Diamondback Catch

Diamondback Catch Review

My first impression was it’s big; but then it would be, as it is from the Plus-size range. And usually, being plus-sized translates to heavy, bulky, slow, lagging – with adjectives like that you would think I was describing something old and overweight. With the Diamond Catch though, I could not have been further away from the truth as I was about to find out.

Peddling uphill was no different to herding cattle; it was exhausting. You even start to curse the trail for being so damn long. But the descent though, that just takes your breath away. The Catch may come with level-link suspension which is supposed to make it easy going uphill and downhill, but trust me on this, for those of you riders who are relatively flimsy, it does absolutely no favors on the climb. The suspension worked harmoniously with the tires, also plus-sized of course, and was able to cope beautifully with the rocky terrain of the trail. They have amazing traction.

However, after such an exciting descent you’re bound to say to yourself I’m gonna do that again, and that means you’re going to climb back up again. To be honest, the misery of that almost cancels out the fun you had just minutes before. The drivetrain simply wasn’t as enthusiastic about climbing as it was with descending… or maybe it was just me. I suppose this was to be expected, factoring in the weight of all the plus-sizeness.

All things considered though, the Diamond Back Catch is mostly alright, even if it is slightly let down by its plus-size weight and level link suspension. It took me some time to develop my confidence in it as a rider but once I did, I really began to enjoy it. It’s a bit flawed and still cool at the same time, kind of like a human friend.

The Verdict

It is a really good piece of kit. I thoroughly enjoyed it on the trails. The biggest problem with it is trying to take it uphill but if you are a fit rider, you won’t mind it much.