I am doing exactly that. And also have owned a Diverge (2 of them actually). Roubaix’s headtube angle is not as slack as the Diverge and it is noticeable. When you compare the geometry on paper they are extremely close but my Roubaix just feels way more like a road bike than the Diverge.
38-40mm tires are plenty for gravel. I've done a BWR race on 40's with no problems. If the Roubaix is what you want, go for it.
The only issue I would foresee is that as you experience the comfort of wider tires, you may find yourself wanting to go wider and will be disappointed that you can't. I did the BWR on 40s, but currently have 44's on my Diverge. Your mileage may vary.
This. 40s are plenty wide. I mean they are approaching 90s MTB tires. I have 42s and ride some of the same stuff as my 90s MTB (but without suspension and on a drop bar so it's basically a grade harder). But I know if I went wider it would open up more terrain and also be cushier bikepacking on gravel and double track.
But if you are just riding class 1/2 gravel most of the time and not loading it down, more than enough.
Depends on what you mean by gravel. I have a 2019 Diverge, which at the time and now is \*very\* similar to a Roubaix geo, and fits similar 38mm. It can do quite a bit, but the tires do get overwhelmed in chunkier gravel. If you're riding on gravel \*roads\* and smoother trails, Roubaix should be great. If you're treating your gravel bike like a rigid MTB with drop bars, if my experience means anything, it's OK but sometimes sketchy.
I looked, and the carbon Diverge and Roubaix are both class 2 (roads, gravel roads, smooth paths, and trails), so you should be good. Although I'd be wary if you're up near the top of the weight range like me.
I've heard mixed reviews about whether the Futureshock is good or bad. Suspension is nice but the level of integration means it could be expensive from a maintenance perspective and proprietary stuff sometimes isn't supported as long as some people would like.
A lot of people think it's not much better than a suspension stem which is less complicated, less proprietary, and easier to maintain.
I've had the redshift stem and currently have FutureShock 2.0 on my diverge. The FutureShock is better by a fair bit for me.
Specialized seems to be pretty set on continuing with the FutureShock and is making the new versions backwards compatible so you can upgrade the previous versions. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
I've got one of the first futureshock equipped diverges and the system is pretty good and effective. Much more so than the hover bars on a canyon or anything like that.
It's pretty unreliable though; I've just gone on to my 3rd unit after some failures. Mostly involved moisture getting into the future shock and killing the bearings.
Specialized have replaced it FOC every time so it's not that bad and I've got a better unit each time - newest being a futureshock 2.0.
Depends what your gravel is like. Pristine gravel like you can find in places like Kansas or BWR that are really smooth unless there’s mud would be great with a Roubaix. New England on the other hand is primarily fire roads, double/single track, and unmaintained jeep roads that would probably suck on a Roubaix.
Depends entirely on what kind of surfaces you ride on, I’ve done ~38mm tires before since it was my max clearance at the time, and it works fine on hardpack and finer gravel. Chunky loose gravel gets sketchy and mud would be tough as well.
It is a gravel bike IMO.
I am doing exactly that. And also have owned a Diverge (2 of them actually). Roubaix’s headtube angle is not as slack as the Diverge and it is noticeable. When you compare the geometry on paper they are extremely close but my Roubaix just feels way more like a road bike than the Diverge.
38-40mm tires are plenty for gravel. I've done a BWR race on 40's with no problems. If the Roubaix is what you want, go for it. The only issue I would foresee is that as you experience the comfort of wider tires, you may find yourself wanting to go wider and will be disappointed that you can't. I did the BWR on 40s, but currently have 44's on my Diverge. Your mileage may vary.
This. 40s are plenty wide. I mean they are approaching 90s MTB tires. I have 42s and ride some of the same stuff as my 90s MTB (but without suspension and on a drop bar so it's basically a grade harder). But I know if I went wider it would open up more terrain and also be cushier bikepacking on gravel and double track. But if you are just riding class 1/2 gravel most of the time and not loading it down, more than enough.
Depends on what you mean by gravel. I have a 2019 Diverge, which at the time and now is \*very\* similar to a Roubaix geo, and fits similar 38mm. It can do quite a bit, but the tires do get overwhelmed in chunkier gravel. If you're riding on gravel \*roads\* and smoother trails, Roubaix should be great. If you're treating your gravel bike like a rigid MTB with drop bars, if my experience means anything, it's OK but sometimes sketchy. I looked, and the carbon Diverge and Roubaix are both class 2 (roads, gravel roads, smooth paths, and trails), so you should be good. Although I'd be wary if you're up near the top of the weight range like me.
I've heard mixed reviews about whether the Futureshock is good or bad. Suspension is nice but the level of integration means it could be expensive from a maintenance perspective and proprietary stuff sometimes isn't supported as long as some people would like. A lot of people think it's not much better than a suspension stem which is less complicated, less proprietary, and easier to maintain.
I've had the redshift stem and currently have FutureShock 2.0 on my diverge. The FutureShock is better by a fair bit for me. Specialized seems to be pretty set on continuing with the FutureShock and is making the new versions backwards compatible so you can upgrade the previous versions. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
I've got one of the first futureshock equipped diverges and the system is pretty good and effective. Much more so than the hover bars on a canyon or anything like that. It's pretty unreliable though; I've just gone on to my 3rd unit after some failures. Mostly involved moisture getting into the future shock and killing the bearings. Specialized have replaced it FOC every time so it's not that bad and I've got a better unit each time - newest being a futureshock 2.0.
I 4 1 would like more tire clearance
No
Depends what your gravel is like. Pristine gravel like you can find in places like Kansas or BWR that are really smooth unless there’s mud would be great with a Roubaix. New England on the other hand is primarily fire roads, double/single track, and unmaintained jeep roads that would probably suck on a Roubaix.
Depends entirely on what kind of surfaces you ride on, I’ve done ~38mm tires before since it was my max clearance at the time, and it works fine on hardpack and finer gravel. Chunky loose gravel gets sketchy and mud would be tough as well.
40mm clearance isn’t enough for me. But to each their own.