Diamondback Overdrive29

OK bike needs upgrades – I Was bought this bike as a gift 4 years ago and it spent most of its life in the garage only to be put into use this lockdown. Its not a bad bike. the frame is strong and light but the rest of the bike is rubbish. ive upgraded the forks, stem, handlebars, brakes, saddle and seat post. It is now a light and capable bike. Ive spent $300 on upgrades… Read more

and.could easily spend another $300 on new gears and crankset. it just goes to show. You get what you pay for. So, save those pennies and buy a $1000 bike that has all the good stuff already on it.

Straight to the Tip – Box was missing, manual, some parts and warranty etc. Had to buy a skewer rod for the front tyre. Then the front disc brakes were difficult to adjust, too much rubbing, then a metal on metal axle was making me wonder if something else was missing. After spending way too much time on this bike, I can say that the frame is tough, it broke my hammer. Show details

Great Bike for the money, Just set it up properly – Other reviews I have read here like the guy complaining about the front tire being too close to the pedal are not correct. first of all, you probably assembled the bike with the forks backward meaning the rake of the forks is reversed. This bike does need a little tweaking out of the box, like slacken off the disc brake calipers, pull the brake… Read more

lever, and re-tighten the caliper to center the disc in the pads to prevent scraping. tighten the head stem and adjust the handlebars and brake cable slack. You need to have some idea of bikes before you leave a bad review. The bike is sound. Great buy.

What Are You All Talking About? Did I Miss Something? – I had my Giant MTB stollen and I don't have $2500 to replace it, so I went and bought a Diamondback Overdrive 29er. I read all the negative reviews here and I am actually laughing. The main complaints are the front suspension, the seat and the brakes not stopping quick enough. 1. If you know ANYTHING about disc brakes, you'll know that they have… Read more

to be worn in, lol. You simply get up to speed and pull the brakes on until you stop. Repeat this 5 or 6 times. This wears off the gloss off the new pads. I did this on mine and they are great.

2. The front end suspension. It's an entry level mtb. What do you expect? They didn't include adjustable suspension, which helps keep the bike at that price point. If people knew how to ride, it wouldn't be an issue. You're not supposed to smash your bike straight into a kerb or big bumps. You are meant to distribute your weight accordingly, remove weight off the front end to effectively handle those obstacles. You need to get your self some basic mountain biking skills.

3. The seat; If you're sitting down long enough to get a sore butt, you're yet again, misusing the bike and don't know what you're doing. The bike is meant for entry level mountain bike trail riding. You stand up more than you sit down. Notice the seat has a quick release for easy adjustments to seat height, which you need to do when you actually use the bike as intended, off road on the trail.

Since I bought this bike a month ago, I have been SMASHING this bike through the forest, over jumps, tree runs, steep climbs and mud trails with ZERO issues. Although I will concede that the front suspension could have been a little more solid. I'm 91.7kgs and have been PUNISHING this bike. So far, no issues. You see, I actually tail my landings, I take my weight off the front wheel exactly the same way I do on a $2500 bike. Some people really need to look at their riding skills rather than crucify a bike manufacturer and blame them for a rough ride, when in reality, they have no clue what they are doing. Riding straight over kerbs OMG LMAO... Probably sitting down doing it too lol.

If you want a bike to dribble around your neighbourhood and sit on your but taking in the sights of your local area on a gentle Sunday ride. You might need to get yourself a pillowtop seat. But other than that. It's a GREAT entry level hardtail mtb and is 100% trail worthy to an intermediate level.

I would advise you to really look at what these reviewers are actually saying, but if you know anything about mountain biking, you'll already know what I'm talking about. If you don't know how to use a product, you really shouldn't review it.

Thank you Diamondback for giving me a bike that is safe, sturdy and at a modest price point. I have been riding for 20 years will recommend this bike on my website (which I won't mention) and to anyone else I'm talking to that's thinking of getting into a mountain bike riding.

Didn't know they made bikes this bad.. :( – Bought a 2nd hand one, the forks bottom out with a hard, undamped clunk on the smallest kerb (not even off road), the steel handlebars get rusty fast. riding geometry was terrible, (way too high with weight all over back wheel), so I disassembled the gooseneck and took all the (3) spacers off and angled the bars forward to get a better weight… Read more

distribution. Brakes (mechanical disk) are crap and dangerous as if you squeeze them hard on the bike still takes 25m to stop (V-brakes would be way better). I replaced the crank bearings as crank was loose and the bearing guide in the crank wasn't machined properly, the crank chain rings were out of alignment, so chain rubs on front derailleur with every revolution, there was a load of aluminium swarf inside the bottom bracket that can only have come from them not cleaning out the frame tubes in the factory before assembling bottom bracket (terrible!).

The rear derailleur is the clunkiest POS I've ever come across.. I used to say Shimano don't make bad products, but I've proven myself wrong.. they won't even give this junk a name and it makes their lowest end named stuff look stellar in comparison..

The cables are very draggy.

Everything that could be done badly, was put on one bike, trading on the previously good Diamondback name.

At $80 second hand, I feel I got ripped off!

