[Nubster]

Converted to tubeless this morning. Front was a bit of a PITA this time around. I suppose just the tire being tighter. I'm sure there's some variance when they are made. But otherwise the conversion was nice and easy.

Letting the bike rest upside down to let the fork oil drain to the top to get the seals nice and saturated. I may just drop the lower this week and check things out anyways. Not sure I'll get to ride until this weekend if even then...weather is kinda nasty, work, other plans...not looking good for riding. And since the RockShox forks are kinda notorious for being dry when new, probably better safe than sorry.

And on a more interesting note...seems that there's been some sort of billing screw up or something happened with my bank account...haven't gotten it sorted yet. But my bank account was charged a second time yesterday taking $2,499 out of my account causing a $600+ overage and costing me a $25 penalty. DiamondBack claims they didn't do and and don't have my money. But it's gone.

Story is this...I purchased the bike for $2,249. Used Paypal which took the money from my bank account. Got the bike. Returned the bike. DB refunded the $2,249. I re-purchased the bike for $2,499 with the agreement that DB would refund me the difference in price between the 1st and 2nd bike so that I was only paying the original amount since the 10% off coupon I originally used wasn't valid for me anymore. Ok. Great. Got the bike yesterday. Money that was in my Paypal account from the refund was used to pay for the second bike. But...yesterday my bank account says an additional transfer to DB for another $2,499 was made. Which caused the overdraft and now my account is negative. Emailed DB. Told me to call. Called. Told me it wasn't their fault and they don't have the money. Emailed them again. Same story. We don't have your money. Don't know what happened. Have a nice day. I did at least get the refund for the difference in the price of the bikes. But I'm still out an additional $2,499. So needless to say...I'm beyond frustrated at this point and getting ready to head to the bank so see what they have to say.

 

[Darth Lefty]

:-/ what a pain. Let us know if you get a shipping notice for a third bike :skep:

 

[Oktavius]

Converted to tubeless this morning. Front was a bit of a PITA this time around. I suppose just the tire being tighter. I'm sure there's some variance when they are made. But otherwise the conversion was nice and easy.

Letting the bike rest upside down to let the fork oil drain to the top to get the seals nice and saturated. I may just drop the lower this week and check things out anyways. Not sure I'll get to ride until this weekend if even then...weather is kinda nasty, work, other plans...not looking good for riding. And since the RockShox forks are kinda notorious for being dry when new, probably better safe than sorry.

And on a more interesting note...seems that there's been some sort of billing screw up or something happened with my bank account...haven't gotten it sorted yet. But my bank account was charged a second time yesterday taking $2,499 out of my account causing a $600+ overage and costing me a $25 penalty. DiamondBack claims they didn't do and and don't have my money. But it's gone.

Story is this...I purchased the bike for $2,249. Used Paypal which took the money from my bank account. Got the bike. Returned the bike. DB refunded the $2,249. I re-purchased the bike for $2,499 with the agreement that DB would refund me the difference in price between the 1st and 2nd bike so that I was only paying the original amount since the 10% off coupon I originally used wasn't valid for me anymore. Ok. Great. Got the bike yesterday. Money that was in my Paypal account from the refund was used to pay for the second bike. But...yesterday my bank account says an additional transfer to DB for another $2,499 was made. Which caused the overdraft and now my account is negative. Emailed DB. Told me to call. Called. Told me it wasn't their fault and they don't have the money. Emailed them again. Same story. We don't have your money. Don't know what happened. Have a nice day. I did at least get the refund for the difference in the price of the bikes. But I'm still out an additional $2,499. So needless to say...I'm beyond frustrated at this point and getting ready to head to the bank so see what they have to say.

Wow! Maybe the billing snafu is from Paypal?

 

[Nubster]

:-/ what a pain. Let us know if you get a shipping notice for a third bike :skep:

haha...will do.

Wow! Maybe the billing snafu is from Paypal?

Very well could be. I haven't dove into it completely yet. First thing I did was checked with DB to see if they had my money. Could have been an honest mistake or glitch in their billing considering there's been several payment/refund cycles between us. I'm heading to the bank to see what they say then I'll contact Paypal if the bank can't figure it out.

 

[Szy_szka]

Don't want to start the whole 'credit card' versus 'cash' debate but for those types of purchases it would only make sense to use a credit card. You would have this issue taken care of in no time. I was wondering why you were waiting for the refund from the first returned purchase to be issued back to you before proceeding with a replacement order. Now it all makes sense. Again, not bashing you for not using a credit card (you may have a reason) but when used wisely, they do help prevent situations like the one you have just described. Good luck!

 

[Nubster]

I don't have a credit card (by choice) with enough credit line to pay for a $2k+ bike. I can have the credit line extended but I'd rather not. It would just tempt me too much to spend more than I should. But you're right...probably would have been worth it to help prevent issues like this...but at the same time...I wouldn't have thought that this mess would have occurred. Never in all the years dealing with online purchases and with Paypal has anything like this happened.

On another note...dropped the fork...bearings a mess. They are smooth but covered in grime and metal shavings. Upper and lower. The cups where clean and I didn't feel or see anything in the headtube or on the top of the lip of the lower cup. So no idea where the shavings came from. But they were there. Wiped everything down, packed the bearings full of Red and Tacky, and reinstalled everything.

