First Impressions: New 2021 Ebikes from Diamondback!

[kmccune]

I've now owned by DiamondBack Current for a month. My first impression: Loved it. Amazed at how easy it is to pedal with or without the motor. But now 1 month into it I'm not so sure I picked the right bike for how I've ended up using it. According to the Bosch app - which is awesome - I've ridden 125 miles which I would estimate has been 50% paved trails and 50% riding with my 7 year old son - who bikes daily - but routes always tend to include sidewalks for safety at a max pace of 15 mph. The sidewalks are rough. I've played with the tire pressure going from 50 psi down to 40 then to 35. I rarely use the motor so taking the battery out helps quite a bit to smooth bumps. On the trails, I've hit 30+ mph which has been fun but I'm not certain it is safe to do that perhaps more appropriate riding on the street with cars? I've put in an order for an e-caliber 9.6 and am waiting for it to come in stock thinking it might be a better fit when riding with my 7 year old? The reviews describe it as an electric mounting bike that feels like a regular which led to me weighing the Current and was surprised at 49 lbs which is lighter than I expected and not wildly different than the e-caliber at ~41. I've toyed with making changes to the Current with items like a suspension seat, different fork, tires... I've also started reading bike maintenance books given the chain is jumping between 2 gears when in the 5-6-7 gears after loosening the cable a couple clicks it been mostly better.

it's clear I could use some advice

Any suggestions?

With out being a PITA, may I suggest you buy a nice "Acoustic bike? If you really do not need the motor and battery why lug them around.I have a Friend who was telling me about how long His 20 amp battery lasts because He pedals so much on His conversion, next time I see Him I will suggest to remove that motor and Battery and see how much easier the bike is to pedal.
I cannot boast at all I use my motor and battery frequently on steep hills,I can maintain cadence with them and do not hyperventilate, on slight inclines and level I do always use slight or no pedal-assistance, for a strong rider like yourself you are probably just lugging dead weight.
I was surprised how easy it was to pedal one of the "Specialized" hybrid bikes,( even without the motor on) you get what you pay for, you can bet I was looking that thing over,I noticed what type of tyres and and perhaps some other features, after looking at the price tag( which I am told has "skyrocketed by now) I figured I could maybe upgrade some of my low end bikes.
Keep on riding, you have joined the crowd Ebikes take us back to another time.

 

[Asher]

With out being a PITA, may I suggest you buy a nice "Acoustic bike? If you really do not need the motor and battery why lug them around.I have a Friend who was telling me about how long His 20 amp battery lasts because He pedals so much on His conversion, next time I see Him I will suggest to remove that motor and Battery and see how much easier the bike is to pedal.
I cannot boast at all I use my motor and battery frequently on steep hills,I can maintain cadence with them and do not hyperventilate, on slight inclines and level I do always use slight or no pedal-assistance, for a strong rider like yourself you are probably just lugging dead weight.
I was surprised how easy it was to pedal one of the "Specialized" hybrid bikes,( even without the motor on) you get what you pay for, you can bet I was looking that thing over,I noticed what type of tyres and and perhaps some other features, after looking at the price tag( which I am told has "skyrocketed by now) I figured I could maybe upgrade some of my low end bikes.
Keep on riding, you have joined the crowd Ebikes take us back to another time.

Agreed. I'd heard people rave over shared electric bikes from Lyft or PBSC and all I could think was, these people have never ridden a decent light hybrid or road bike, because it's pretty similar or still worse than those analog bikes. (The Jump ebike is noticeably peppier though).

It's forever surprising to me how ebikes have taken off in Europe given that their speed is so slow. Ebikes are good for dealing with infirmity, hills, high winds, cargo, or high speed (20+ mph), or some combo thereof.

 

[kmccune]

Agreed. I'd heard people rave over shared electric bikes from Lyft or PBSC and all I could think was, these people have never ridden a decent light hybrid or road bike, because it's pretty similar or still worse than those analog bikes. (The Jump ebike is noticeably peppier though).

