Initially I was too stretched out and my neck /upper back was sore. I switched out the bars for ones with more rise. Now I feel super comfortable and confident. This bike can handle all types of gravel. Today I even rode some trails in the snow! It is a great climber with lots of lower gears. I totally recommend this green machine to anyone who prefers flat bars over drops.

This bike is excellent on the gravel and also handles the road well. It is light weight and I have done over 2000km on it this year

I bought this bike to use on the good state forest roads of the NSW South coast when a dual suspension mtb is just overkill. Don't know why most gravel bikes come with drop bars??? Love the lightness of the bike which makes it a faster bike uphill and on the level and the gearing is better suited to fast riding than an mtb. Plenty of options to attach bottles and bags which mtbs often lack. Also a great alternative bike for rides that combine paved roads with forest roads. Being an older rider and more used to mountain bikes I found the bars a bit low and put bars with a 35 mm rise to make the bike more comfortable for me. In summary if you want a quick versatile bike for well maintained dirt roads consider the Diverge Evo over ""mountain bikes"".

Here's my use case... I need one bike to do it all, from light off-road riding, to pavement fitness rides, to shared path trail leisure rides with the family. The problem is that most (if not all) gravel bikes have drop bars. I love drop bars, but not for riding slow with the family on the shared path. You need to be ready to break and maneuver around pets, strollers, children, and flat bars are way more comfortable for that. I was getting stressed out with my drop bars bike every time we rode on the trail. This is a quick and comfortable bike. I would change two things though: 1. A 5 cm dropper post is not enough. Should be 10. 2. Bottom bracket is too low. Not enough clearance even in light single track. Pedals sometimes hit the ground when turning on pavement.