Is a gravel bike the ultimate winter bike? Why you should make the switch to gravel from the classic winter road bike

From Road.cc

If you can budget for it, a second bike to handle harsh conditions is preferable to beating up your best bike year-round. Here’s why my new winter steed is a gravel bike, rather than a road bike modified for winter
by EMILY TILLETT
Riding a bike outside during the winter months in the northern hemisphere can be challenging, mostly due to unpleasant weather conditions. It can dampen your motivation and quickly turn your pride and joy into a creaking mess. Here’s why I’ve chosen not to buy a dedicated winter road bike and spend my money on a gravel bike instead. 

My summer bike is a Specialized Tarmac SL6. Even though it has disc brakes, I’m hesitant to expose it to the salted winter roads. I want to keep the more expensive parts lasting longer, yet I’m not keen on spending the whole winter locked up on the turbo. Therefore, I’ve been on the lookout for a suitable alternative bike that can handle the winter conditions.

Many people invest in a cheap bike that they don’t mind abusing over the winter months, but I’ve gone down an alternative route and picked up a 2018 Specialized Diverge Comp with SRAM Force 1 from Facebook Marketplace instead.

Specialized first introduced its Diverge in 2014, and for the 2018 model year it gave the Diverge a complete overhaul. The bike is designed for road and off-road riding, featuring Future Shock suspension which provides 20mm of basic suspension. It also has tyre clearance for tyres up to 42mm and ‘Open Road’ geometry, which was an attempt to move away from traditional cyclocross geometry to differentiate the gravel and ‘cross genres.

Photo by Ben Guernsey on Unsplash

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