It's forever surprising to me how ebikes have taken off in Europe given that their speed is so slow. Ebikes are good for dealing with infirmity, hills, high winds, cargo, or high speed (20+ mph), or some combo thereof.

Right on brother, you do not realize how difficult to pedal some of those old BBB's are until you have ridden a "good bike" and 'As the night follows the day," you get stronger gradually and one day "WTF"-I'm breezing'.

 

[kmccune]

Right on brother, you do not realize how difficult to pedal some of those old BBB's are until you have ridden a "good bike" and 'As the night follows the day," you get stronger gradually and one day "WTF"-I'm breezing'.

 

[ngl]

With out being a PITA, may I suggest you buy a nice "Acoustic bike? If you really do not need the motor and battery why lug them around.I have a Friend who was telling me about how long His 20 amp battery lasts because He pedals so much on His conversion, next time I see Him I will suggest to remove that motor and Battery and see how much easier the bike is to pedal.
I cannot boast at all I use my motor and battery frequently on steep hills,I can maintain cadence with them and do not hyperventilate, on slight inclines and level I do always use slight or no pedal-assistance, for a strong rider like yourself you are probably just lugging dead weight.
I was surprised how easy it was to pedal one of the "Specialized" hybrid bikes,( even without the motor on) you get what you pay for, you can bet I was looking that thing over,I noticed what type of tyres and and perhaps some other features, after looking at the price tag( which I am told has "skyrocketed by now) I figured I could maybe upgrade some of my low end bikes.
Keep on riding, you have joined the crowd Ebikes take us back to another time.

This bike works great and is fast in no assist mode, the extra weight makes little practical difference on the trails or roads on the level, and is more than nulled by the huge advantages in the wind and hills. On my test ride yesterday I was riding in 20+ mph gusts enjoyably. I have a Motobecane "acoustic" and it's awesome as well, steel frame, carbon fork, and it's light and fast. The trouble is, I am an old soldier who has strong muscles, a beer gut, and accumulated injuries. I can and will hurt myself when my cadence drops just a smidge too much on a grade blip on a big hill, or in a too spirited sprint. This is why I have been doing ebikes for over 15 years, because I'm broken and ebikes are the best insurance policy an old semi insane bastard like me can get! More smiles per miles, less boo boos.

edit: I didn't weigh my Current yet, but I think it is probably a bit porkey, so I might put mine a on a weight savings diet at some point too, plenty to be had, but it's cheaper to do the trimming in the rider first, at least in my case

 

[Asher]

Right on brother, you do not realize how difficult to pedal some of those old BBB's are until you have ridden a "good bike" and 'As the night follows the day," you get stronger gradually and one day "WTF"-I'm breezing'.

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.

W H I S C is a handy mnemonic, for seeing if you might benefit from an ebike. Wind, hills, infirmity/injury, speed, cargo

 

[JRA]

I plucked this off of Alibaba as I was looking for M600 bikes that might be available......no luck there.

This design seems quite practical to me with the step through, rear suspension and extra sturdy carrying platform. It came from a site that obviously does some frame work for whoever owns the diamond back name these days but AFAIK does not appear in their current lineup.

 

[kmccune]

This bike works great and is fast in no assist mode, the extra weight makes little practical difference on the trails or roads on the level, and is more than nulled by the huge advantages in the wind and hills. On my test ride yesterday I was riding in 20+ mph gusts enjoyably. I have a Motobecane "acoustic" and it's awesome as well, steel frame, carbon fork, and it's light and fast. The trouble is, I am an old soldier who has strong muscles, a beer gut, and accumulated injuries. I can and will hurt myself when my cadence drops just a smidge too much on a grade blip on a big hill, or in a too spirited sprint. This is why I have been doing ebikes for over 15 years, because I'm broken and ebikes are the best insurance policy an old semi insane bastard like me can get! More smiles per miles, less boo boos.

edit: I didn't weigh my Current yet, but I think it is probably a bit porkey, so I might put mine a on a weight savings diet at some point too, plenty to be had, but it's cheaper to do the trimming in the rider first, at least in my case

have to agree, on the level makes little difference.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

With out even looking could a person add a "strut"? Racks on bikes that are feeble are like buying the new pickups with ridiculously short beds and load capacities( not always true some of the short bedders are very strong- but, you get the picture( Like "cupholders" on a "BMW"?( I want a strong rack!)

