Gravel bike with flat bar now "invented"

[ultrazenith]

The boffins in the bike industry have just invented something totally new, building on their gravel bike innovation of recent years: the flat bar gravel bike. With a frame made of metal instead of plastic.

The Diverge EVO has been penned to push the limits of what was previously considered achievable on a gravel bike. Boasting flat bars and a more progressive geometry layout, it offers a slacker, 70-degree head angle, a five millimetre lower bottom bracket and an additional 30mm longer reach over the regular drop-bar model. It will be available in two guises, Expert and Comp.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/specia ... d2VBHPrJsg

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

Those crazy kids. They'll be changing, oh I don't know, the wheel size next.

 

[mdvineng]

I'm sure I had something like that in the 60's bar the straight forks. Only 4 gears though.

 

[legrandefromage]

You can imagine all the marketing folk hugging each other because they have come up with something so unique

 

[Woz]

Doesn't this all get a bit tiresome?

"The rhetoric behind Future Shock hinges around what Specialized calls axial compliance. By positioning the shock above the headtube, the engineers have been able to create a rigid platform that promotes better compliance, performance and response - suspend the rider, not the bike."

Is that basically a Girvin Flexstem then? A floppy hinge with a rubber doorstop that dynamically
changes the riders position over every bump :facepalm:

 

[FluffyChicken]

They'll be adding knee joins and elbow joints to act as suspension to your body next. Also a floppy hinge, but with an 'AI controlled feedback loop' damper attached.

 

[ultrazenith]

Next they'll find gravel riders need short travel suspension forks, maybe with 65 mm of travel, and fluorescent lycra for the riders because it makes you go faster.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Re:

I think it's the 5mm lower bottom bracket that will really take us to the next level of performance. I used to yearn for a fractionally lower BB and had to run part worn tyres at a couple of psi below the recommendation try to achieve it. No more!

 

[ovlov440]

Re:

This is symptomatic of how the MTB scene has been for a number of years. Too many 'standards', too many different niches, too many heads up own arses. Winds me up.

 

[Woz]

Re: Re:

I think it's the 5mm lower bottom bracket that will really take us to the next level of performance. I used to yearn for a fractionally lower BB and had to run part worn tyres at a couple of psi below the recommendation try to achieve it. No more!

That's right. The price of this luxurious performance increase is:

"With pricing pegged at £2,399 for the Expert and £1,599 for the Comp, the Specialized Diverge EVO is expected to go on sale in the UK in late June."

I'm just dumbfounded how this can be justified. :?