What was Specialized thinking?! New Diverge STC, Genius or Flawed Design?

Chris D'Aluisio is the brains behind the brand new Specialized Diverge STR and I got to sit down and have a chat with him about the development of this radical new gravel bike
Diverge STR first ride • NEW Specialized Diverg...
Buy Bikestow Stance stand here bit.ly/3LSZQXZ
Supported by Saddleback
Sidi shoes bit.ly/3tjQ8UP
Sportful clothing bit.ly/2NLNw1t
HJC helmet bit.ly/3sRiB2Z
Follow me:
Instagram: / davidjarthur
Twitter: / davearthur
Facebook: / justridebikesvideo

[@SPLSE]

Very cool hearing this information to form a better understanding of the product.

[@rudyelizondo1935]

Good catch line “the truth is in the ride”!!! Get Peter as Egan to do a vid riding it!! Also, show the stress test results especially on the suspension and the carbon frame. Do a commercial testing it on Roubaix or better yet on Kansas roads!!! Great vid but more questions. I think the suspension will break by use within a year or 3 years

[@Ih8GoogleandApple]

Peter would ride it and probably break it sprinting up a hill confirming his name the Tourminater!

[@stefanodirector]

Though I may get baffled by some of his designs and solutions, what I really appreciate from Chris D'Aluisio is his background in motor racing (the knowledge that comes with years racing motorbikes) and his genuine fascination for speed.

[@galenkehler]

specialized bikes have always suffered from torsional flex in the rear end, I'd love to hear how they managed to tame that in this design, given there is no apparent lateral supports included

[@feedbackzaloop]

Hurts my heart to hear an engineer - acknowledged guru in his field - speaking all that marketing gibberish and choosing his wording carefully, reducing all the amazing analytics to "good but too much not so good"

[@njm3211]

He may be an excellent engineer/designer, perhaps not super articulate as a lecturer.

[@lazarosnikolaidis256]

Interesting discussion with a huge talent. Guys like this brought cycling to next century. Arthur goes Global! 👌

[@red00tl]

How does this STR design compare with Cannondale's Kingpin? They both do the same thing, but Kingpin seems to be simpler and more reliable. STR does offer a varying degree of response while Kingpin is an one-size-fits-all kinda thing though.

[@BKxLiLi]

Kingpin is suspending the frame, the rear triangle moves for compliance. The STR suspends the rider, the frame doesn’t move, rather the seat post. So you have a stiff frame, but compliance through suspending the rider front and rear

[@gustavocoluna]

Congrats Spz! I tested. Amazing!!

[@universe-juice]

Guy is fascinating. Seems like a dream job. Probably isn't but seems like it

[@BennyOcean]

Doesn't the GT Grade do the same thing at a fraction of the cost? Other than brand prestige, is there any reason to choose this bike over the Grade?

[@benandbarny1]

I had the GT grade and loved it. Mine sadly got stolen and they no longer make it in a 48 my size. It did move and was very comfortable. I ordered an str yesterday. The whole bike is a step up but does similar things.

[@Ih8GoogleandApple]

Specialized mantra is let’s build something that doesn’t really do anything special or specific that stupid people will spend a fuck ton of money on. It all started with that rim brake monstrosity the Venge Vias. I remember it having a full page add in Skymall magazine before it went defunct.

[@slantedorbit]

Proper R&D is fascinating and it takes guts to try new things. Their rollout might have benefited from real gravel racers enthusiastic about the benefits. So far the trend seems to be that hardcore racers will opt to underbike and punish their bodies for speed, so I wonder whether there is “spirit of gravel” peer pressure among them to be slower in adopting something like this, otherwise it’s hard not to see this tech as more the darling of mature enthusiasts with money to burn. If I’m being honest, I want to hate it but I’m impressed by the tenacity and following the process wherever it leads; then the thought of this frame 10 years hence brings me back to earth.

[@peterhehn9511]

I bought an Ergon CF split seatpost with 25mm of travel, saved $14,000!

[@overthetarget9401]

Same.