I put the Racktime Shine EVO Tour rack and wired it into the Bosch system, that with a Lezyne front light so I can control the lights through the Kiox display, pretty slick! My Ortlieb E-Mates fit on there great and have turned the Response into a great commuter! I can provide some pics if that's something of interest. The Racktime racks are available with the integrated light that works with the Bosch system. Keep in mind this requires some soldering and dropping the motor so it's best done at a Bosch dealer.

We decked out a Response with tubeless Maxxis knobbys and dropper post, check it out! Bike on the far left is a stock Response.

 

[Adam L]

Cool to see some upgrades - are there any carbon fork, small travel shock suggestions for the Current?

 

[ngl]

Probably the simplest solution for shock absorption would be suspension stems, like the Redshift or the Kinekt if you find it necessary, one could be installed in a few minutes. I've not even begun to look at carbon disc forks yet, but maybe someone else can chime in on options they've used or like.

 

[Adam L]

Awesome! That seems like a great option! Thanks! Learning lots of new things.

Curious - is this similar to the Specialized Future Shock. I can tell it the Future Shock simply damps the handlebar of if it actually damps the front fork.

 

[ngl]

Yup, I think the Future Shock does the same thing, in that it suspends the bars/stem and the frame and fork are all still rigidly attached components. It seems to use a gas damped spring directly in the top of the steerer tube instead of elastomer in the stem and a stem pivot mechanism like in the Redshift/Kinekt products. Interestingly the suspension travel is basically the same between both systems too, ~20mm.

 

[ngl]

I also finally had a chance this afternoon to weigh my copy of the Current in stock configuration:

47.4 lbs. on the digital scale. Frame size M(53cm).

 

[Adam L]

I'm planning to order the Redshift - seems like an awesome option and will try their suspension seat post too. I measured - and the current stem angle is +6 80mm. Any thoughts about going to 100mm +30? Looks like we have a couple of shims you can reposition too that would drop it down.

I'm also starting to get the sense that our gravel bikes may be suitable for light singletrack riding through the forest and such?

 

[ngl]

I'm planning to order the Redshift - seems like an awesome option and will try their suspension seat post too. I measured - and the current stem angle is +6 80mm. Any thoughts about going to 100mm +30? Looks like we have a couple of shims you can reposition too that would drop it down.

I'm also starting to get the sense that our gravel bikes may be suitable for light singletrack riding through the forest and such?

100+30 could be nice, depending on how you like your reach already on the frame. It should put you more upright. I'm running mine in the most upright config now, with the stem above all three spacers, but I don't have enough saddle time on it yet to know if I want to experiment any more with changing that. These bikes should be pretty decent on any singletrack, dirt and gravel. It's a bit heavy to throw around on rocks imo, but a smoother off road trail I'd carve up in a heartbeat on these! I went with the smaller of the two frames where the recommendation overlapped my height (5'10") so it would be a little easier to manhandle. I usually prefer to go a tad small as I'm more of a longer torso, and adjust the bike fit from there.

 

[Adam L]

Very interesting. Went with the 100+30 be nice to try the variety. On my ride last night, I moved the stem down one spacer and was surprised to see how that impacts the saddle then.

So this is a weird thing - anyone know how to make your ears not ache from the wind? Temps right now makes it easy to wear a winter-style hat, which seems to prevent it. I thought maybe it was the cold weather but even on the days its been warmer it still aches.

 

[ngl]

I've not tried it, but these might not be too hot in the summer, they look thinner and light. I was searching for this type for you because my wife has a set of springy muffs similar to this that the loop goes behind the head like this, but they are thicker, really more for winter. These type look thin-ish though: https://www.amazon.com/180s-Unisex-Exolite-Opening-Included/dp/B014GNE6NI/

 

[Adam L]

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.

 

[StevenC56]

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.

View attachment 84937

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