2025 Gravel Bike of the Year: Specialized Diverge 4

After all the bike reviews that Velo posted this year, I’m choosing the Specialized Diverge 4 as the 2025 Velo gravel bike of the year.

Selecting this bike from all the reviews was hard enough but by the time we got to the Velo 7 Best Gravel Bikes nominations article, the choice started to keep me up at night.

I’ll be honest that a part of me wants to select the 3T Racemax² Italia as the winner but I bring that up because it illustrates why the Specialized lands the win here. That 3T is an incredible bike for me. The key part of that being for me. I had the bike sent to me for the review and I loved riding the hell out of it because it perfectly matches my personality on a gravel bike. I tend to use gravel bikes to ride mixed surfaces, I didn’t buy the bike, and I’m apt to love a bike that feels like a road bike. Does that make sense for most people? I don’t think it does.

Instead, the Specialized Diverge 4 is the gravel bike for nearly everyone. If a buddy asked on a ride what gravel bike I’d recommend, that’s the Specialized Diverge 4. A person who wants to bike pack, Specialized Diverge 4. A race focused gravel rider, Specialized Diverge 4. I could keep going because there’s no situation where I don’t start with this bike. That’s why I’m making the Specialized Diverge 4 the 2025 gravel bike of the year.

Why the broad range of recommendations for this bike though?

The Specialized Diverge 4 is all about accessibility

I’ve talked about this a few times in these awards articles but it all comes down to accessibility. That means a few different things though. The most obvious way most people will likely consider accessibility is price. There is, of course, a range topper Diverge 4 priced at over $10k but that’s not the bike I tested. I tested the mid-range Diverge 4 Expert AXS that Specialized likely expects to be the volume leader. That bike is still $6k though and if that’s still pricey for you, there’s a Sport model at $3500. Still need to save money? The alloy models start at $2100 and you still get the main features including the downtube storage. That range of pricing makes this an accessible bike.

I look at accessibility as more than price though. Accessibility is never feeling like your bike can’t do something. I don’t expect most people to buy a fleet of bikes to cater to every little whim that pops up over the many years that a bike will remain a part of your life. The Specialized Diverge 4 is a bike that allows you to do nearly anything on two wheels.

Part of what makes the Specialized Diverge 4 accessible is the tire clearance. I talked a bit about this in the nominations article but I personally do not subscribe to the idea that everyone needs mountain bike tires on gravel bikes. The reason I care about the tire clearance is because it offers choice.

The Diverge 4 fits 50mm tires with 8mm of clearance or 2.2” tires with ISO standard 4mm of clearance. That means if you know it’s a muddy race, hello Unbound the year of the peanut butter, you could drop to 45mm and not worry about breaking off a derailleur. If you decide that bigger is better than a 2.2” tire is pretty damn massive. Of course you could also drop to say a 35mm slick for the road. That choice is accessibility. You won’t find yourself ready to get rid of your bike because you need tire clearance for the new thing you decide to do.

It’s not just tire clearance that makes the Diverge so capable though. There’s also a ton of supporting features. Big huge storage in the frame means I can keep a jacket dry on an epic ride or most people can ride without luggage hanging off the seat. I prefer integrated bar and stem systems but the future shock system means that cables are external and everything is easy to work on with round bars that are easy to hang lights and computers on. Of course there’s also tons of mounts and you can go 1x or 2x as you feel necessary.

What about Future Shock?

In my review of the bike, the Future Shock system was the one thing that actually gave me a bit of pause. In a way the bike hinges on your desire, or lack of, for suspension. Except if we go back to my earlier point about recommending this bike to people, I am recommending Future Shock. If you want the most capable gravel bike then suspension makes sense but it can come with compromises. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Cannondale Lefty or even a Fox fork to everyone.

Specialized gets it right with Future Shock by keeping it out of the way. You get the capability of short travel suspension without having to think about the hassles that come with most suspension systems. There’s essentially no maintenance and you can even lock it out completely depending on the version you have. That’s as close to a no downside suspension system as you can get. So despite my reservations, if you are looking for a capable and accessible gravel bike Future Shock is smart technology.

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For more information check out my full Specialized Diverge 4 review.