My friend is interested in getting a gravel bike. Which one would you recommend?
Both bikes are listed at 1300€.
Specialized Diverge E4, 10.24kg for size 56: https://www.specialized.com/fr/en/diverge-e5/p/221375?color=367663-221375
Canyon Grizl 5, 11.08kg: https://www.canyon.com/en-fr/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/al/grizl-5/3695.html?dwvar_3695_pv_rahmenfarbe=R075_P04
Will be used for occasional gravel, exploring.. but also for road. I don’t have much experience riding an aluminum frame, can you do 100km on one of these?
Cheers!
by jjuuuo
1 Comment
The grizl has the „better“ drive train and is probably a bit more capable for exploring the off road sections and bikepacking. However the diverge can basically do all of that stuff as well. Main differences would be tire clearance and geometry. Diverge has 700×47 max and the grizl 700×50. 47 is enough to do most of the stuff you’d do on a 50mm tire except from really rough and rocky terrain maybe but I doubt you’d notice the difference to be honest. The grizl appears to be more aggressive when it comes to stack and reach meaning it’s lower and longer while the diverge puts you in a more upright/comfortable, yet less aerodynamic (slower) position.
The grizl also uses a 1 1/4 inch fork steerer. That could lead to difficulties if you were to swap the stem (very common procedure to adjust the bike fit) because basically any other modern steerer in the world is 1 1/8 inches and most (budget friendly)stems are designed around that.
Wether or not you can do 100km on those bikes, depends entirely on the person who rides them. People so 100k on all sorts of bikes and the two you’re looking at, are probably on the better suited side for it.
If both bikes came with the same drive train I’d say go for the diverge as it’s probably better suited for newer riders. Im leaning towards still saying that, even though the diverge comes with one less cassette cog as it’s not too noticeable of a difference. If your friend enjoys the frame, there is always the option to look for a used grx400 groupset in the future.