Saddle, steel rails	Body Geometry Power Sport, steel rails	Body Geometry Power Sport, steel rails
Seatpost	Alloy, 2-bolt Clamp, 12mm offset, 27.2mm, anti-corrosion hardware	Alloy, 2-bolt Clamp, 12mm offset, 27.2mm, anti-corrosion hardware	Alloy, 2-bolt Clamp, 12mm offset, 27.2mm, anti-corrosion hardware	TranzX Dropper, 27.2mm, 90mm travel

Components

RD	Shimano Claris, 8-speed	Shimano GRX RX400, 10-speed	SRAM Apex 1, long cage, 11-speed	SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
FD	Shimano Claris, 8-speed, braze-on	Shimano GRX RX400, braze-on
Crank	Shimano Claris R200, 50/34T	Shimano GRX RX600, 46/30T	Praxis Alba, 40T	SRAM Rival 1 Wide, 38T
Shifters	Shimano Claris 2000, 8-speed	Shimano GRX RX400 hydraulic brake levers, 2×10 speed mechanical shifting	SRAM Apex, hydraulic	SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
Cassette	SunRace, 8-speed, 11-34t	Shimano CS-HG50-10, 10-Speed 11-36t	Sunrace, 11-speed, alloy spider, 11-42t	SRAM NX Eagle PG-1230, 12-speed, 11-50t
Chain	KMC X8 w/ Missing Link™, 8-speed	KMC X10, 10-speed w/ reusable Missing Link™	KMC X11 Extra Lightweight, 11-speed	SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
Brakes	Tektro Mira, flat-mount, mechanical disc	Shimano GRX 810, Hydraulic disc	SRAM Apex, hydraulic disc, 160mm G2 CenterLine rotor	SRAM Level TLM, hydraulic disc, 160mm CenterLine rotor

Wheels

Rims	Front: AXIS Elite Disc, Rear: AXIS Elite Disc	Front: AXIS Elite Disc, Rear: AXIS Elite Disc	Front: AXIS Elite Disc, Rear: AXIS Elite Disc	Front: DT Swiss G540 Rear: DT Swiss G540
Tires	Specialized Pathfinder Sport, 700x38c	Specialized Pathfinder Sport, 700x38c	Specialized Pathfinder Sport, 700x38c	Rhombus Pro, 2Bliss Ready, 700x42mm

Specialized Diverge 2022 E5 Budget/Cheap version: Full Specs:

Frame	Specialized E5 Premium Aluminum, Open Road Geometry, threaded BB, 12x142mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc
Fork	Specialized FACT carbon, flat-mount disc, 12x100mm thru-axle
Bars	Specialized Shallow Drop, 6061, 70x125mm, 31.8mm clamp
Brakes	Tektro Mira, flat-mount, mechanical disc
Speeds	16 – Shimano Claris R200 46/34T / SunRace, 8-speed, 11-34t
Derailleurs	Shimano Claris, 8-speed
Shifters	Shimano Claris 2000, 8-speed
Rims	Axis Sport Disc
Tyres	Specialized Roadsport, 60TPI, wire bead, Flak Jacket protection, 700x35mm
Tyre Clearance	Max 42mm
Weight	9.3kg (M-Size)

Have a look at: The Best Gravel Bikes for less than 1000/1500$

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