It's great on the road, basically like an Allez/Roubaix with fat tyres and disc brakes. It feels pretty quick/sharp even on the 32c tyres. Here's a quick review I did on PH…..
I've had the Diverge for a week or so now and have been out for three 30+ mile rides on it. First impressions are very positive indeed. On road it is very, very comfortable and rides pretty similar to an Allez that I used to own. Apart from the fat tyres and disc brakes you wouldn't really know that you weren't on a regular road bike. Even on poor road surfaces, it really soaks up the bumps and you get very little buzz.
Off road it is just as capable as my Cube X-Race cross bike and more comfortable, even with the 32c tyres pumped up to 80psi (compared to 35c tyres at 50psi on the cross bike). You wouldn't want to race cross on it but for bridleways, tow paths and the like it is brilliant. Not all cross bikes are the same obviously, but my Cube had the traditional very short top tube and I was always a little cramped on it.
I can see me using the Diverge for some longer distance rides instead of my regular road bike to be honest. I think with 28c Conti Four Seasons it would make a great touring bike, but actually the 32's roll along pretty well. Although they are effectively a road tyre, they cope OK with a bit of mud off road so I'll probably leave them on for now. You aren't going to be racing across muddy fields in them but they are fine for where I use them.
Up until now I'd resisted the urge to have disc brakes as I found that mini-V's provide all the stopping power I needed. For the first hour or so on the Diverge I thought I'd made a terrible mistake going for a bike with mechanical discs as they hardly stopped the bike. However, once the pads bedded in my confidence grew and now I wouldn't go back to rim brakes for this type of the bike. The stopping power is excellent and predictable, and there is enough modulation. Mini-V's can be a pain with mudguards and obviously with discs it's pretty much a none issue. I went for the Specialized Plug and Play ones (as the other Diverge on this thread) and they are a neat fit. They took a little bit of manipulating to get them straight but once on they are very solid.
So, very impressed so far. It's probably a bit corny, but if someone had designed a bike based on my requirements for a go anywhere/winter bike then the Diverge would pretty much be it...a titanium frame would be nice though! My only complaint is the dull colour choice at the moment but I guess that'll change if they manage to shift a few.
With guards