Unbound Gravel has become the not-so-secret testing ground for all sorts of yet-to-be-released products. From covered-up frames, new drivetrains and prototype tech, there's usually a thing or two quietly making its debut under the dust and mud of Kansas gravel.
Specialized, however, did little to conceal their soft-release. Gleaming in a bright red and yellow paint job, it appears a new Diverge is well on its way.
As Unbound week gets underway, Specialized riders like Lael Wilcox, Geerike Schreurs, and Ian Boswell have been spotted around Emporia, getting comfortable on the new steeds.
With bike still officially under embargo, the athletes couldn't reveal too much about the latest iteration of Specialized's dedicated gravel model, but Cycling Weekly was told that it's simply "better" and "more zippy" — two qualities the riders will no doubt welcome as they prepare for the world’s premier gravel race.
Here's what we can tell by just looking at the bike, which admittedly retains much of the industrial design from the previous version:
The obvious development is UDH integration for compatibility with SRAM’s latest off-road groupsets. The tyre clearance also appears to have gotten a boost. The previous version of Diverge had clearance for up to 47mm tyres, and this one appears to fit a 2.2' or maybe even bigger.
There are also more bosses on the fork — three instead of two.
And, knowing Specialized, the bike will probably have shed a gram or two in the design process as well.
It’s not clear if the hover bar will be stocked on the commercial version of the bike or not. Wilcox had her bike outfitted with flat bars without any rise to them but she's racing the Unbound XL and will likely add clip-on aerobars.
Future Shock suspension remains a prominent feature up front, but it appears Specialized chose not to further pursue its STR rear suspension—at least not on this iteration of the Diverge.
We reached out to Specialized for a comment on the mystery model, and they were unsurprisingly tight-lipped. A spokesperson quoted only their standard ‘Project Black’ response, which refers to their professional rider testing and development programme:
“Specialized relies on feedback from professional athletes in both developing and testing advanced pre-production products in real-world applications.”
As Specialized has done in the past, the paint scheme is a nod to its mountain bike heritage, this time modelling an early Rockhopper.
