Diamondback Hawrelak 700C Bike

Great first bike! I use it for leisure and commuting to work. No issues. Very easy to detach the front wheel for transport in a small car as well.

After buying the white version of this bike I also purchased this newer version; they are identical in every way except colour and this review is a copy of my original. Quick summary in case you don't want to read it all: On sale this bike is exceptional value but the state it arrived in made assembly, for a meticulous cyclist, a bit of a chore. The good: The rapid fire style shifter is hard to find at this price point and an 8 speed drive train is often double this price. The suspension fork is nothing to right home about, it's an economy unit, but is completely up to the task for this bike's target audience plus paired with the suspension seat provides a very comfortable ride. I purchased the size 43 for my daughter who is 5'-10", she wanted a more upright riding position and finds this very comfortable. I adjusted the seat and handle bars for my youngest daughter, who is 5'-1", and she also really like it. At 6'-2" I find it too small. My youngest accidentally plowed straight into a 4" high square curb, the bike handled it really well and she maintained control through the incident as the fork and seat post prevented her getting too jarred/jostled. The frame is nicely welded and finished, the overall weight is lighter than I expected. The wheels are aluminum and a good balance between weight and durability, once adjusted as noted below. The stock tires are decent enough to use until requiring replacement, smooth rolling for pavement but enough tread to handle some hard pack trail or grass. Pedals are standard issue but turn smoothly, no complaints about feet sliding around on them. Shifting is crisp and quick, all three of my kids have said they appreciate moving away from the entry level twist shifters and are more keen on actually using the gears when they switch to a rapid fire style shifter. The shifter/brake is plastic but works well enough without too much flex, I'd still take this over twist grip shifting. The adjustable stem helps dial in a good fit, I only wish it was a more modern threadless headset/stem system but at this level that's more a preference as future upgrades are not anticipated. Cartridge bottom bracket is cheap, turns smoothly, should last the life of the bike and if it doesn't is not hard or expensive to replace. The hand grips are soft rubber friction fit and do twist a bit on the bar, these will likely be upgraded to a locking grip. The seat is a medium width and nicely padded, along with the suspension seat post, it provides a comfortable ride. The rear frame has mounting points for fenders and a panier rack, the front fork does not, typical with suspension forks, but you may be able to mount a small front fender to the fork bridge. Now the bad: Once the assembly was out of the way there isn't anything I can really complain about, particularly at the sale price, but the assembly itself is where I had issues. Technically the only setup required is to install the front wheel, handlebars and align the brake pads however I'm an avid cyclist and do all my bike maintenance so every aspect of this bike came under scrutiny, whether I had to assembly it or not. The areas/items I needed to adjust, to make sure the bike would ride well or last more than one season, are as follows: - Wheel bearing preload, this was way too tight and would cause premature bearing wear; however the bearings were adequately greased. - Wheel spoke tension, this was too low and would lead to premature spoke breakage. Did this by feel/sound not my spoke tension meter; the tension wasn't so low that spokes would start immediately breaking but enough to allow excessive flex, like bending a paper clip back and forth, that will fatigue the spokes. - Cassette lock ring loose, like finger loose! However I was pleasantly surprised to find an 8 speed cassette because the bike specifications indicated a free wheel, this opens up a lot of selection to different gear ratios if you're son inclined; tightened that up to Shimano torque spec as it's not indicated on the lock ring. - Headset bearing preload was too tight, super stiff to turn. Disassembled and regreased. - Shifting was close, just a little tweaking. Almost always the case with a bike out of a box. Although I haven't shortened them yet, the cables are a little long, but will be something addressed in the future, I suppose this helped with boxing the bike for shipping but it's a little unsightly. All said it's a really nice looking bike, despite being a value oriented it has some decent parts above entry level and is a bike you can be proud to own. This is our second woman's Hawrelak, both of my daughters really like them. If you're unsure about the assembly maybe try to find one in store and ask them to look at some of the areas I addressed... or be really nice to your cyclist neighbor who complains about bike maintenance but secretly enjoys doing it ;)

Decent bike. Minus one star for such a difficult manual (NONE basically). Had to search the entire Earth to look for how to build a diamondback hawrelak bike. Finally found youtube videos on their website and that too wasn't as specific. Would prefer a step by step how to manual like Ikea products have.

I received a Diamondback bike as a Mother's Day gift from my husband, but my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Within just two days of use, the bike chain broke, leaving me stranded and frustrated. This unexpected issue turned what should have been a joyful gift into a complete disaster. The quality and reliability of the Diamondback bike have certainly fallen short of expectations. I hope this experience is not indicative of the overall quality of their products.