Decided to Cancel the Diamondback Insight 20" & Ordered a Woom 4 for the Grandkids
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Cantankerous Old Fart
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Decided to Cancel the Diamondback Insight 20" & Ordered a Woom 4 for the Grandkids
Well after further research & thought, I decided to upgrade from the
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think.
REASONS;
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think.
REASONS;
- Lighter OA weight (17.5# vs ?)
- 8 speed cassette vs 7 speed freewheel
- SRAM X-4 rear derailleur that will allow an easy switch to the SRAM X-4 lever shifter in lieu of twist shifter
- Better seat & seatpost
- 32t chainring that coupled with the 11-32 cassette will offer much more versatile gearing
- Uses standard 20" decimal sized tires
- Better over all quality & design
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In my observation kids understand the twist and basic thumb shifters better than the triggers. They learn the triggers but they are not as intuitive
What size wheels was the diamond back? I didn't know there were 2 standards for 20 ich wheels
What size wheels was the diamond back? I didn't know there were 2 standards for 20 ich wheels
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ISO 406 decimal size and 451 fractional. Both are common on recumbents. The 406 which are used on BMX bikes are easier to find. Niagara Cycle has about three times as many choices in the 406 as for 451.
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Well after further research & thought, I decided to upgrade from the
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think.
REASONS;
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think.
REASONS;
- Lighter OA weight (17.5# vs ?)
- 8 speed cassette vs 7 speed freewheel
- SRAM X-4 rear derailleur that will allow an easy switch to the SRAM X-4 lever shifter in lieu of twist shifter
- Better seat & seatpost
- 32t chainring that coupled with the 11-32 cassette will offer much more versatile gearing
- Uses standard 20" decimal sized tires
- Better over all quality & design
Woom...brutal name for a child's bike company. But to each their own.
I doubt most any child riding a 20" bike will care or benefit from the extra cog bumping the rear up to 32 instead of 28T. But hey, smoke em if you got em.
A 42T chainring is big for a 20" bike. My daughter rides a 24" DB Clarity which has 42T and 34T rings. She was riding it at 8 and the 42T ring was fine for her to use during most riding since we tend to stick to paths which are typically along creeks/rivers/old rail lines.
I like the QR skewer for the Woom bike's front wheel. Back is still nutted though.
Not sure about the issue with the tires...the DB has Kendas...i'd figure you could order some at any bike shop in the country after 5 years of use.
#8
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The UPS man came dragging a large box up the driveway in one hand this afternoon. (Wifey had something from Old Navy that he had in the other)
Here is a shot of one end of the box.
We all know that almost all bicycles are made in China these days. The difference is in the quality control that they are held to & the Austrians/Germans are perhaps some of the most stringent in that respect. Seeing this on the box gave me high expectations of what I would find inside.
I wasn't disappointed.
Here is what I saw when I opened the top of the box. Everything well protected & packaged neatly.
Cutting 1 large cable tie allowed the whole package to lift right out.
A large manila envelope at the bottom of the box contained the front wheel skewer, all tools required for assembly and an illustrated instruction sheet.
1st order of business was to get the bars mounted so I could set the bike on them. After that I installed the front wheel.
Now I could begin to remove some more of the cardboard & ethafoam sheet that was wrapped in 2 layers on just about everything.
It took about 3X as long to remove all the double layered protection than it did to assemble the bike.
The rear cassette cogs (11-32 8-speed) are shifted by a SRAM X-4 derailleur and a SRAM X-3 twist shifter.
I have SRAM 9X3 on my KHS XC racer & I like the 1:1 ratio a lot more than Shimano.
As a matter of fact, it does have a QR skewer on the rear as well.
I'm not sure if I will leave the kick stand on it or not, but it is a nice touch on a kids' bike. It is well designed & it does fold up neatly out of the way.
It also has a QR on the seat post, something I had to add to my Specialized Crosstrail Sport.
Last but not least, the I.D. of the handle bars is 13/16" so I was able to pop my Mirrycle MTB mirror out of my bike & it fit right into the end of the bars after the expansion plug bar-end was removed. I also like the design of the seat.
Kennedi wants all the things on her bike that "Poppy & Gammy" have on their's so I think she will be tickled. Woom even has a side load bottle holder that mounts on riv-nuts under the front tube. (that's another "must have") It even has a bell with a spring loaded striker clamped onto the left brake lever housing.
All & all I'm very happy with the well thought out design, quality of manufacture/components & it has a lot of added touches that are sometimes missing from adult bikes costing hundred$ more. IMO it's worth every penny I paid for it.
I weighed the whole thing, including pedals & the Mirrycle mirror & it weighed 18# 1oz so the 17# 8oz declared weight sans pedals seems to be spot on.
Here is a shot of one end of the box.
We all know that almost all bicycles are made in China these days. The difference is in the quality control that they are held to & the Austrians/Germans are perhaps some of the most stringent in that respect. Seeing this on the box gave me high expectations of what I would find inside.
I wasn't disappointed.
Here is what I saw when I opened the top of the box. Everything well protected & packaged neatly.
Cutting 1 large cable tie allowed the whole package to lift right out.
A large manila envelope at the bottom of the box contained the front wheel skewer, all tools required for assembly and an illustrated instruction sheet.
1st order of business was to get the bars mounted so I could set the bike on them. After that I installed the front wheel.
Now I could begin to remove some more of the cardboard & ethafoam sheet that was wrapped in 2 layers on just about everything.
It took about 3X as long to remove all the double layered protection than it did to assemble the bike.
The rear cassette cogs (11-32 8-speed) are shifted by a SRAM X-4 derailleur and a SRAM X-3 twist shifter.
