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Dirt Rag Articles
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Tester: Eric McKeegan
Age: 34
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 155lbs.
Inseam: 32"
Vital Stats
Country of Origin: Taiwan
Price: $1300 frame and fork, $3750 as tested
Weight: 34lbs.
Sizes available: S, M, L (tested), XL
Contact: www.diamondback.com
As the all-mountain genre continues to expand, designers are continuing to blend the qualities for freeride and cross country to make bikes that are adept at going up and down ever more quickly, while able to handle the twisty bits in between. The Mission 3 sits atop Diamondback's three-bike all-mountain lineup, and with its meaty tires, plush suspension and slacker angles, it seems to lean more towards the downhill side of the equation.
The frame and rear Fox RP23 shock remain unchanged from the bike we tested in issue #130, which is a good thing. The frame is constructed of 6061 aluminum, with a fluid-formed top tube that drops low for standover and goes from round to square at the head tube for increased stiffness. The Knucklebox suspension system, a low single pivot with linkage-driven shock, is designed with three main criteria in mind: suspension low in the frame for a lower, more stable center of gravity; a linear suspension rate for good small and medium bump compliance, with a slightly progressive kicker at the end for bottom-out resistance; and an axle path with minimal chain growth to minimize pedal kickback. All in all I'd give the Diamondback high marks for hitting these design goals. Even with a relatively high 13.7" bottom bracket the Mission is a wonderful turn carver, the suspension is noticeably plush throughout the range, and I never noticed feedback at the pedals. There was a fraction of flex from the rear end that was for the most part hardly noticeable; the frame and rear shock worked well. Some handling weirdness that I attributed to the rear-end flex could be felt in rocky off-camber situations, but after a few rides I no longer noticed it.
Component spec is solid. The new Avid Elixir brakes drew zero criticisms from me, which is no small feat. The reach adjust could be dialed way in without the lever bottoming on the bar. And quiet! No turkey gobble! The WTB saddle is a bit big, but well-suited to sitting down and powering this bike's 35lbs. up a long grade. It also handled the change in seat angle throughout the fork's adjustable travel without becoming uncomfortable. The WTB tires, a Stout rear and Prowler front, both in 2.3" width, seemed mighty wide and handled low 20's-psi without complaint. Once I got the pressure low enough, they worked well on our early spring mix of leaves, hardpack and mud. I did think the rear tire seemed to be more aggressive than the front—given more time I might have swapped them, but they worked well enough in their stock positions.
The fork is a new Fox 32 TALAS RL with the 15QR 15mm thru-axle. The 110-130-150mm travel adjust was well-suited to the personality of this bike. In tight twisty singletrack, the 110mm setting dropped the front end for better front tire bite, and steepened up the head angle for quicker steering. As terrain became more demanding and speeds increased, the front travel could be upped with the resulting higher bottom bracket, slacker angles and more rearward weight bias working to help tame the gnar. It was possible, and easy, to reach down and change settings while riding, which I did if an extended climb or descent was in store.
As one could guess, the rougher the better for this bike. The big tires, stiff front end and well-damped Fox fork goaded me into picking the bad line, trying to get a little more air or stuffing it hard into a rough corner. The compromise for all this high-speed rough stuff confidence is some extra work needed at really low speed. Stop-and-go technical terrain can be more of a chore as the soft suspension can stymie efforts to get back up to speed or to muscle the bike around and over things. Momentum is key to riding this bike, and something I've been trying to work on myself. So I stopped using my brakes. Or at least took my fingers off them at slow and medium speeds and worked on using a combination of finesse and brute force to get the bike around the bends without putting on the binders. You know what? It worked. Some close calls with trees in the apexes of turns, but this bike was very forgiving and predictable when pushed to its cornering limit on singletrack.
Climbing was best handled seated and spinning, not standing and mashing. Sure I could put the shock's ProPedal platform damping on full firm and feel OK mashing up the hills, but the bike worked better overall with minimal platform and a steady spin. Most long-travel bikes share this trait. It isn't just a matter of pedaling causing bob, but the rider's weight bobbing around. Sitting down minimizes this, and often helps with rear wheel traction, not that there seemed to be any need for that here. If I could spin my way up and keep the front end down, the Mission was capable of getting up it. I did find reducing the travel was more effective for climbing off-road, dropping the front end and keeping the fork active. The lockout was reserved for pavement and smooth fire roads.
Who is this bike for? Well, someone who likes going fast first and foremost. The Mission felt much more at home swooping through turns and taking the rocky lines rather than doing the tight singletrack slalom. Occasional trips to lift-served bike parks would not be out of the question; dropping the seat and installing a shorter stem really changes the feel of this bike, as I found on a trip to Ray's MTB Park (it was still too early in the season to hit the lifts.) I also see this as a great bike for riders with long fire road climbs followed by long technical descents. The Mission was very enlightening, mostly in figuring out that 6" of travel is probably the most I can really hope to tap into with my skills.
| Exclusive Dirt Rag Web-Only Extras For Diamondback Mission 3 | Make: Diamondback
Model: Mission 3
Model year: 2009
Type: Mountain full-suspension
Country of origin: Taiwan
Wheel size: 26”
Rear travel: 150mm
Frame material: Aluminum 6061 T6
Suspension description: Single Pivot linkage
Rear shock: Fox Float RP23
Fork: Fox 32 TALAS 150-130-110 15mm thru axle
Handlebar: Easton Monkey Lite CNT CArbon 31.8
Stem: Easton EA50 31.8
Headset: Zero Stack
Bottom bracket: Truvativ Hammerschmidt
Crank: Truvativ Hammerschmidt
Pedals: Aluminum platform
Chain: 9 Speed
Saddle: WTB Pure V Sport
Seatpost : Easton EA50 double bolt 30.9
Front hub: Neau Naim 15mm 32 hole
Rear hub: Neau Name 10mm thru axle 32 hole
Front derailleur: N/A
Rear derailleur: SRAM X.9
Shifters: SRAM X.9
Cassette: SRAM PG-970 9sp 11-34
Brakes: Avis Elixir CR 185 f/160 r
Rims: WTB Laser Disc Trail
Tires: WTB Prowler MX 2.3 fr/Stout 2.3 rear folding bead
Sizes: S, M, L, XL
Colors: Black
Weight: 34 pounds
MSRP: $3750
Company website: www,diamondback.com
Check out Dirt Rag's massive library of bike reviews at this link.
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| Comment from eric@dirtragmag. on 2009-07-01 |
| That's a 22 tooth Hammerschmidt crank. With the 1.6 Overdrive gear it is equivalent to a 34 tooth ring. Plenty big for riding in the woods. Pretty sweet set-up actually. |
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| Comment from peter b on 2009-06-29 |
| The chain ring is a little small to be pedalable on the decent for an AM bike. I could over run that on flat ground. |
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| Comment from Karl Rosengarth on 2009-06-29 |
| Yo, Spokey, to read the full HammerSchmidt review click here. |
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| Comment from Spokey on 2009-06-28 |
| No mention of the Hammerschmidt? That forgettable, huh... Fun times... |
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