[@yumyumhungry]

Not at all convinced by rear suspension on a gravel bike when hardtails exist. 30mm of front sus? Sure that make sense in the spectrum of bikes. On long gravel rides if your butt is hurting get a new chamois or saddle or a bike fit.

[@uebernueber]

David. Seriously. Where can I buy your merch? Throwing money on the monitor does not work :D

[@davidarthur]

Working on it!

[@noels8817]

My tarmac roads are 50% chattery and bumpy due to unevenness or potholes- will this bike be overkill or good for this purpose?

[@charlcoetzee93]

Overkill, a compliant frame and cushy tyres will do it

[@alexandra4334]

Love a bike company that innovates. The design keeps the frame rigid and allows a lot of flex and movement of the post, while also controlling the load and rebound in a way that is designed to feel natural to the rider. To bring something like this from design to production is no small feat. Hopefully it trickles down to the cheaper models, but being a new frame design its probably will always be a premium option.

[@aneczka2114]

Would be awsome to work with this guy

[@lazarosnikolaidis256]

Yes, totally! 🤟

[@emc3065]

Seems like they've taken the Trek IsoSpeed system to the next logical step for a Gravel bike.

[@DurianriderCyclingTips]

"its a mountain bike experience" LOL If you need suspension on your gravel bike just get a frick'n 29er hardtail and enjoy the ride way more.

[@matthewmansfield2384]

Softride anyone? "Suspend the rider, not the bike." What's old is new again. Too bad Softride was so ahead of their time. I rode a Softride stem for years on my MB1 and there wasn't a suspension fork on the market with any advantage. On a gravel bike, suspending the rider makes great sense. PNW makes an affordable suspension dropper post and if you can find a short Softride stem, you'd be retro modern cool!

[@ForestFelvey]

Put a future shock on the seat post and be done.

[@risesir]

It’s too bad Specialized doesn’t put the effort into standardized solutions. As is, these types of “solutions” have very limited lifespans. Really, that’s the point.

[@davidgiroux5228]

Genius?

[@andTutin]

bla bla bla

[@gorwoj1723]

30mm backward travel of your seat? I'm afraid it might not be healthy for your spine and knees. 🤔

[@richardstaber6179]

undesirable development?....OMG...bye bye Specialized

[@tosheshdaulta8899]

no

[@gaza4543]

It’s flawed in the fact that in time you won’t be able service it. Especially if it’s not a hit i. The bike world.

[@benhur5826]

if someone was into RC models many years ago, can see how bicycle industry products are still very primitive thus overpriced, but they act like they were rocket scientists... (years of development, research, cuting edge engineering, bla, bla, bla...)

[@djfung]

In summery :So baicly his job is to look for a problem that doesn't exist and make a product to sell to masses. Got it.

[@overthetarget9401]

There is no problem, we have to think of a problem. That explains this product.

[@phenofinder9145]

Janky version of treks isospeed

[@johnbruce949]

Hmmm, to suggest a suspension fork, with a lock out on it “saps your energy” is not my experience. I don’t like the concept of Future Shock. To suggest you can’t hold a line on a suspension fork? Err? To suggest that MTB riders don’t stand whilst climbing? I get his purist gravel/roadie viewpoint but it seems outdated and almost as if he’s been given a design brief that goes against his core belief of what he finds fun about gravel riding. Also saying they design bikes for themselves is hard to believe as designers and manufacturers are driven by tge demands of the market. It seems to me that Specialized are playing catch-up right now and the smaller companies are more innovative and faster to react to the hyper fast changing and challenging desires of the gravel world. As the experienced MTB/off road community mix with the roadies , whom the latter let’s face it have struggled like Luddites to embrace technology that improves rider safety, speed, comfort, handling and ultimately enjoyment larger companies that try to cater to a much wider and or more resistant group of riders, much like pop music producers who are trying to sell volume over art could ultimately, fail.

[@dom4034]

My God, whats Specialized going to do next? Dig up Martin luther King and have him say this is the best bike ever?