upgrades
Hello..
I just picked mine up yesterday and took it for a quick ride. First bike I bought in years, I came off a 1995 Gary Fisher. The DB is a new world for me, both riding and maintenance/tuning. There is def more noise then I am use to, but thanks to this thread, I seem to be identifying and fixing some of them. For someone new to this bike, these forums/threads are great.. Thank you.
1. I know the fork needs to be upgraded... However, cause it frustrates me, turning the "preload" on each side...well... Seems to do nothing but a click after 3/4 turn in each direction and doesn't change my measurements when standing or pushing fork down... normal? Or should I turn it more? I could not find decent instructions to follow or specifics to this fork. Most seem to be for other versions, but again, im just getting into this world.
2. When you say change parts out... Say the brake levers? Is it as simple as changing the actual lever on the handlebar? The reason I ask, I upgraded my Gary Fisher with all Deore XT and wonder what is cross compatible?
Thanks again all, and hopefully, soon, I can be a helpful contributor as well.
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we installed shimano 615 hydros on the bike. i like shimano and they are pretty cheap now.. i did notice a few things. the bottom bracket has a super weird chain line, we had to not use a spacer on the drive side. completely removed the cheap chain guide.
if you only have 500 dollars you can get a hook. if you have 1500 you can get a syncr. my buddy didn't have 1500 so he wanted to get something for now but had the ability to upgrade . i did all the work on his bike. we went riding and he got so mad because the chain kept falling off. i have seen this before on the old steel 8 speed cranks, i also noticed many others were complaining about the same thing.
I knew from past experience that old drive trains are a pita, so we ordered a new 10 speed system and its amazing, silent, no chainguide, works as you would expect.. so after that was done my buddy freaked out, he loves it.
However i totaly get you saying just buy a completed bike, i totaly agree that if you have the money up front, do it. but that wasnt the case. there is a group of us who ride agressive and that lvl of spec just wont cut it.
so we had to upgrade his bike. I frowned at diamondback for not including thruaxle and not providing a tapered steerer. thats pretty shady on db for doing that.
i think they ententionaly left those out which is really sad imho.
here is the spec I would recommend for upgrades that are the most basic entry lvl spec.
Shimano m590:
crankset. remove all the chainrings and install a 32-34t narrlow wide chainring.
10 speed or 11 speed chain either will work just fine, the 11 is smoother.
We used a HG901 chain. you can also use the sram pc1051 10 speed chain.
I have used both on the same type system.
11x36 shimano cassette which is a deore hg50 10 speed
shimano zee m640 trigger shifter
shimano zee m640 short cage rear derailleur
Shmano m615 hydrolic disc brakes, calipers and levers
We removed the stock handle bars because they made the brakes scrape the top tube of the frame.
we used Answer protaper riser bar with a 50. riser
the fork he went with is a Suntour Raidon XC LO R air.
This gave him rebound control.
you can find all these parts on the super cheap and they are awesome as a system.
Yes I know these say downhill but for aggressive hard tails they are excellent and cheap and shift perfectly.
no rotor changes needed
I would like to offer up a bit more advice.
after you put a hour or two on this bike, take the wheels off and take them into a bike shop for a tension and true.
but this goes for any new wheels set.
robots don't always get it right.
oh... and throw those grips away, get a pair of odi lockons and call it done.
so this was the HOOK build, this takes you to race lvl components
Personally I don't think any bike should come with any lesser spec than what I listed. It just puts people off and doesn't allow them to really enjoy mtb riding.
who wants a rickety ass loud drive train with a crazy chain line and chain drops lol.
iscg05 mounts and a non tapered steerer ??????
wut da hel...... that's just wrong on so many levels
I would not recommend buying another bike from DB
It was a lot of work just getting this bike to entry lvl spec
and the issues I had to deal with were just super poor and in 2016 not needed what so ever.
in my mind the HOOK and LINE are both epic fails
Syncr and syncr pro are the only chassis I would purchase but they are over priced for what you get.
for 1200,00 you have a full suspension bike with 120 front and rear
the days of hard tails are disappearing
They are a legacy design
and will eventually be consigned to the dustbin of history.