New CREOs just Dropped!

[Rás Cnoic]

Ah my mistake, I didn't realise there was a flat bar Diverge. That makes sense. Love the Marin bikes! Had a lovely mtb back in the 2000s. Plus their gravel bikes are such good value and great geo.

 

[WildPaul]

@Stefan Mikes speaking of flat bar, would love to hear what you think of the Santa Cruz Skitch if you get a chance to try one at some point!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Stefan Mikes speaking of flat bar, would love to hear what you think of the Santa Cruz Skitch if you get a chance to try one at some point!

I already own a Vado SL, thank you

• Not interested in an e-bike unavailable in my world region
• Not interested in a company that cannot provide local support and warranty
• I'm not into the Bosch thing
  
• Full carbon? At my body weight?
• Range extenders?

263 km of adventure.

What could a Santa Cruz Skitch offer to me? Or, a Creo?

 

[Rás Cnoic]

This is from last year but is a good guide to flat bar gravel bikes. Both the Marin and Diverge score highly.

The 20 BEST Flat Bar Gravel Bikes For 2022 - CYCLINGABOUT.com

These are the BEST flat bar gravel bikes that are currently available.

www.cyclingabout.com

 

[Stefan Mikes]

This is from last year but is a good guide to flat bar gravel bikes. Both the Marin and Diverge score highly.

The 20 BEST Flat Bar Gravel Bikes For 2022 - CYCLINGABOUT.com

These are the BEST flat bar gravel bikes that are currently available.

www.cyclingabout.com

I'm demo riding the Diverge Comp E5 EVO on this Friday, a real hard terrain ride + a steep climb. If I'm happy, I will saving for the Expert These bikes are not cheap unless it is post season clearance sales!

 

[mschwett]

…

I do wonder how much this will appeal to pure paved/street riders...

not at all, sadly.

 

[AvalancheRun]

Someone give us a Creo 2 vs Skitch shootout! (please )

Tried one today. Here are some rapid-fire thoughts. Keep in mind these were very different spec levels, and very short tests.

Skitch (base, flat bar) against Creo 2 (S-Works, drop bar), both on similar sized tires 43/42 respectively iirc.

Initial impressions / Comfort / Handling

• Excellent build quality
• More aggressive seating position
• Comfy, quite wide flat bars, fairly supple frame / Creo 2 more comfortable ride and less vibration to hands, less impact over big bumps
• Extremely maneuverable - while riding felt lighter and more nimble than Creo 2
• Felt slightly lighter when picking it up too... The shop said they weighed it at 31 lbs

Power / Noise / Shifting

• Motor was quiet, frequency range didn't stand out as annoying (the salesperson rode along on a Velotric with like 16 KHz wine -- annoying!) Creo 2 has the edge here because I rode it in a parking structure with more reflective surfaces and it didn't stand out as much.
• Motor power felt very natural, Creo 2 again just gets the edge.
• Creo 2 felt a little more powerful too. We rode on a fairly windy day, and both bikes were pretty low battery (~15%). The manufactures will likely decrease power output at different SoC around there, so not a fair test. Definitely powerful, nobody should worry about that one bit.
• Motor power increase/decrease on a little thumb throttle thing on the left side, Creo 2 has it under the handlebars which I prefer
• Shifting not as satisfying or easy as the etap system on the Specialized bikes, not a big deal but I've tried etap and enjoyed it (easy but pricey upgrade for Skitch..)
• Easy to ride unpowered

Utility / Misc

• Fewer/no mounting points for panniers. Would people be running panniers on the fork of Creo bikes? I see some people swear by that style, but my impression is rear panniers would be more stable.
• Super wide tire clearance (up to 54mm iirc)
• Color: one color choice
• Dealer experience: both excellent, both beyond all other stores I've tried. Dealer offered to customize the bike exactly as I wanted (SRAM components, tubeless, etc.)
• Overall Specialized seemed like a more mature electric product, especially knowing all of the customizations that are possible in software (to be fair I have not researched this for Santa Cruz)

Skitch a little more fun, Creo 2 a little more comfortable. Both extremely high quality bicycles, and the best e-bikes I've tested.

 

[AvalancheRun]

Btw, should that post come across as a little unenthusiastic I just wanted to add that this was written for e-bikers.

These bikes are like having wings. It was such a cool feeling! Can't imagine how nuts it would be to see a pro bike messenger riding one in a city.