First Impressions: New 2021 Ebikes from Diamondback!

[jabberwocky]

That's a really odd handlebar position, and you are stressing the front brake line big time.

Yeah, I cringed. The front brake line needs to be lengthened and the handlebars levelled. Honestly if you need that high of a bar position I'm not sure a drop bar bike is for you; drops are designed to be set within a few inches of saddle height with the flat/hood section level with the ground.

 

[StevenC56]

Yeah, I cringed. The front brake line needs to be lengthened and the handlebars levelled. Honestly if you need that high of a bar position I'm not sure a drop bar bike is for you; drops are designed to be set within a few inches of saddle height with the flat/hood section level with the ground.

I see a lot of guys riding a cheap/old road bike with the handlebars flipped upside down so that they sit very upright. Usually a bit on the scary looking side and always riding the wrong way on the street or bike lane. Every time I turn the corner on my normal circuit close to my house I have to look out for one that might be heading right at me. I think most of them have no driver's license due to having them revoked for whatever reason. I never challenge them because they are very rough looking individuals.

 

[jabberwocky]

I see a lot of guys riding a cheap/old road bike with the handlebars flipped upside down so that they sit very upright. Usually a bit on the scary looking side and always riding the wrong way on the street or bike lane. Every time I turn the corner on my normal circuit close to my house I have to look out for one that might be heading right at me. I think most of them have no driver's license due to having them revoked for whatever reason. I never challenge them because they are very rough looking individuals.

Flipped and chopped bars (to make kind of a poor mans bullhorn bar) were popular with the hipster fixie crowd for a while. Never seen flipped drop bars that weren't cut though.

Nothing wrong with an upright position in general, if thats what you need to be comfortable. But a drop bar bike is a poor choice for that.

 

[Adam L]

That's a really odd handlebar position, and you are stressing the front brake line big time.

I know right - I lined it up using the hatch marks on the handlebar which are totally wrong once you go from 6 degree rise to 30. Didn't notice the brake line being stressed but great point.

 

[ngl]

Yeah the marks on the handlebar are only relevant for reference or repeatability, as the headtube rake and stem angle all changes the actual ground reference relative to the little degrees markings. Level bars is the correct way, but there are no proctored bike exams so you can do what you like and whatever is most comfortable. You can gain also some slack on that front brake tube by unwrapping the bar tape for now, once you have the position set, and get a longer tube if you like the setup.

 

[Akrotiri]

Received my RedShift ShockStop arrived in 1 day - and even though I ordered it through the redshift website Amazon delivered it. The first impression of my evening 4-mile ride is it is great. Really changes the feel of the bike - it now pretty smooth riding on cobblestone streets and gravel. The Kiox screw holes don't line up so I have just one side screwed in. The position marks on the handlebar are no longer relevant, so I need to adjust that. I have the suspension seat too - which oddly the packaging suggests someone already used the one I received which is a bit strange but no big deal I guess presumably related to their satisfaction gaurantee - but needs a spacer so waiting on that.

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Honestly your ebike is great but if you need your drops positioned that way you should have bought the flat bar version of the diamondback ebike. It’s very odd and not stable to be riding drops like that. You’re also damaging your cables.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I know right - I lined it up using the hatch marks on the handlebar which are totally wrong once you go from 6 degree rise to 30. Didn't notice the brake line being stressed but great point.

Nice choice with the Shockstop! Rotate those bars back down and you'll be dialed!

You had asked about a carbon fork for the front, you'll have to make sure you get the axle to crown race measurement as close to spot on as possible, also the steer tube size (should be tapered) and the rake of the fork. Those measurements really dictate how a bike handles and messing with them can negatively impact handling. At a quick glance it looks like you'll want something like a 29er suspension corrected carbon fork. There are some out there, for sure!

 

[AlanK]

Yeah I think from now on people who ask me for ebike recommendations, I'll tell them to try an analog bike of at least 50% the price of the ebikes they're considering. A lot of people have think spending more than say $500 on an analog bike is a fools errand.

Agreed, and you don't need to spend that much. My Kona Sutra cost $1500 and for practical purposes most of the components are as good or better. It doesn't have the hydraulic disc brakes or GRX drive-train of the Current, but for practical purposes the Sutra's TRP Spyre brakes and Deore drive-train are probably just as reliable. The Sutra has better wheels and tires, a better fork, and includes a rack and fenders.

If I at some point I want to do a Bafang mid-drive conversion, the total cost including labor would be about $1400. So the total cost for a really nice electric Sutra would only be about $3K, and at least in some respects I'd have a better overall bike than the Current.

 

[ngl]

The Sutra is not a bad bike, but it's not an ebike; if you're looking for a Bafang conversion project just shop bikes direct and go from there for best bang for the buck, imo. I personally ordered the Current because I wanted to try frame integrated motor/battery components, torque sensing Bosch or Shimano setup - which Kona does have a competitive model in the Kona Dew-e DL Libre EL*(e: got the models confused, Libre EL is the comparable Kona gravel bike @$4699), but it's not an all-market bike so it's not really possible to get one for all of us (as I tried to order one of those first in fact ), where Diamondback is supporting customers in the entire of the US, one of the few or only Bosch integrators to do so. Bikes Direct has quite a few Shimano Steps equipped bikes that are true all-market/entire USA bikes as well. Tong Sheng/Bafang does have that TSDZ2 conversion system now which is supposed to be torque sensing, but I've not tried it - I only have half a dozen or so of the BBS02/HDs conversion bikes. If you are in the market for a diy conversion though, you're in a very different market segment.
I am however hoping to have some more ride reports for you all after a few hundred miles of testing on the Current!

 

[AlanK]

The Sutra is not a bad bike, but it's not an ebike; if you're looking for a Bafang conversion project just shop bikes direct and go from there for best bang for the buck, imo. I personally ordered the Current because I wanted to try frame integrated motor/battery components, torque sensing Bosch or Shimano setup - which Kona does have a competitive model in the Kona Dew-e DL Libre EL*(e: got the models confused, Libre EL is the comparable Kona gravel bike @$4699), but it's not an all-market bike so it's not really possible to get one for all of us (as I tried to order one of those first in fact ), where Diamondback is supporting customers in the entire of the US, one of the few or only Bosch integrators to do so. Bikes Direct has quite a few Shimano Steps equipped bikes that are true all-market/entire USA bikes as well. Tong Sheng/Bafang does have that TSDZ2 conversion system now which is supposed to be torque sensing, but I've not tried it - I only have half a dozen or so of the BBS02/HDs conversion bikes. If you are in the market for a diy conversion though, you're in a very different market segment.
I am however hoping to have some more ride reports for you all after a few hundred miles of testing on the Current!

Yeah, I test rode a bike with a Bosch motor and a friend's Bafang conversion. The Bosch motor is definitely more refined (mainly because of the torque-sensing I think), and with internal wiring purpose-built e-bikes are definitely cleaner. Since the Bafang motor I rode didn't have torque sensing, it just provides a consistent level of assist based on power level. It requires more awareness since it's good practice not to use the motor from a dead stop, whereas that's not a concern at all with the Bosch torque-sensing. But once you get used to somewhat cruder nature of Bafang it's fine. Most of the time I would only use the motor during a fairly long incline with minimal stopping.

Of the motors I've tried Brose is actually my favorite. It's feels the most natural; like peddling an enhanced conventional bike. Unfortunately they've had reliability issues, so many bike companies don't seem to use them.