Diamondback

[HEYWOOD BMX]

  Just been reading the DB article in RideUK & wondered if DB have any credibility in BMX today? According to DB,they have" had enough of being back of the pack in BMX" but putting your decals onto someone elses frame isn`t exactly innovative.The higher end models seem OK to me but the rest seem pretty generic.There is also a Cyclelife ad in the same mag for more DB products-these must have been sat in a warehouse for at least 10 years(pegs and chainring) Anyone care to add their thoughts on the current "DB"?

[markyp]

i often pop in to my local bike shop as my girlfriends mum knows the owner and hes always been helpful to me with sorting out any greif i get with my os builds.one of the makes of bikes he sells are db and i gotta say looking at them the other day they look total gash!!!cheap and nasty.i know he doesnt sell anything too top end but even so the lower end db's today make the os viper look like a hl turbo!!!i may be wrong but db seems a shadow of its former self???

[oldtired]

i think one of the problems is there is no real distinction anymore between high an low end models , if you think back afew years you never got an entry level bike with a 3 piece, pegs, gyro etc etc , average jo pearent whos kid wants a bmx will buy a DB because they look right, are the right money ,and are available in the place where they go shopping,     , not meaning to be offensive when i say this(    big can of worms here) but they seem to be the modern day burner, the kid down the skate park on bmx only because his mates have got one will more than likely be on DB, and as such DB have the throw away apeal , "i'll buy little freddy one of these because he'll only ride it for bit", its down to marketing i suppose, and considering DB products in the past, a bit of a shame

[MartyC]

Didn't Raleigh buy Diamond Back?  If they did it says all you need to know about them  .

[lodge]

Yeah one of many owned by Raleigh who are now a corporate international cycle giant, so make your own minds up.

[Bob_Acid]

now? i thought they always were 

[Zippy]

As a Raleigh/Diamond Back employee I think they've done a good job of the 2010 range considering their limitations.

The guy that is in charge of the DB division doesn't really have much of a clue what he's doing to be honest and rely's on the team riders to point him in the right direction. Which is what all the mainstream bmx brands do as well these days.

I think what they've done with KHE is a good move for them in that they can step up and sell more bikes which is what the aim is at the end of the day.

In all honesty their bottom of the range DB's are on a par with the same offerings from GT and Mongoose which in all honesty is our market. The higher range KHE bikes are only just starting to come into the store and are so far causing a lot of interest. The lower spec KHE bikes will be big sellers for us and that's what it's all about at the end of the day.

In the current economic climate we need to sell as many units as possible, because it keeps my staff and me in a job.

[HEYWOOD BMX]

  The teaming up with KHE isn`t a bad thing,just don`t see what is stopping them coming up with something original.I hope they do listen to their team riders and that we`ll see totally original product in the near future.I`d like to see a new race frame too-do you know if they have any plans for that?

[Zippy]

There's no plans for a race frame unfortunately. They did toy with the idea of brining in the Reactors from the States but the market isn't big enough. Even if it was twice as big I don't think it would be big enough to be honest.

I did put it to them that they should run an unofficial team through they're Cyclelife shops to see how they went and let them ride reactors and there was some interest in that but unfortunately the recession hit at the same time and that put an end to that idea. Perhaps it's time to look at that again. Although having said that I'm leaving at the end of Jan so won't unfortunately be involved with it.

[generallee]

Sadly diamond Back have been tterrible for a good many years now, and evemn some of the 'older' riders, meaning over 20 years old, only remember Diamond Back as being crap. so they have a real  long way to go to build a good name again.
At the moment, the GT and Mongoose equivalents are better specced and designed, as they seem to have stayed slightly more on the ball than DB.
I wouldnt dream of owning or riding a DB, but for the kids Im sure they are ok for beginners bikes. whats gonna be hard for them is anyone wanting to spend a larger amount of money on a bike is probably gonna veer towards WeThePeope, Verde, Fit etc for a complete bike. But I wish DB all the best as it would be sad to see them disappear. Iconic name and all that.
steve