Specialized Diverge Smartweld or Kona Roadhouse as a best do-it-all bike?

7 replies · 1,315 views

hunti
4 posts
#1Feb 6, 2016, 8:51 AM
Hello,

I am in the market for a new do-it-all bike. Fast and snappy on road but also very capable off road. My budget is limited so I had to let go all the tempting carbon bikes option and focus on cheaper ALU or Steel ones (and to be honest I am not convinced that carbon is the best choice for gravel ridding where rocks can hit the frame all the time). I am looking for a short chainstay but in the same time a tire clearance of at least 35c. As it turned out, there is not many bikes like that. In fact the only two interesting options are Specialized Diverge Smartweld and Kona Roadhouse (or maybe I am missing something?).
http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/adventure/diverge/diverge-comp-dsw-cen
http://konaworld.com/roadhouse.cfm

Both are offering very good frame geometry (short chainstay combined with an impressive BB drop) and should offer a lot of fun both on and off road. Specialized ALU will be slightly lighter and has ZERTS for better comfort but many have told me that no ZERTS will beat proper steel so Roadhouse should be at least as comfy as ALU Diverge. To be sure of that I have to wait a few more weeks to have a chance to ride Roadhouse. But I have already tried Diverge Smartweld and it was very nice ride. Specs wise Roadhouse is very well equipped and to match that I would have to go with Diverge Comp which will be slightly more expensive. The potential advantage of Roadhouse frame with thru-axles both in front and in the rear and the ability to run tubeless tires without any problems (while Diverge uses SCS wheels that are not tubeless ready and it will be hard to find a new set of tubeless wheels SCS compatible).

So which one would You recommend for me?
0
Walt Brown
210 posts
#2Feb 9, 2016, 10:03 PM
I have the Diverge Smartweld and have been very happy with it. I was looking for the same type of bike as you. There is a Diverge Facebook enthusiasts page. They can help with any wheel/SCS questions.
0
Bob Playtex
4 posts
#3Feb 11, 2016, 10:36 PM
Looking for similar application and found Felt V85. Anyone have experience with it? How wide tires etc?
0
juscallmemickey
1 posts
#4Feb 11, 2016, 11:28 PM
I did a test ride with the V85 and Diverge DSW and decided to go with the DSW. The V85 felt more sluggish, although it was a lot less expensive.
0
tinman
76 posts
#5Feb 12, 2016, 3:03 PM
"Fast and snappy on road but also very capable off road."

I have ridden the Diverge. I don't consider it an "off road" bike.
0
alembical
57 posts
#6Feb 12, 2016, 3:49 PMedited
I know that this is a different Diverge, but I came across this today.... http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-specialized-diverge-expert-x1-16-49938/

and they say: The Diverge is happiest off the asphalt
0
llmonty
3 posts
#7Feb 13, 2016, 7:39 AM
I was in the exact same place as you. I have a nice mix of roads, trails, hills and flats near my house. I was moving from a 10 year old hardtail mountain bike to my first road-ish bike since being a teenager. I considered the Felt V85, GT Grade, Salsa Vaya, a bunch of cyclocross, and the Diverge. I ended up with a Diverge. It felt the fastest of the bunch and I do 75% road, 25% gravel. Plan on riding 3x a week, 1/2 century/century rides, charity rides, fire roads.

I ended up with a Comp Smartweld, which was more than I wanted to spend, but LBS gave me a good deal and great service.

In my quick summary they are all great bikes, with different strengths.
-V85 was very stable/slack, looks good and is the best deal by far
-Vaya was super comfortable (steel), but didn't feel as quick
-GT Grade -- I didn't try the carbon 105, but that seems to be the deal / best variant and is around the same price as the Diverge Comp Smartweld. I liked the looks the least of the bunch and couldn't try it first.
-Cyclocross bikes felt too much like I was riding on top of the bike.

I have about 200 miles on the Diverge - on roads, in snow melt/sand/salt, modest offroad, hills. I have really loved it. Gone further than I ever have before with less effort. I am a novice, riding about a year. so doing 25 miles of mixed elevation at a decent clip and not wanting to die is a +.

All in all, I think they are all great, with slightly different attributes that you can align with what you are looking for.

0
hunti
4 posts
#8Feb 13, 2016, 9:11 AM
Hey to everyone. Thanks for Your replies. I have ridden Diverge and I am pretty sure that it will handle well every road I want to go. The Kona Roadhouse on other hand is still a mystery to me. I am waiting for the road.cc review of Roadhouse. It should be any day now. And then a test ride before I decide what to buy.

Reading this forum I also came across Marin Gestalt bike. Model 3 looks very interesting (with Sram 10-42 cassette). But the geometry of this bike makes me a bit worry. It is very short bike (both wheelbase and top tube length) with rather quick steering (72,25 head tube angle and standard 45 fork offset) and tall head tube. BB drop is 72 mm (4 less that Diverge which also have 51 fork offset). This combined can make this bike much less stable on gravel and fast descends and I don't want that. But fortunatelly I will have an opportunity to test ride Gestalt 2 version pretty soon just to confirm or dismiss my assumptions.
0

Related threads

Advice on new bike purchaseBikes · 26 replies · Jul 16, 2018
Kona Roadhouse as a gravel bike?Bikes · 1 replies · Dec 21, 2015
Specialized DivergeBikes · 108 replies · Dec 28, 2018
Torn 4 ways on which bike to chooseBikes · 52 replies · Oct 20, 2015
2017 Lynskey Pro GRBikes · 56 replies · Jan 22, 2019