I tried a Diverge EVO E5 with a carbon fork and FutureShock 1.5; it was a shockingly good combination, surpassing what I experience with the RedShift. Even if that Diverge had no rear suspension, riding into a very unpleasant rough surface felt as if I were perfectly isolated from it!
Right!? Riding the Diverge with FS 2.0 was indeed surprising in how little impact or buzz reached the rider.
Actually just stumbled upon an
article from Cycling About comparing FS with RS. They came to the same conclusion.
After making these changes I was honestly a bit shocked by how compliant and comfortable the ride became. I don’t have a ton of experience with super high-end carbon bikes like this one, but I was expecting there to be some major comfort tradeoffs compared to the plush Vado 5. As it turns out, after these changes the creo 2 has actually become my most comfortable ride.
Paul
Thanks for the detailed write up! You’ve put more info out there than all of the press reviews combined.
I had a short ride today on a Creo 2 S-Works, and Diverge Pro. Diverge was clearly more comfortable, but it was closer than expected. I feel really good knowing that there are some easy modifications to improve on comfort further, like going tubeless.
Other thoughts in case you guys are interested:
The bike felt heavy, but once you hop on the weight basically disappeared. Great handling bike. I don’t need sharper handling than this for what I do. Diverge clearly better there of course.
The motor was pretty quiet. Quieter than my new Bosch Performance Line standard. The pitch was lower and less brash. Lower PAS were quieter (not really the case with my Bosch). That said, I would need a lot more time to draw a solid conclusion on noise. Once you’ve spent time listening to something the ear is better at picking it out.
Power, it seems fair to say, was more than anyone would need, but why not have the option? It adds to the fun. Even on a small 52 (I ride 56) without full leg extension it was easy to climb unpowered. Pedal a few seconds in turbo and - boom - you’re going over 20 mph.
Power delivery was more natural than my Bosch. There is a little slack in the crank arms on the Bosch. It makes a clack sound when you don’t hook up motor power perfectly with your leg power. Didn’t notice that here. It felt more like I was doing the work than being pushed by a tailwind. And I mean that in a good way.
This felt - by far - more like a bicycle than any of the e-bikes I’ve tested. So many others feel like small motorized vehicles.
If a Creo 2 were available I would snag it - tough call!
