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The El Oso is in!

9K views 38 replies 13 participants last post by  avc8130 
#1 ·
Just got it all together. No real ride time yet other than down the road and back to check functionality. The bike feels fat and fun! Can't wait to bring it out on the trails and in the snow! I'm never excited for winter in NH but I always find ways to make it through!

A couple things to note. First one is a big disappointment. The Bluto fork is only 100mm travel on this bike NOT the 120mm as listed on the DB site. For a bike of this style and the style of riding it will be used for I don't think it will really be a huge loss. Most other bikes in this category also only come with 100mm travel. Not a big deal but over the years DB has had a lot of these types of errors in their specs online. The only other discrepancy is that the cutouts on the rims are thus rectangular shape rather than the diamond shape shown in the DB pics. No biggie here but I though it was cool for a Diamondback to have diamond shape cutouts. Also just for your info the stem length on the medium frame is 60mm. It isn't listed on the site.

I did do a couple upgrades but nothing serious. Bars, saddle, and some cosmetic details. Here are a couple pics.


 
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#4 ·
I don't have a scale sorry. It doesn't seem too heavy though. All things considered.

No upgrades planned for the drivetrain. I really forgot how awesome SLX is. Shifts just as well as the XT on my sortie. No need to throw any money at that right now.

Like most, I have always only liked shimano hydro brakes. That being said I have always thought the RT56 rotors never really allowed the brakes to be as good as they should. I already put a RT66 180 on the rear and it's already more powerful than the front. I am just waiting on the adapter to put a 203mm in the front. I had changed out the rotors on my DB8 so it was less expensive for me to buy the adaptor and use the RT66 rotors I already had lying around.
 
#3 ·
Nice share!

The crank boots, rim tape and grips are exactly what I would have done too.

I was curious about the 120mm spec too. I'm fairly sure somebody could find a mistake in the specs or geometry of every single Diamondback bike on the website. Very frustrating, especially when they want to move to an online/direct sales model.

It looks the part, but can you confirm the seatpost is a 30.9?
 
#5 ·
Thanks! I love upgrading and tinkering even if just aesthetic things.

I called DB yesterday and the guy I talked to said they don't even have the specs on these bikes in front of them yet. He did go look at the display el Oso they had in their office and he said that one was also only 100mm. Sounds like it's just another typo or oversight on the site.

Though I didn't think to look until now, the post is in fact 30.9. I know what you mean though. When I bought my 2014 Sortie it said it came with 31.6 but was in fact 30.9. That turned out to be a good thing as I had a post for it already.
 
#6 ·
Thanks! Having a winter plaything like that here in the Northern Midwest could be a nice purchase. I rented a Trek Farley with a Bluto and was impressed. Then I rode a rigid and was not impressed at all. Front suspension seems like the way to go with those things.

I wound up with a 2015 Sortie 3 last October and fell back in love with mt biking. The spokes had <half their recommended tension, but once that was sorted out it's been great. Really great for the money. I spend most of the year in triathlete mode so it's been awesome to have a reasonably priced go-anywhere, do-anything bike for the 'other months' and the occasional Xterra. After test riding a carbon fiber RIP 9, I had quite the itch for a 5 inch trail bike compared to my old 26" hardtail. The Sortie geometry wasn't too far off, but was half the price with a similar finishing kit.
 
#8 ·
My apologies. I didn't know it was so taboo.

I figured the DB guys would like to see it and thought maybe the people browsing the fat bike threads would maybe not otherwise see or consider this bike.
 
#12 ·
FWIW I just noted DB changed their site to reflect the Bluto being 100mm travel since I called them Monday. At least they fixed it before some people ended up a lot more upset than I was.
 
#13 ·
What size is the frame, and how is the standover? The specs on the website show an unusually high standover, much higher than I would expect. I'm wondering how they measured it or if their measurements are off.

Can you provide some standover numbers on yours as a point of comparison? Thanks in advance!
 
#14 ·
What size is the frame, and how is the standover? The specs on the website show an unusually high standover, much higher than I would expect. I'm wondering how they measured it or if their measurements are off.

Can you provide some standover numbers on yours as a point of comparison? Thanks in advance!
I did a crude check of the stand over height with a tape measure for Tony. It's hard to say where they would have measured it from. I measured to where I believe you would stand over if you hopped off the saddle and just straddled the frame. I came up with about 30.75" to there but obviously it's less at the seat tube. I hope this helps. I had an Overdrive pro last year that basically was the same frame and both bikes in medium were perfect for me with no issues with the stand over height.
 
#19 ·
I ordered an El Oso Grande in medium. My inseam is 32 actual. Standover is pretty good. I think it could always be more, but there are few (if ever) times I stand flat-footed over my bike. The stem is 70 mm, which isn't listed on DB's website.

The bike is a bit heavier than I thought it would be compared to my 4.5" bluto-equipped fat bike, although my other one is set up as a 1x10 with some some upgrades and a little fancier components than the Grande. I'm not disappointed though; I bought this bike as a winter-only fat bike for snow, salt, sand, and other conditions where I don't want to abuse the bluto fatty. The tires are absolutely huge and it seems to be well-built, and it will work for this purpose. DB didn't forget the frame mounts; there are at least 5 places where you could install a water bottle holder or other attachments. It's going to be a versatile bike!

