I can get Specialized or Orbea at the LBS. Prefer to stick to these brands.
Mostly pavement and midwest Cat 2 gravel riding. Each race around here typically incorporates some minimum maintenance road that gets a little rowdier.
The Diverge 4 and new Terra are two of the top options I’m looking at. Would likely go Rival XPLR 1x13 groupset. I don’t have much of an opportunity to test ride now that it’s winter unfortunately.
Diverge
Future Shock
Pricey ($1800 more at a similar spec level)
Terra
MyO program (this seems like a huge plus so I can get shorter cranks and narrower bars out of the gate)
I want more tire clearance to try out 50mm+ tires and more cassette range (I don’t need mullet though for the area I ride). So one big differentiating question seems to be the Future Shock. Is the Future Shock worth it in Cat 2 type gravel over just increasing tire width? I’m thinking the Terra is the better deal and ticks the boxes, but curious if I’m missing out on the Future Shock goodness.
I had the older Futurian Shock for a while and loved it. If you have never tried it, I would ride it around. The nice thing I noticed is I can puppy paws and get aero and not worry as much about the arms being knocked off the bars. Descending was nice. I never really disliked it. Just got to the point where I valued lightweight and a different position more. Are the shorter cranks something you think will actually make you more comfortable? Studies show that they are within the same range for power. The benefit is that you can get more aero if you’re smaller, or if you’re in a crit race, you can push corners. Neither of which are super crucial for gravel unless you’re really focusing on your aero position.
I do race and always looking to improve my aero position. I’ve got a Kickr Bike set on the 170mm crank option vs 172.5 on the Warbird currently. I haven’t noticed any meaningful differences but I’m curious to follow the trend since there doesn’t seem to be a downside. I don’t think I’d pay to switch a 172.5mm crank to 170 (or lower), but given the choice like the MyO program I think I’d choose shorter.
Handlebar is similar. The Diverge would come with a 420mm bar, I ride a 400mm currently. The MyO program Orbea runs is a huge plus in my books even if it has a bit of a lead time. It’s pretty painful to spend $6000-8000 on a Specialized bike and then have to spend more on top of that to swap out some touchpoint.
@js11 I’m a midwest guy as well, and I have a Terra, granted my Terra is a little older (‘19 model). The Orbea MyO feature was a huge factor in me choosing a bike back then. The config options, kinda like an a la cart line, was/is great. I got to choose my crank arm length, stem length, handlebar size, not to mention what type of upgrades I wanted, i.e., a nicer seat, better wheel set, group set, etc. Being able to build the bike I wanted from day 1, without blowing the budget, and not having to swap things out once I took delivery, was key. Plus, you get to buy a bike in the color scheme YOU want! Once I broke that down, Orbea was the winner. Back then, the only other brand that came close was Trek (Project One), but even that wasn’t as lenient as MyO with Orbea, and I was ultimately going to blow my budget if I went with Trek. Plus, Trek didn’t have a bike I would’ve wanted back them (no Checkpoint or Checkmate back in ‘19!). Oh, plus the new Terra models, have way more tire clearance than the older model that I have.
In regards to having suspension on a gravel bike, I view it as a bit overkill for living in this area, and the riding I typically do (mixed surface). I do see where it would be beneficial, and where someone would appreciate it, but for me, it’s not something I’m factoring into my next bike purchase.
ummm. I honestly dont know. I am not remotely the techy person. I had a canyon grizl and bought the terra because of the MyO so that I could get it to fit me when it came in.