With a stealth appearance, hydroformed tubeset and a generous build the DiamondBack promised a lot. The Truvativ 2-piece chainset and Giga Pipe outboard bearing also didn’t go unnoticed. However, the big issue with this bike is the excruciatingly sluggish RST Gila fork. In past DD line-ups RSTs were rife but the price and quality of bikes has crept up so that RSTs are now in an unfortunate minority among the RockShoxs and Suntours elsewhere.
As with last year’s bike, heavy wheels and over-aggressive WTB tyre choice make for sluggish progress. Pair this with a slightly long 110mm stem and leggy front end (due to a long 27in down tube) and the weight bias is all over the front. If you do choose the DBR we’d recommend dropping a size to compensate. It’s a shame once again that the Response didn’t live up to its name on the trails.

MBR RATING: 5/10