The 4.9" tires are a true 4.9" with the wide rims. It makes my other fatty look like a regular mountain bike. The tread seems aggressive and it looks like it will be a good winter tire. It hooked up very well on the dirt, but there were some times when the geometry/tire combo pulled me around in unusual ways.

The bike did have a bent derailleur hanger when it arrived. Diamondback promptly shipped me a new hanger without question.
 

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#23 ·
I can't seem to get over fat bikes....I think they're cool as hell, but the look is still effen shocking to me lol, I'd never buy one because I live in socal, and I have no use for it, but I would be really cool to bikepack with one. I almost rented an electric fat bike in mammoth this past summer. Fwiw, El oso is a rad rig!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
#26 ·
Actually, I just realized that I asked the wrong question. B/C it's threaded, it's a 100mm BSA shell.

Is the crank a 100mm or a 120mm (with two 10mm spacers on either side)?

This thread is what i'm referring to:

http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/100mm-vs-120mm-bottom-bracket-995123.html

The BB is wider and has 10mm spacers on both sides, the BB shell is he same.

In other words, anyone can change to a 120mm crank on a 100mm BB shell. Just saying so there's no misinformation out there.
 
#27 ·
I'm curious about the lower end El Oso models with 150mm OLD. Seems odd, especially with the large tire clearance. I have to wonder if they're offset. Or what the chainline looks like.

And speaking of chainline, I'm wondering if these are 100mm bottom brackets or something else. With non-standard hubs, I have to ask about this too.
 
#28 ·
More ride review from my El Oso:

I took it to Jungle Habitat in NJ yesterday. This park is basically just a pile of rocks.

The bike performed quite admirably but I am struggling with a few things:
Bluto/Tire psi in the front. I'm having trouble finding a tire pressure and/or fork settings that don't deflect off every rock. I slowed the rebound in the fork and reduced tire pressure and it got a bit better. I think I started with 14psi in the front and let out ~5 seconds haha.

I got my second flat in the rear tire. I was running 12psi and I think it pinched. Patch number 2 went on and off we went. This bike really needs a tubeless setup for me.

I did start experiencing a few issues:
1. My seat post is mysteriously bowed. I tried to lower the seat so a buddy could try the bike and it won't go down much from my normal setting. I pull it from the bike and it clearly has a bow in it.
2. My rear axle quick release kept popping open.

Otherwise the bike is everything I expected. The SLX drivetrain just works. The hydraulic brakes are adequate. The bike rides fun as anything. It's great to just Clodbuster over everything. Line selection? Who needs that?

ac
 
#29 ·
I will be getting the El Oso Grande next week. Has anyone tried to set this up tubeless yet and had any success with it? This is the one with the 95mm rims and the 4.9 chaoyang tires.

I assume that the specific tire/rim combo, which is different for each of the 3 el oso fatbikes, is what determines the overall success of converting non-tubeless ready components into a tubeless setup.
 
#32 ·
I was so impressed with my El Oso that I ordered a Release 3 as my primary ride. Since that point my El Oso has basically sat idle waiting for snow. I've recently added a Thule Ridealong seat and have relegated it to child transport duty.

The bike itself has been great. All of the components are acceptable, not great, but functional. I'm sure there are "better" fat bikes out there, but certainly not for the price!

ac
 
#34 ·
For those of you that have a DB El Oso with Bluto, would you still buy the same bike today? What do you like about it and what would you upgrade, if anything? I can get a new one for under $1600 so I'm just trying to determine the value to fun factor for this bike. I'm an old MTB rider who rides year round in Michigan. Thanks.
 
#35 ·
I'm on the IL/WI border and trying to make that exact same decision. I am mainly road and CX in the warmer months, but get an awful lot of cabin fever in the cold months. The spec doesn't look like it needs much changing, but I also don't need another bike...
 
#36 ·
I would do it. I upgraded to full XT brakes and drivetrain with Raceface single 1x10. After completing the upgrades I realize that the bike was just fine stock. I was lucky and bought it from Amazon for $1080 when there was one left in stock. Not hours after I purchased it, the price went back to $1800. Even at full price, I feel it's worth it.
 

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#38 ·
Thanks for the for the update, excellent news. I did purchase it, actually I purchased two of them, for may wife and I, since I was able to get them through a 50% corporate discount sale; that include shipping.

Did you purchase the DB drop post? I know the Tires are not necessarily designed for tubeless and the rims are pined with two spot welded so they have an open seam but have you tried to convert them? Thanks
 
#39 ·
I'd certainly buy my el oso with the bluto again. I've added a dropper post, converted to a 1x10 wide range drivetrain, extended the fork travel to 120 mm and changed the fork grease for slickoleum. I managed to get the stock wheels setup tubeless by using the split tube method.

I LOVE this bike. It's super fun. Riding in snow and in the dark if awesome. It really let's me extend my riding season. It's even fun in the summer.

I agree the dropper is a must, as was some sort of tubeless setup. The 1x 10 conversion was mostly caused by my dropper install using the area where my left shift gear was. Changing the fork to 120 and swapping the grease really made the bike more aggressive and the fork more responsive.

ac
 
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