New diamondback? love to hear your review what made you go with it
As requested, so here's my first impressions of my Catch 2 at Mahlon Dickerson, a place I've been riding for over 15 years on trials where I know all the rocks, roots, logs, and wooden bridges with all of the bikes I've ever had, including 2 of my other current bikes (2013 Giant Trance X 29er-0 and a 2015 Motobecane Sturgis Bullet fat bike). Having a 29er and a fat bike to compare the Catch 2 against the feel of the Catch 2 is as expected, right between the 29er (with 2.25" tires) and the fat bike (with 4.5" tires). The Catch 2 comes with 2.8" tires. I made the following changes to the bike prior to the ride: Ergon grips with bar ends, shortened the handlebar by 2" (1" per side), replaced the flat pedals with Shimano SPDs, added a bike computer, removed the reflectors, adjusted the air pressures and rebound on the fork and shock, and adjusted the saddle angle. Basic stuff. After riding 14 miles' worth of long gravel trails, loose rock climbs, rock and root gardens, twisty rocky single track switchback downhill, long steady climbs, steep drop offs, and going over boulders that I've done countless times on my other bikes I have to say the Catch 2 met every one of my expectations. All along the way I kept making fine adjustments here and there which is typical of any first rides (shake down). With each adjustment the bike felt that much better. I think the bike is about 85% of perfect. I know I still have to adjust the position of the shifter a bit and perhaps lose a bit more air in the tire(s). The components worked flawlessly. The Guide brakes were awesome. They felt better than the Shimano XTs I have on my other bikes. The shifter is very crisp and precise through all 11 gears. The only issue I have with the shifter is typical of SRAM and that is you can only upshift with your thumb. Meaning you can only push the lever, not like Shimano where you can either push with your thumb or pull it like a trigger with your index finger. Both of my other bikes have Shimano XTs and I've gotten used to "pulling the trigger" to upshift so with the SRAM it will take a little getting use to. The 1x11 drive train compared to the 2x10 on my other bikes was not an issue for me. I hardly ever use the small chain ring up front anyway so I didn't feel like I'm missing anything. The gear spacing is great. Often times on climbs I thought I was in the largest cog when in fact I was one gear from that. This is good in case on the rare occasion I need a little more help it'll be there. It'll take a while for me to know what gear I'm in just by feel. The Plus size tires are wide enough to get me over stuff that would be difficult with my skinny 29er but thin enough than my fatty to have less rolling resistance. Being a full squish compared to my fatty (hardtail with Bluto) it's easier on my body and helps me get over larger rocks and logs faster. Grip around turns is great as expected. The fork and shock are awesome and work great together. The bike felt very solid for a full squish but also forgiving. The only component change in the near future would be a riser bar (30-35mm). Far future upgrade would be to go tubeless. The rims are tubeless with rim tape already installed but the Kenda Havoc Sport tires are not tubeless ready. The bike did come with tubeless valves in addition to a shock pump and front fender. The bike is no lightweight but much lighter than my fatbike. I didn't weigh it but I think I read somewhere that it's around 32 lbs. stock. So am I happy with my purchase? You betcha!!
If you're familiar with Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, below is the ride. We started at the Safin Pond parking lot off Weldon Road. We did about 14 miles total despite what the Map My Ride app says. There were many stops for adjustments, refueling, watering the plants, and waiting on other riders.
http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/14..._type_map=["fitness.bikes"]&action_ref_map=[]
