I have a new Warbird and absolutely love it... best bike I've ever owned. Unfortunately I haven't ridden the other two so I can't give you a comparison. I live in West Michigan and my local shop is the largest Salsa dealer in the country I believe, so we are a bit partial to the brand around here.

I am out of the long-course tri game and will be sticking with shorter aqua bikes for the next few years. After playing around with BBS I decided to sell my P2 as the savings were surprisingly small compared to a well setup road(ish) bike, that's how much I love my Warbird! I have ridden everything from road, to single track, to 200 miles of gravel across the state of MI and haven't found anything that bike couldn't handle (single track wasn't too gnarly). I have the Apex build as that's all the budget would allow, but have upgraded a few things. I added a Quarq power meter, swapped out the bars for a set of Salsa Cowchipper (probably the best upgrade I made), Shock Stop stem, Velocity Blunt SS wheels, Industry Nine Ultralites, and a few other goodies and couldn't be happier.

I also love my Warbird. It’s my favorite bike to ride.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

The warbird and diverge were also on my list. I ended up going with a Canyon Grail (not limited to LBS availability, since it's an online thing). I love this bike so much... and price for quality is very good. Best of luck with your purchase, whatever you get I'm sure you'll have as much fun with it as I've had with mine. Love the 'bash around, go anywhere' nature of my gravel bike. :)

With a gravel bike, everything depends on how you will use it and what your chosen gravel is like. The Diverge is definitely suited for the milder, more civilized, well-maintained gravel. If you'll never see anything gnarlier than bike paths or well manicured gravel roads, the Diverge would probably be perfect. The Warbird is known as a good all-around gravel bike. Very versatile. It can handle civilized gravel or unmaintained single track. Of those three, I would give it the edge for most people. It can handle anything up to and including some mountain bike trails.

I've been a gravel rider for a relatively long time. The only gravel bike I've ridden and NOT liked has been the Trek Checkpoint carbon (too heavy, not lively, and too springy). My custom Lynskey became the pattern for the stock gravel bikes Lynskey sells now. It was a great bike I wish I hadn't sold. I also liked my original titanium Warbird -- it started my addiction to gravel seven years ago, back before gravel was a thing. My current gravel bike is an Open new U.P. -- also a great bike, but a tad pricey. All that stream-of-consciousness typing to say . . . probably my favorite gravel bike among the half dozen plus that I've had experience with has been the Lynskey. Great geometry, nice ride, excellent handling, and lasts forever. Available with a threaded BB. (And they're usually available at a discount on Lynskey's website.)

My plan is to get a Cannondale Topstone Sora ($1000 MSRP but can probably get it for $750 when 2020 models come in) and then upgrade: wheels, seat post, brakes, crankset and FD/RD.
These are the components I want to upgrade... Just started putting this together today so things may change.


Will probably be around 2k when it's done.

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What's your CdA?

I’ve got a carbon Warbird (SRAM 1x though) and love it.

On a very rowdy gravel ride there is something a little reassuring about a metal bike, so I'd say for with the Seven.

My buddy just put a substantial dent in the top tube of his specialized steel gravel rig. it would have totaled a carbon frame.

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Isn't the Checkpoint more of a "bike packing" bike made with lots of bosses to attach racks & panniers for hauling your stuff around?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.