 

[Darth Lefty]

I don't understand how some parts of the build like the drivetrain are reportedly assembled wonderfully and some parts are full of shavings or misaligned. It would be interesting to know how the process goes, if they visit different factories or organizations within the factory with different standards.

Someone out there needs better shop management

 

[rm25x]

Now you have me wanting to drop my fork and check the bearings. I haven't ever done anything like that but I am sure there's a YouTube video out there to show me.

 

[Nubster]

Super easy. Take off the wheel. Undo the brake caliper. Make sure you wedge something in between the pads to keep them from closing if you accidentally press the brake lever. If you didn't throw it away...there should have been a spacer in between the pads when you unboxed the bike.

Take off the top cap. Loosen the stem bolts. The stem and handle bar will slide off the fork. Use some rope or one of the velcro straps that came with your bike and tie the handle bar to the frame so it isn't dangling. Watch the stem spacers and any other pieces that might come off. The fork will drop out of the frame at this point. You may have to actually pull it out but it will only take gentle force. Bearings will pop out easy (lower one will probably come out with the fork) so you can clean and grease and reinstall.

 

[Oktavius]

Super easy. Take off the wheel. Undo the brake caliper. Make sure you wedge something in between the pads to keep them from closing if you accidentally press the brake lever. If you didn't throw it away...there should have been a spacer in between the pads when you unboxed the bike.

Take off the top cap. Loosen the stem bolts. The stem and handle bar will slide off the fork. Use some rope or one of the velcro straps that came with your bike and tie the handle bar to the frame so it isn't dangling. Watch the stem spacers and any other pieces that might come off. The fork will drop out of the frame at this point. You may have to actually pull it out but it will only take gentle force. Bearings will pop out easy (lower one will probably come out with the fork) so you can clean and grease and reinstall.

Just to note, depending on how you are working on the bike, be careful when loosening the cap and stem bolts. If you are working on a bike stand, the fork will want to drop out of the frame under its own weight when the stem bolts are loosened.

When I did mine, I used a bike stand and a box. After removing the front wheel I lowered the fork down onto the box to keep it from sliding out when loosening everything. Then when I removed the fork, I laid the fork on the box which allowed me to keep the brake caliper bolted to the fork.

 

[rm25x]

Thanks guys. My bike stand just came so I will give it a go this weekend.

 

[Nubster]

Finally got a ride in this morning...10 miles. Happy to report that the size bump was definitely the right decision. The XL feels so much better. Still need to tweak suspension and tire pressure but overall it was a good ride. The 150mm dropper even seems like it's going to work out. There is a noise from the front. Like a clanking noise. I haven't got the bike in the stand yet to investigate. Hopefully not something in the fork already.

 

[phred119]

Nubster, I may have missed it, but how big/tall are you? I really wish somewhere local had Diamondback bikes to try out.

 

[Stepford]

From another thread: Nubster is 6' 2" with a 32" inseam.
I'm 6'1 with a 33.5" inseam.

Both of us got XL (21") Releases after trying the L(19") size and finding it cramped.

Diamondback has been all over the place with their sizing recommendations for the Catch and Release with the L-XL switchover point varying from 6'0" all the way up to 6'3" over the course of a few months with no change in geometry. I think torso length (roughly height minus inseam) is a better fit measure than height anyway and in this measure Nubster is clearly better suited to XL. I'm a little bit closer to the boundary and probably could have made an L fit OK, but out of the the box with the standard stem the XL pretty clearly fit me better than the L as well.

 

[Nubster]

Nubster, I may have missed it, but how big/tall are you? I really wish somewhere local had Diamondback bikes to try out.

6'2", 32" inseam.

 

[killerisation]

Hi all. After a lot of geometry research, I've just bought a XL release frame as its exactly what I'm looking for. I'll be using it with a 40mm stem and the saddle fairly far forward on the rails. I'm 5'10".

 

[Skippy141]

Hi all. After a lot of geometry research, I've just bought a XL release frame as its exactly what I'm looking for. I'll be using it with a 40mm stem and the saddle fairly far forward on the rails. I'm 5'10".

I’m 5’10” and kind of wish I would’ve gotten the medium. XL would be huge. They have a great return window so double check the sizing right away.

 

[killerisation]

That's interesting. You got the large I assume? In what way do you feel it might be a bit big? I've ridden a few other XL bikes with similar geo that fit and I think it'll be fine. The only thing that's not ideal is clearance for a long travel dropper.

 

[Skippy141]

That's interesting. You got the large I assume? In what way do you feel it might be a bit big? I've ridden a few other XL bikes with similar geo that fit and I think it'll be fine. The only thing that's not ideal is clearance for a long travel dropper.

Yes I got the large. Sorry, that would’ve been helpful based on what I said lol. Not sure how much there is for the drop from the xl down to the medium or large. I know the KSlev that mine came with has plenty. I wish o would’ve gotten a 175mm dropper instead I think it has the 150mm. Either way I’m sure you’ll like it. Their prices are amazing for the bike you get

 

[killerisation]

I actually bought it 'used' even though there wasn't a scratch on it. With the saddle all the way forward on the rails it fit me just right, though I needed to saw off the top of the seat tube to allow me to use all my dropper travel. I PR'd one of my fav trails the first time I rode the new bike on it!