Tomaldinho26
Retro Newbie
Hi folks,
New to the forum and very much enjoying reading all of the build threads & restorations. So thought I would join in.
Not sure if this will be of interest to people as it is a bit more modern but it’s quite a rare thing and in the near 15 years I’ve owned mine I’ve found very few owners & little information about them.
Anyway, here is my 2008/09 Diamondback Sabbath. A DH bike with an enclosed transmission (G-Boxx).
Bought this back in 2011 I think for £1500 second-hand (my college bursary at the time
) Pretty much in standard form. I added a couple of parts to make it mine. A Renthal Fat Bar, A Renthal Duo Stem and FUNN seat.
The following year the Gearbox was serviced and at the same time a Works Components Angle Headset was fitted which transformed the bike! Although the 2 pictures below are at slightly different angles, i think it shows just how much the angle headset slackened out the front of the bike.
Ran the bike like that for a year or so until I had a bad bottom out on "The Wall" at the Fort William DH track and the shock blew right through its travel, jamming the wheel and swing arm brace into the seat tube. Dent in the seat tube but no other severe damage.
After some investigation, it was time for a rebuild. Frame sand blasted and painted in white again and then rebuilt with a selection of new parts. Minion DHF & DHR tyres, Formula RO Brake Set, Charge Spoon Saddle, FUNN Seat Post, Salsa Seat Post Clamp, Shimano Saint Pedals, New Chain, ODI TLD Grips & New stickers on the Fox 40's. Shock was sent to TF Tuning for a rebuild and again, the Works Components Angle Headset, Renthal Bar & Stem were refitted.
Again, used the bike for a year or so but kept running into issues with the shock travel and rear wheel jamming into the frame on big hits. I tried multiple solutions. Stronger springs, bigger shock bump stop, more air, different suspension settings & a bump stop on the frame itself, but nothing really helped. I eventually had a big crash again in Fort William and this time the Swing arm brace, seat tube and one of the suspension links all got bent. So, the bike was stripped, parts sold and the frame, gearbox and wheels have sat in my attic for the last 9 years.
This year I dug the frame out and started looking into getting it repaired and replacing the damaged linkage with a new machined one.
Anyway, that’s the story of my Sabbath. It was an excellent bike, very sure footed. Heavey but the weight was low down, so it was nicely balanced. I spoke to a semi-pro rider around the time I was using mine, and he had been supplied with one from Diamondback for racing. He said they were excellent bikes but ultimately, when things broke under extreme use it was a slow process to get replacement parts for his race weekend.
I intend to restore it in the next year or 2, so I’ll pop updates on here as and when I can. Thanks for reading, hope it wasn't too much of a bore.
New to the forum and very much enjoying reading all of the build threads & restorations. So thought I would join in.
Not sure if this will be of interest to people as it is a bit more modern but it’s quite a rare thing and in the near 15 years I’ve owned mine I’ve found very few owners & little information about them.
Anyway, here is my 2008/09 Diamondback Sabbath. A DH bike with an enclosed transmission (G-Boxx).
Bought this back in 2011 I think for £1500 second-hand (my college bursary at the time
) Pretty much in standard form. I added a couple of parts to make it mine. A Renthal Fat Bar, A Renthal Duo Stem and FUNN seat.
The following year the Gearbox was serviced and at the same time a Works Components Angle Headset was fitted which transformed the bike! Although the 2 pictures below are at slightly different angles, i think it shows just how much the angle headset slackened out the front of the bike.
Ran the bike like that for a year or so until I had a bad bottom out on "The Wall" at the Fort William DH track and the shock blew right through its travel, jamming the wheel and swing arm brace into the seat tube. Dent in the seat tube but no other severe damage.
After some investigation, it was time for a rebuild. Frame sand blasted and painted in white again and then rebuilt with a selection of new parts. Minion DHF & DHR tyres, Formula RO Brake Set, Charge Spoon Saddle, FUNN Seat Post, Salsa Seat Post Clamp, Shimano Saint Pedals, New Chain, ODI TLD Grips & New stickers on the Fox 40's. Shock was sent to TF Tuning for a rebuild and again, the Works Components Angle Headset, Renthal Bar & Stem were refitted.
Again, used the bike for a year or so but kept running into issues with the shock travel and rear wheel jamming into the frame on big hits. I tried multiple solutions. Stronger springs, bigger shock bump stop, more air, different suspension settings & a bump stop on the frame itself, but nothing really helped. I eventually had a big crash again in Fort William and this time the Swing arm brace, seat tube and one of the suspension links all got bent. So, the bike was stripped, parts sold and the frame, gearbox and wheels have sat in my attic for the last 9 years.
This year I dug the frame out and started looking into getting it repaired and replacing the damaged linkage with a new machined one.
Anyway, that’s the story of my Sabbath. It was an excellent bike, very sure footed. Heavey but the weight was low down, so it was nicely balanced. I spoke to a semi-pro rider around the time I was using mine, and he had been supplied with one from Diamondback for racing. He said they were excellent bikes but ultimately, when things broke under extreme use it was a slow process to get replacement parts for his race weekend.
I intend to restore it in the next year or 2, so I’ll pop updates on here as and when I can. Thanks for reading, hope it wasn't too much of a bore.
