Diamondback Bicycles 2014 Lux Women's Mountain Bike with 27.5-Inch Wheels

I'll preface this review by saying that while I've built bikes from the frame up in the past from various new and used parts (Epic, Spearfish, Jet 9 RDO, etc.), this is the first bike I've ever purchased as a complete, new in box, bicycle. As such, I had certain expectations that may not be valid based on my limited experience with brand new in box, unassembled, complete bicycles. There were three things I didn't expect on this new bicycle: 1) The hub bearings in both wheels were almost completely dry, tight, and did not spin freely. I disassembled, relubed, and readjusted the hubs and they spin great now. 2) The rear derailleur hangar is made out of a material similar to wet paper (slightly exaggerated if course). It arrived on the bike bent, leaving much to be desired out of the shifting. I pulled the derailleur off of the hangar, installed my Park Tools derailleur straightening tool, and it bent back in place all too easily. With the metal on the hangar being so soft you need to be extremely (not exaggerated) careful re-threading the derailleur into the hangar or else it will strip. Luckily, the metal was so soft that after I eyeball-realigned the derailleur and tightened the bolt it acted as a tap and rethreaded the hangar properly...not fun, but it's tight and holding. 3) Front brake rotor was very slightly bent, causing very fine adjustments of the calipers to not be possible without rubbing. Other than the three items above we feel like we got a good deal on the bike ($396 shipped with Prime), so there's not much else to complain about in comparison to other bikes in this price range. The combined shifter/brake levers make upgrades a more costly affair than if they were separate and could be replaced one at a time. After I straightened the derailleur hangar, bolted the derailleur as straight as my eyeball would allow, and adjusted the cable tension, it shifts great both front and rear (I had to adjust the height of the front derailleur as it was too low - which I expected). It's very heavy for it's size - 31.4 lbs on the bathroom scale with a bottle cage and the included pedals installed. It should be noted that the seatpost included is set back, meaning it does not come straight up to where the seat attaches. Instead, it comes straight up, and cants to the back to the point where the seat is attached. In laymans terms, it puts your butt further away from the bars than a similar sized bike with a straight seat post. It didn't fit her like other small sized bikes she's sat on because of this. That's all for now. I just assembled it last night and she has yet to ride it. If I have any other comments I will add them later on.

Awesome bike! It rides great. Beware that the actual color of the bike is not the candy apple red that it appears to be in the photo. The actual color is more of a bright plum purple. I love the color, but it is different than I was expecting. Great bike overall and I am very happy with the purchase.

I just picked up mountain biking and found this a great beginner's bike for the price. The color is actually purplish but it's a gorgeous bike. Rides really well in all kinds of terrain. The instructions that come with it are horrible. Go to the diamondback website and they give you clear instructions. My only complaint is that I can't seem to get my brakes adjusted correctly.