The Diverge Comp has been designed to be a through-and-through exploration machine. It's equally adept at crushing dirt climbs as it is to cruising to the coffee shop or hopping into a local group ride. And while it might sound cliché in a landscape of bike claims chocked full with hyperbole, the Diverge Comp truly is one bike that does it all.
The Diverge is more capable than ever. And with the constant goal to best meet your needs, we took your number one request into account—tire clearance. The new frame will comfortably fit up to 700x42mm tires or 650b x 47mm tires. Along with tire clearance, weight was a large factor in the development, and taking some design cues from the development of the Roubaix, we developed a FACT 9r carbon frame that's one of the lightest in its category.
Next up, we moved away from a traditional 'cross geometry, instead opting for something that hasn't been seen before—our Open Road Geometry. You can think of it as a road version of modern trail bike geometry. It provides playful handling and predictable steering for endless dirt skids and mid-corner drifts. The geo features a bottom bracket that's over a half-centimeter lower than the previous Diverge, a slacked-out head tube angle, short chainstays, and a short wheelbase. These changes make for a bike that's not only fun in the dirt, but also performs well on the road.
And while riding gravel and dirt roads on a road bike may add to the adventure, there's only so much that wider tires with lower pressures can absorb, in terms of bumps. With this in mind, we implemented a new version of our Future Shock into the Diverge design. It not only soaks up bumps with ease, but also adds the benefit of extremely predictable handling. That's because the wheelbase isn't lengthening when you hit a bump, so the front end of the Diverge keeps the same effective head tube angle. In other words, when you dive hard into a turn, you won't be surprised by under-steer or sloppy handling. Unlike the original Future Shock (found on the Roubaix), the Diverge's version features a progressive spring that makes this technology more suitable for off-road applications, where stiffer suspension is often needed to soak-up larger bumps and obstacles.
Adding to its multifaceted talents, we topped it off with three water bottle mounts, plus mounts for racks and fenders. For the spec, we wanted to make sure that it shifted crisply and braked smoothly mile after mile, so you'll find a Shimano Ultegra groupset, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, and a DT R470 Disc wheelset.
- The FACT 9r carbon frame features our adventure-bound Open Road Geometry, Future Shock Progressive suspension with 20mm of travel, and front/rear thru-axles, making it the ultimate tool for your next adventure.
- The lightweight FACT carbon fork is plenty stiff, aiding in handling and a light overall weight.
- Shimano's no-fuss Ultegra shifting with hydraulic disc brakes provides precise shifting and plenty of stopping power.