I have SRAM 9X3 on my KHS XC racer & I like the 1:1 ratio a lot more than Shimano.
I'm not sure if I will leave the kick stand on it or not, but it is a nice touch on a kids' bike. It is well designed & it does fold up neatly out of the way.
It also has a QR on the seat post, something I had to add to my Specialized Crosstrail Sport.
Last but not least, the I.D. of the handle bars is 13/16" so I was able to pop my Mirrycle MTB mirror out of my bike & it fit right into the end of the bars after the expansion plug bar-end was removed. I also like the design of the seat.
Kennedi wants all the things on her bike that "Poppy & Gammy" have on their's so I think she will be tickled. Woom even has a side load bottle holder that mounts on riv-nuts under the front tube. (that's another "must have") It even has a bell with a spring loaded striker clamped onto the left brake lever housing.
All & all I'm very happy with the well thought out design, quality of manufacture/components & it has a lot of added touches that are sometimes missing from adult bikes costing hundred$ more. IMO it's worth every penny I paid for it.
I weighed the whole thing, including pedals & the Mirrycle mirror & it weighed 18# 1oz so the 17# 8oz declared weight sans pedals seems to be spot on.
Last edited by XCSKIBUM; 08-31-16 at 03:09 PM.
#9
Sunshine
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nice bike. The website shows a 5mm hex is needed to remove the wheels, but I saw a QR for the front wheel on the website, so I figured the note applied to the rear wheel. Interesting that it doesnt apply to either wheel.
#10
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Funny you should mention the 5mm hex wrench The Cleary Meerkat has skewers that require the 5mm hex wrench.
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Well after further research & thought, I decided to upgrade from the
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think...
REASONS;
DIAMONDBACK INSIGHT 20 for a Woom 4. It's over 2X as much, but it's 3X the bike I think...
REASONS;
- Lighter OA weight (17.5# vs ?)
- 8 speed cassette vs 7 speed freewheel
- SRAM X-4 rear derailleur that will allow an easy switch to the SRAM X-4 lever shifter in lieu of twist shifter
- Better seat & seatpost
- 32t chainring that coupled with the 11-32 cassette will offer much more versatile gearing
- Uses standard 20" decimal sized tires
- Better over all quality & design
But price, weight, and perceived quality aren't the only differences. There's also also a size difference. The Woom 4 is a smaller bike than the Diamondback Insight 20. The Woom 4 has an effective top tube length of 430 mm, compared to 457 mm for the Diamondback. The DB has a longer stem. The Woom has 110 mm crank arms, compared to the Diamondback's 155 mm cranks. The wheels on the Woom are almost 2" smaller than the Diamondback's. In short, almost everything about the Woom is scaled for a smaller kid. This might be a good thing for now, depending on the rider's age and size, but it means the bike will be outgrown sooner.
As for your reasons:
1) REI says the Diamondback Insight 20 is 28 pounds, but Amazon lists the ship weight as 29.6 pounds, including packaging. Seems safe to call it somewhere in the 20's.
2) Freehubs & cassettes are a mechanical upgrade over traditional freewheels, particularly because the bearings are further outboard, reducing stress (and the possibility of breakage) on the rear axle. But since we're talking about a small kid's bike, either a freehub or freewheel is perfectly adequate. As for the extra cog... If your kid's anything like my daughter, you'll notice the difference between 7 and 8 cogs a lot more than she will. Heck, my daughter's perfectly content with 5 cogs on her road bike. (She might not even know how many gears she has since she's got friction shifters and there's no numbering on the shifter.)
3) The Woom has slightly nicer stock derailleurs, but either bike can be converted from twist shifters to triggers with comparable cost and ease. But about shifter types, since we're on the topic... My experience echoes Sidney's above. My own daughters seemed to find grip shifters more intuitive than trigger shifters.
4) Yup. The Diamondback's seatpost and saddle are about as entry-level as they come.
5) I actually prefer the gear ratios on the Diamondback. The 32/32 low gear on the Woom, combined with 20" wheels, will get you down to about 18 gear inches. That's a really, really low gear; quite possibly too low for practical use. The Diamondback's low gear is about 28 gear inches -- roughly the same as a touring bike that's designed to carry heavy loads over mountain passes. The Woom's gears 3-8 coincide roughly with the Diamondback's 1-7, meaning the Diamondback actually has a greater number of available gears within a practical gearing range.
6) Wider tire selection is nice, but tires are readily available in either 20" size.
7) The Woom does seem like a nice bike, and the light weight is extra nice since most kids' bikes are absurdly heavy. The only knock I have against it is the gearing, which is easily correctable. And that it's smaller, which might be a good thing for now depending on the rider's current size.
...but let's not overthink this. Get the kid on the saddle and enjoy!
#12
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Nice little bike! If you think it's worth the price premium, then you've got the right bike.
The Woom has 110 mm crank arms, compared to the Diamondback's 155 mm cranks. The wheels on the Woom are almost 2" smaller than the Diamondback's. In short, almost everything about the Woom is scaled for a smaller kid. This might be a good thing for now, depending on the rider's age and size, but it means the bike will be outgrown sooner.
The Woom has 110 mm crank arms, compared to the Diamondback's 155 mm cranks. The wheels on the Woom are almost 2" smaller than the Diamondback's. In short, almost everything about the Woom is scaled for a smaller kid. This might be a good thing for now, depending on the rider's age and size, but it means the bike will be outgrown sooner.
The Woom does seem like a nice bike, and the light weight is extra nice since most kids' bikes are absurdly heavy. The only knock I have against it is the gearing, which is easily correctable. And that it's smaller, which might be a good thing for now depending on the rider's current size.