Front tyre 1 inch from the pedal! – I bought a Diamondback Overdrive 29. When I put this bike together I found that it had about an inch clearance between the pedal and the front tyre. Completely unrideable. So I took it back to Big W where I purchased it. I have the photos which I would have liked to post. I can only think that it had the wrong forks or components in the box. I am very puzzled!  Show details

This bike is a money pit – Since I purchased my over lander I've spent at least $3000 on repairs to the deri ailers wheels cables brakes and not only that due to the front fork suspension design I've been spat off at least a half a dozen times and that's not even doing anything extreme road riding only leaving me with knees that are close to being incapacitated so yes… Read more

by all means buy one but expect to spend more money than the bike is worth and its gonna kick you off gonna get me s specialised

mountain bike with the wrong front forks – I made the big mistake by trusting diamond back reputation , which is good, and not doing a test ride in the store.Trusting that a mountain bike would have good front forks. I brought two override 29' for Christmas presents. Both had metal on metal front fork cushioning , with no adjustment or lock, to stop the metal on metal bagging, I didn't let… Read more

my boys ride them so I could take them back , but the store said you cant take them back because I built them on [Christmas day]. It had nothing to do with the construction because it was half built in the box, it is a shocking front fork design.Both bikes are still in the shed and the boys are still riding their old one's. Nasty!

Great bike - best I've owned – I have ridden about 40,000 km on this bike since 2012 and have never looked after it. I ride through flooded creeks but mostly bike tracks and roads. Some dirt and off-road. The frame is great for me 178cm tall. I can ride all day on this bike with an upgraded seat I put on from near new. In this time I have replaced tyres twice with GEAX road… Read more

tyres and they are great. Also added puncture proof liners and very few flats. Original tyres did about 5000 kms. Gear cassette replaced once and bottom bracket twice in that time. The front suspension shocks started vibrating under braking at about 30,000 km but are still on and being replaced soon - very expensive. My thought is that this is a great frame and overall the bike has cost me about one quarter what a more expensive one would have.

Excellent velocipede with pandemonium attachments :) – Bought this through BigW,.... wouldn't say they were overly brilliant due to the way they stock their wares but..... had a helpful person source and ring me when he found a bike for me........ and as luck happened on the day that I got it, 20% off RRP........... win/win :) I liked the 29ér due to its heftier looking front fork, and the more… Read more

solid looking steering stem and bars........... for a cheap mans bike it deserved all the help it could get....... :) Anyways, got it home, all parts in the carton, easy to put together, tightened up and checked all nuts/bolts etc....... and she's been good to go :) I particulary like the rear cog gearshifter, its excellent in giving me feedback on exact gearshifting.......... the seat is comfortable for a beginner, the bulky rims/tyres are a good match and the brakes are *fair *.............

All in all, an excellent buy for a large mans bike at $299............ if you get it any cheaper (like me :) ) you've done well

Nice Bike, poor components – Bought The Diamondback overdrive29 back in July 2015 $328, done about 1800km on it in 3 months. the chain gone cassette is gone and the bottom bearing is shot also. The bike I rode to from work. Speed wise it was surprising ave 28kmh After changing to road tyres. Good weekend bike thats it

great bike – Got it from big w 12 months ago , very happy with it , i like almost everything about the bike , 21 speed , disk brakes , strong frame and good seat , the only things that are not perfect is its heavy and has a weak quick release set up on the front end , but i really like it and plan to get a new one in 12 to 18 months

Disc brakes – Love the bike have had it for six months i commute to work with it.But i am having trouble with the disc brakes they loose tension and when I tighten them up they completely fail not sure what I can do?Almost had a severe stack when both brakes failed going down a steep hill lucky I had joggers on. I like the large wheels and the gearing system… Read more

seems to work all the time As mentioned in review the braking system looses tension and when tightened they fail.

Great 29er Without the ridiculous 29er price – This bike is fantastic!. I tried to get a 29er for a decent price but the lowest I could find before finding this one was $581. When this one showed up in a google surch for $298 I jumped at it!!!. Disk breaks, shimano running gear & the 29" wheels make off road biking fast & fun. Dont go spend a fortune at a bike shop, there charging to much!!.… Read more

This bike is well worth the $298, I couldn't even find a 2nd hand 29er for this price. Just get one!! 29" wheels, disk breaks, shimano running gear, fantastic value nothing

Reliable Durable Good Value for money – Over the years I have purchased mountain bikes in the $500 to $1200 price range, Giant, Merida,Jamis, but the Diamondback beats them all. I picked up my $300 Diamondback overdrive from BigW six months ago. I have been giving it a thourough flogging during this time. The bike is still in A1 mechanical condition. The diamondback covers ground more… Read more

quickly than the other bikes I have owned. The big wheels seem to roll over obstacles fairly easily. All the components are shimano, okay it does not have hydraulic brakes, is that really necessary? When the bike is due for a service I will give it away to charity and buy a new Diamondback overdrive 29 . no chain suck, good value for money, shimano components short seat pole

Dam good value for money – I had Diamondbacks when I was younger and they were great bikes back then. The Aussie models have cheaper components than the overseas stuff which I'm assuming has something to do with the lack of demand for these bikes these days but you simply can't get a 29er for the same money anywhere else. Components will need to be upgraded eventually but… Read more

more than happy to do that later down the track. Good solid frame, 29er, awesome price components are on the cheaper side