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Submitted by
DavidNeiles
a Cross Country Rider
from Chattanooga, TN
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Raccoon Mtn, Chunky section | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$5200.00 | | Purchased At: | Dick's Sporting Good | | Strengths: | This is one killer value and a stout frame. Able to ride really aggresive and hit drops and still race it in a xc race. Low center of gravity gives the bike a really nice feel and balance, especially carving tight, twisty singletrack, dodging trees left and right and it is so easy to through the bike around. Climbs really well and no pedal loss in the rear suspension. I rarely use propedal and just love the way it pedals. No pedal loss at all, it is like you are getting a boost forward. Feels like you have limitless travel and you never feel the bike bottom out. I rarely bottom it out, have about 3mm of travel left in the rear usually. I run 135-140ish psi in the rear @# 160lbs.
Love the Knuckle Box design. | | Weaknesses: | Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. None, I just wish it had tabs for hammerschimdt. | | Similar Products Used: | DB Mission 2, Schwinn 4banger, Tomac Eli, Lots of other fullys. Mostly 4bar linkages. My favorite!! | | Bike Setup: | This is a review of the Sortie Black, not the Sortie 3. Check out my blog on the Diamondback forums on this site. | | Bottom Line: | Must buy this bike. It is a killer value and nobody else in the market can beat the price for the parts you get on the Sortie 3. If you don't warrant a big 6" all mountain bike than get the Sortie. It can do it all and gives you a lighter, faster climbing bike with plenty of travel and good times.
I have loved every minute on this bike and can say it is the best bike I have every owned, dare I say every ridden! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
falalotguy
a Weekend Warrior
from Milford, Mi
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | tree farm & the milf | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1850.00 | | Purchased At: | town&country bike & | | Strengths: | First of all with the price on this bike,you cant go wrong. Go on diamondback web page and look at the setup. Fox shox all around, sram x-9, 317 mavic rims ect.
| | Weaknesses: | none so far, seat post little week for clydesdale like me. no big deal. | | Similar Products Used: | First full suspension. have road demo specilized full, GT full, Gaint full and also Fisher full. | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | So far this bike is great. Set post needs to be upgraded, easton seat post is weak, no big deal. Other than that i ride hard and am a clydesdale 260pounds and give a bike a good work out. so fair so good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rmillet
a Weekend Warrior
from San Antonio
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Fast Dry Trails | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Action Bikes | | Strengths: | 5" of Efficient travel(I have the green 09 model, not the red one pictured here) that CLIMBS too, head angle can carve twisties, but is not twitchy. | | Weaknesses: | Bottom bracket a hair low. Minor flex in the long seat stays. | | Similar Products Used: | Diamondback XTS3 (9yrs of hard riding) | | Bike Setup: | As delivered, swapped out to Avid BB7 mech discs for low/no maintenance (bleeding), and kept my XThub Sun Single Track rims (as I weigh 210), although the mavic 317 rims seemed very nice. | | Bottom Line: | DB hooked me up with this at a great price as a warranty replacement for my 9 yr old XTS3 (THANKS DB for great customer service & product support)!!
This bike rocks! The 5" suspension design works very well with the Fox RP23 rear shock. I run the Pro-Pedal on 2 and I don't get any bob climbing seated or standing, yet I can barrel through nasty roots at high speeds and they get sucked up. My pedaling efforts are now rewarded with acceleration (man I didn't know what I was missing)!
The FOX float fork works well too, the first 1" of travel is very soft (sag zone), chatter roots don't exist, then it ramps up and larger roots, ruts etc. get sucked right up.
The SRAM gears shift flawlessly, the gigapipe cranks feel stout and smooth, the WTB Wolverine tires roll FAST at 45psi and hook on hard pack, packed sand (wet roots and loose sand are not too great though).
I love this bike. I won't give it 5 chilis overall simply because I haven't had it that long, and it could be a touch stiffer out back (you only feel it in odd off-camber turns) and higher bottom bracket...but these are MINOR.
The ride is great. I wouldn't recommend for free-ride hucking, but YES for all day trail blazing and laughing at roots and ruts (it manuels well too). It really doesn't feel like a 30lb bike to me either (my old +30 XTS DID).
This is a great trail carving machine, BIG-BANG for the buck! Thanks again DB.
| Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
saxen
a Weekend Warrior
from boulder colorado
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | horsetooth | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | proformed, i sell th | | Strengths: | price, not only the price i paid, but rather the retail price for this caliber bike is amazing- with the same componets on a trek, gf, yeti ect ect it would cost nearly wice as much. awesome climber for a trail 5 inch bike | | Weaknesses: | diamondbacks name, and the breaks, the juicy 5 breaks suck, they stop well but they will not shut up, also a bit on the heavy side for xc, but than again this is not a xc made bike for 09 | | Similar Products Used: | trek ex8, yeti asr, rocky mountain etsx 30 and element 50 | | Bike Setup: | stock for now, will change the breaks soon | | Bottom Line: | i wanted a different name on my bike- i proformed it from diamondback so i got an amazing deal, and to be honest before i got it i planned on swaping the frame out for a different brand. but, after one ride i was just blown away, it climed very well for a 5 inch travle bike, its amazing on the downhill. i do mostly xc and a bit of dh and this bike just sits in the middle of those so well. all fox has been nice, the tires were great for all around riding, maybe a bit slow for xc but they are deff beefy, i did notice a bit more bounce than my partners element 50 but thats probably due to the extra travle. i really thing DB is coming out with some amazing bikes, i have been nothing but happy with this bike,
if you like only downhill go with the mission 2 for around the same price, if you are only a xc guy or racer go with a different brand or the 5200 dollar sortie black, but if you want a bike that does everything very well and wont break the bank this bike is just killer. many people comment on the bike with something like "they use to be good bikes, sell out brand...yada yada" after one ride many of them have been impressed
it does get a 4 because the avid breaks suck, work great but they will not stay quiet- easy fix. also the bike could be a pound or two lighter, but its not like 29 lbs is all that heavy- | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ChrisD
a Cross Country Rider
from Toledo, OH U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | highland rec/brighton rec | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | dealer | | Strengths: | Nice looking, clean design. KnockleBox does give a nice low center of gravity and DOES not flex under power. | | Weaknesses: | the name Diamondback, if it said specialized or Trek on the side it would sell for twice as much. | | Similar Products Used: | intense tracer, Numerous S-works FSR'S, Klein palomino. | | Bike Setup: | XO rear derailleur and shifters, Avid Ultimate brakes (203mm rotors), XT front derailleur and crankset, King hubs with 717 rims, thomson seat post and stem, Monkey light risers, Crank Brothers candy pedals and the stock seat. | | Bottom Line: | With my current set up, it's light, stable and agile. Diamondback did a great job with both the design and execution of this bike. You can't go wrong, especially at this price point. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bugman
a Weekend Warrior
from AZ
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | South Moutain | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2400.00 | | Purchased At: | Javelina Cycles 480-598-3385 | | Strengths: | This is a great 4 inch bike with Fox FRL forks Compression, rebound and lock out all on top of forks. Avid brakes and Easton bars and stems. Great looking bike that can handle it. | | Weaknesses: | None so far still a great ride. | | Similar Products Used: | Titus racer X and a old Trek that was junk. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, I may upgrade the wheels to Mavic crossmax Tubeless | | Bottom Line: | I have bought $5000 bikes, this does it for alot less. Thanks DB for bring it back great bike great price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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