I rarely work on Saturdays, this saturday was one of those rare occurrences. I asked RL to let me try the DiamondBack Transporter, ‘sure man!’ he said. I prepped the Transporter by adding a rear rack, a mirror, bottle cage, the battery-less blinkies and a product called “Flat Attack” that RL picked up at Interbike.
Here’s how the Transporter looks now:
This time I rode from my house to work, a 30 mile round trip with some rolling hills. The first thing I noticed was the weight of the Transporter, it was a little hefty. I’m usually not picky about weight on any of my commuter bikes, but I was able to tell the difference between the Transporter and the Kona Smoke and the KHS Urban X. I also noticed the choice of tires that Diamond Back put on the Transporter, they are WTB All-Terainasauras 26×1.60 Multi Purpose Tires. These tires are more knobbier than I’m used to.
So How did it ride? The trigger shifting was smooth, quiet and precise. The steering was quick and light. The Transporter comes with ergonomic grips and a gel saddle, making the ride very comfortable. I can’t really say that I would consider the Transporter to be a ‘fast’ bike, but it is not a ‘slow’ bike either.
I will be alternating riding the One Way and the Transporter to work (See Jay, is not all about fixed gear bikes). Stay tuned for updates of both bikes.