So...figured I'd start a thread...mostly to keep track of my bike, what happens with it, my thoughts...ect. But feel free to add to it as well.
Anyways...so after a lot of reading and some videos and crunching numbers...I came to the decision to buy a DiamondBack. First one for me. Just seems that the value for them was much better than most of the other brands.
I was initially set on a 27.5 plus so I was trying to choose between the Catch and the Mason. I wasn't 100% convinced I needed full suspension but I definitely wanted front squish. So after watching more videos and getting pumped on what some others where doing on full suspension bikes...I decided to give it a shot. So at that point I was set...Catch 2 was what I was getting. Then...the Release 3 started to grab my attention. Just has a look to it...like it wants to rip. Has kinda a mean aggressive stance to it. IMO at least. Started looking at numbers and reading some more reviews. I liked that it was a little slacker. Little shorter in the rear. But I wasn't ready to spend the additional money over the Catch 2. Then it happened. Along came a sale. Not just a sale. But a sale that stacked with the corporate discount. And then along came a discount code. So once it was all tallied up...I simply could not pass up the deal. The icing on the cake was the confirmation that 2.8 tires will fit up front and in the back with slight rubbing which probably means 2.6 tires should be good to go. So now I'm looking at better parts, more aggressive bike, and the ability to run plus size tires. Win, win, win!
Bike ordered on Friday. Received on Monday. New bike day...always exciting. The bike was well packaged and the way it was done made it so easy to unpack.
Assembly was a breeze. I went from sealed box to built bike in less than 20 minutes. No joke. All that you need to do, for anyone reading this that hasn't ordered a bike from DB yet...is install the front wheel, attach the handle bars (taking care to sort out the cables), and insert the seatpost. That's it. Bike built!
Now to my dismay...I did find a few issues with my bike. First was some paint chipping on the downtube. Noticed this as I was pulling the bike out of the box. So I know it was there already and not something I did.
So that's always a little bit of a bummer. But...I figure there's more to come...so I wasn't going to worry much about it. But then...after messing with the bike some more...I noticed that my cassette had a wobble. Not severe but enough that it was easily seen. A few quick spins around the yard and up the street and there didn't seem to be any affect on shifting. So that's good. But still...it shouldn't wobble. I haven't sorted out whether it's the cassette or the hub yet. I'll be doing that this weekend.
But the worst was yet to come. I read a number of reports about pivots and headset and bearings being dry or having very little grease. And also torque on bolts being too loose. So I wanted to make sure that was addressed before I did any rides. So I started pulling bolts and greasing and checking bearings...headset done. Seatpost done. Wheel axles done. derailleur hanger done. Shock done (also added 4 volume reducers).
Now to the pivots. Started with the upper pivot, lower axle. Pulled the bolt and wedge. Axle out. Greased and reinstalled. Nice and easy. Started on the upper axle. Came out, no problem. Greased it up. Bearing felt good. Started to reinstall. Nope. Didn't want to go in. Not sure what was up. Pushed. Pulled. Twisted. Cursed. Finally whacked it with a BFH. That worked. But shouldn't have taken a hammer to reinstall a pivot axle. Well...in all my reading seems I missed the fact that several other have reported the same issue. It appears there is some sort of misalignment between the pivot and frame or something with how the bearings are set or something. Definitely a problem and not just with my bike. Seems that DB is aware as warranty claims have been filed by others. I also filed one. I also included the wobbly cassette and paint damage. Figured might as well while I was at it. No word back yet...but it's only been a couple days as of the typing of this long winded post.
Went ahead and setup the tires tubeless. Went off without a hitch. Spent a few days trying to dial in fork and shock pressures. Still needs work...but at least it's rideable. Haven't had a suspension fork for quite a while and before when I did...I really never did anything with it. Just rode it. And totally new to shocks. So definitely a learning experience working with both.
First ride report coming.....
Anyways...so after a lot of reading and some videos and crunching numbers...I came to the decision to buy a DiamondBack. First one for me. Just seems that the value for them was much better than most of the other brands.
I was initially set on a 27.5 plus so I was trying to choose between the Catch and the Mason. I wasn't 100% convinced I needed full suspension but I definitely wanted front squish. So after watching more videos and getting pumped on what some others where doing on full suspension bikes...I decided to give it a shot. So at that point I was set...Catch 2 was what I was getting. Then...the Release 3 started to grab my attention. Just has a look to it...like it wants to rip. Has kinda a mean aggressive stance to it. IMO at least. Started looking at numbers and reading some more reviews. I liked that it was a little slacker. Little shorter in the rear. But I wasn't ready to spend the additional money over the Catch 2. Then it happened. Along came a sale. Not just a sale. But a sale that stacked with the corporate discount. And then along came a discount code. So once it was all tallied up...I simply could not pass up the deal. The icing on the cake was the confirmation that 2.8 tires will fit up front and in the back with slight rubbing which probably means 2.6 tires should be good to go. So now I'm looking at better parts, more aggressive bike, and the ability to run plus size tires. Win, win, win!
Bike ordered on Friday. Received on Monday. New bike day...always exciting. The bike was well packaged and the way it was done made it so easy to unpack.
Assembly was a breeze. I went from sealed box to built bike in less than 20 minutes. No joke. All that you need to do, for anyone reading this that hasn't ordered a bike from DB yet...is install the front wheel, attach the handle bars (taking care to sort out the cables), and insert the seatpost. That's it. Bike built!
Now to my dismay...I did find a few issues with my bike. First was some paint chipping on the downtube. Noticed this as I was pulling the bike out of the box. So I know it was there already and not something I did.
So that's always a little bit of a bummer. But...I figure there's more to come...so I wasn't going to worry much about it. But then...after messing with the bike some more...I noticed that my cassette had a wobble. Not severe but enough that it was easily seen. A few quick spins around the yard and up the street and there didn't seem to be any affect on shifting. So that's good. But still...it shouldn't wobble. I haven't sorted out whether it's the cassette or the hub yet. I'll be doing that this weekend.
But the worst was yet to come. I read a number of reports about pivots and headset and bearings being dry or having very little grease. And also torque on bolts being too loose. So I wanted to make sure that was addressed before I did any rides. So I started pulling bolts and greasing and checking bearings...headset done. Seatpost done. Wheel axles done. derailleur hanger done. Shock done (also added 4 volume reducers).
Now to the pivots. Started with the upper pivot, lower axle. Pulled the bolt and wedge. Axle out. Greased and reinstalled. Nice and easy. Started on the upper axle. Came out, no problem. Greased it up. Bearing felt good. Started to reinstall. Nope. Didn't want to go in. Not sure what was up. Pushed. Pulled. Twisted. Cursed. Finally whacked it with a BFH. That worked. But shouldn't have taken a hammer to reinstall a pivot axle. Well...in all my reading seems I missed the fact that several other have reported the same issue. It appears there is some sort of misalignment between the pivot and frame or something with how the bearings are set or something. Definitely a problem and not just with my bike. Seems that DB is aware as warranty claims have been filed by others. I also filed one. I also included the wobbly cassette and paint damage. Figured might as well while I was at it. No word back yet...but it's only been a couple days as of the typing of this long winded post.
Went ahead and setup the tires tubeless. Went off without a hitch. Spent a few days trying to dial in fork and shock pressures. Still needs work...but at least it's rideable. Haven't had a suspension fork for quite a while and before when I did...I really never did anything with it. Just rode it. And totally new to shocks. So definitely a learning experience working with both.
First ride report coming.....