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The Diverge E5 proves that you don’t need a carbon frame or electronic shifting to tackle your next adventure.
The Takeaway: An entry-level, aluminum-framed gravel bike, the Specialized Diverge E5 can be set up to handle almost any kind of ride.
Price: $1,300 Weight: 21.7lbs (54cm) Style: Gravel Bike Wheel Size: 700c or 650b Frame: Specialized Diverge E5 Aluminum, BSA threaded BB, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru axle, flat-mount disc Fork: FACT Carbon fork, full carbon steerer, 12x100mm thru axle, flat mount disc Drivetrain: Shimano Claris, 8-speed Crank: Shimano Claris R200 Chainrings: 46/34T Cassette: Sunrace, 8-Speed, 11-34T Brakes: Tektro Mira, Flat Mount, Mechanical Disc, 160mm rotors Wheels: Axis Elite Disc Tires: Specialized Pathfinder Sport, 700c x 38c Saddle: Body Geometry Bridge Saddle, steel rails Seatpost: Alloy, 2-bolt clamp, 12mm offset, 27.2mm diameter Handlebar: Specialized Shallow Drop, 6061, 70mm reach, 125mm drop, 31.8mm clamp Stem: Future Stem Comp, 80mm, 6º rise
By most conventional metrics, the E5 is not the most exciting bike in the Specialized Diverge lineup. It’s made of aluminum, it doesn’t feature the Future Shock suspension system, and it uses an eight-speed Shimano Claris groupset. It also lacks the bling-factor of having S-Works written on the down tube. But once I rode the Diverge E5, I realized that those are actually some of the things that make the bike great—like, really, really great.
After spending considerable time on this version of the Diverge, I came away thinking it might be one of the best, most versatile bikes I’ve tested or that Specialized makes. The stock 38mm-wide (mostly) slick tires are perhaps a bit middle-of-the-road, but they’re a perfect starting point for many riders who might buy this bike. They rolled fast enough on pavement that we could keep up on the office lunch ride but offered enough volume and grip to tackle smooth dirt and gravel roads.
After a few rides, the verdict was quite clear. Specialized made a nice-looking, all-road/gravel-ish bike that rides with a bit of pep and doesn’t come with a cringe-worthy price tag. But it wasn’t until I started tinkering with the bike that I got really excited about it. The Diverge E5 can be set up to do almost anything.
Specialized offers the Diverge in nine different complete builds starting with the $1,300 Diverge E5 that we tested, and going all the way up to the $12,250 S-Works Diverge. Eight of the models feature drop bars and there is a flat bar EVO model for those that enjoy that sort of thing priced at $2,600. You can scroll through all the models in the gallery below.
For riders interested in building up a custom Diverge, there are three available framesets. While the particular E5 model we tested is not available as a frame only, an alloy E5 Evo frameset ($1,700) is. It features a Future Shock along with longer and slacker geometry than the E5. There are also two carbon frameset options available, the Diverge 9r ($2,700) and the S-Works Frameset ($5,000).
Versatility is the name of the game with the Diverge E5. A simple tire swap, for example, can change the bike’s entire character. Want to make the E5 go faster and feel sportier on the road? Throw on some 30mm- or 32mm-wide rubber. Want more off-road capability? The Diverge has clearance for up to 700 x 47mm or 650b x 2.1-inch tires. Have a long-distance adventure in mind? There are more frame mounts than you can probably use—plus fender mounts! The Diverge E5 can be a road bike, gravel bike, drop-bar mountain bike, touring bike, or adventure bike—a concept I tested by setting up the Diverge with 650b wheels and Vittoria Barzo 2.1-inch mountain bike tires and hitting some local trails. While it might seem unrealistic to expect a bike that offers a snappy feel on the road to also handle well on the trail (after essentially being turned into a mountain bike), the Diverge managed to surprise me.
The bike’s 71.25-degree head-tube angle felt sufficiently mellow thanks to the combination of a long wheelbase (1035mm in a 54cm), long top tube (554mm), and short (80mm) stem. This is not to say the Diverge suddenly transforms into a dedicated mountain bike. Even with big tires, I quickly found the bike’s limits. The low bottom bracket height made clearing logs and rocks trickier, and the larger 2.1-inch tires caused a bit of toe overlap for me, which negated the quick steering a bit.
Still, I had an absolute blast on the Diverge. I did a bit of “underbiking” on the singletrack in the morning, followed by a bit of overbiking on the gravel service roads. If I was feeling ambitious, I could have gone home, swapped wheels, and headed out for a road ride afterward. That’s the beauty of the Diverge. It’s not the perfect tool for any one task; it is capable of doing them all.
The Diverge E5 is equipped with Shimano’s entry-level Claris road drivetrain. Though it’s been a while since I spent time on an eight-speed bike, I can attest that Shimano did a fantastic job of trickling down its ergonomics and technology to the Claris level. The fit and feel of the Dual Control shifters are similar to that of Shimano’s pricier 105 and Ultegra versions. They just move the chain across three fewer rear cogs. The gearing spread is very off-road-friendly (with an 11-34 tooth cassette) but paired with the 46/34T crankset up front, still provides ample range for road riding.
The most significant difference I noticed between Claris and the more expensive 105 groupset was the need for maintenance. It had to be tuned more frequently to maintain smooth shifting. The shift quality itself was very comparable to higher-end groupsets, as long as you make the occasional small adjustments required to keep it that way.
The mechanical Tektro Mira flat-mount disc brakes were another surprising highlight for me. Typically, lower-priced mechanical disc brakes are the weak link of more affordable disc brake-equipped bikes, often suffering from a vague bite point and mediocre braking power. These Tektro Mira units, however, had a reassuringly firm feel, a predictable bite point, and reasonably good stopping power (for mechanical disc brakes). Specialized deserves kudos here for equipping the Diverge with Jagwire’s Kevlar-reinforced compressionless KEB-SL brake housing, which helps a great deal in improving the brake feel and is something I wish more brands would do when building base-level models with mechanical disc brakes.
The only nagging issue I had with the Diverge E5 was the internally routed cables. The way Specialized routed them through the down tube caused an annoying rattle. Unfortunately, the fix would involve re-cabling everything except the front brake to do that. A bit of foam installed in the down tube during assembly at the factory could have easily prevented this issue.
The Diverge E5’s ability to fit a wide range of riders is another win for the bike. You can purchase it in seven different sizes, from 44cm all the way up to 61cm. Carbon Diverge models add a size 64 to the mix as well. Riders also have the choice of three color options. Our test bike was painted Gloss Blaze, but riders looking for something slightly more low-key can opt for Gloss Sage or Satin Smoke.
As a gear editor, I am often asked, “What bike should I get?” This question can be particularly hard to answer for riders just getting into cycling and looking for a first bike. New riders don’t have years of riding experience to lean on and help guide a bike purchase. This makes the Diverge E5 one of the best bikes for them. Its versatility, ride quality, and price make it an almost perfect entry point for someone who wants to try all kinds of riding. The Diverge E5 is a bike that does a lot of different things well, but what makes it great is its ability to be a blank slate for any rider.