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7 Reasons Why Diamondback Bikes Are So Expensive

In the world of cycling, some manufacturers are more well-known than others and this can be due to a variety of reasons such as their marketing ability, popularity with fans, or just the sheer quality of their products.

One of those brands is Diamondback, whilst not appearing under the legs of many professional road racers, the brand has always been one of the foremost producers of mountain bikes in the US and overseas. 

Today though, we will be focussing on 7 reasons why Diamondback bikes are so expensive and helping you to feel more informed when it comes to buying a bike from them in the future. 

1. They’re Handmade

The first point that needs to be mentioned in a piece such as this usually relates to the production process of the bikes, and when it comes to Diamondback their production lines is one of the finest in the industry.

Unlike many of their major competitors, Diamondback employ a range if skilled workers to build their bike parts from scratch and turn them into the wonderful machines on the shelves. 

This level of production will always cause prices to be higher than bikes made on a machine-based production line as it is widely accepted that the quality of a human made bike will be higher than one made by a machine.

Humans need to be paid though, and as such when prices for handmade bikes are significantly higher than some others, it is mainly due to the fact that you are paying the wages of the staff who made your bike (at least in some part). 

2. Quality Components

One of the major things that can alter the price of a bike is the components that a company uses to build the inner working of it.

At Diamondback, they have a partnership with Japanese brand Shimano to provide groupsets for most of Diamondback’s models. Shimano are the foremost producer of gears and brakes for bike brands around the world and are widely regarded as the best in the business. 

It will come as no surprise that having groupsets that are made by a brand as highly esteemed as Shimano on your bike will cause it to be more expensive than a bike that features components from a lesser-known brand. 

3. Reliability and Durability 

Given that Diamondback are known to be one of the best brands around for producing mountain bikes, it is of the upmost importance to them that their bikes are both reliable and durable. This all links back to the production process of the bikes though and what they are actually constructed out of. 

Most of Diamondback’s models are made from either carbon fibre or aluminium frames and forks. These two material, whilst costing different amounts to use are both seen as being able to provide top level rigidity to the frame of a bike, preventing it from becoming brittle and breaking at any point. 

It isn’t cheap these days to have reliability assured, especially when it comes to using carbon fibre. Bikes made from the material are usually the most expensive on the market and that is no different when it comes to Diamondback.

4. Suitable for Heavier Riders

Moving onto some of the more specific details of why certain Diamondback bikes are expensive. The next reason on our list is that Diamondback bikes are often built to be able to carry heavier riders as standard. 

This can cause the bikes to need extra reinforcement and therefore more materials need to be used in the production process, which takes more time and money to make.

Linking back to the point made earlier surrounding how Diamondback bikes are handmade, you can see that this will increase the amount of labor that is required to finish a bike like this, and this will obviously cost more to buy. 

These bikes often feature extra storage racks and such as optional extras, which will also cause the price of a bike to increase. Look out for some of these ‘extras’ when you buy a new bike as some are not needed. 

5. Efficient Motors on E-Bikes 

Moving onto a specific point relating to the e-bikes that Diamondback produce and why they are so expensive.

The research and development that goes into the new models that the brand make is extensive and has led to some amazing innovations from them over the years (which will contribute to the cost due to the wages of researchers). 

One of these innovations is the efficiency of the motors on Diamondback e-bikes, the motor is designed to only turn when the rider is pedalling meaning that it generates kinetic energy at a much higher rate than some other less efficient motors.

Innovations such as this are great for marketing purpose above all else, especially if nobody else has discovered them yet. 

Any brand, including Diamondback will use these innovations as marketing tools to drive prices up. Whether you believe this is moral is another debate though. 

6. Shipping Costs

This is a point that will hold more weight depending on where you are reading this piece from.

If you are wanting to order a Diamondback bike directly from the brands website you will incur shipping costs on any order under $99 and for any bike under $350 if ordering from the United States (though like always it does cost more to ship to Alaska or Hawaii). 

You cannot currently have Diamondback bikes shipped internationally, which means you have to buy them from a third-party seller. This can often be an expensive process as you have to navigate exportation taxes and then importation taxes wherever you are shipping the bike to. 

If you want the bike shipped to the UK for example, you will have to pay 20% VAT on top of whatever your bike cost initially which can be a scary addition to any purchase. 

7. Inflation 

The final point I’ll be making today is becoming a recurring one in piece such as this, inflation has never been more of an issue in the modern world. With US inflations rates hitting levels as high as 8.2% in recent weeks, prices of goods are soaring and that included Diamondback bikes. 

You may be sat looking through the prices of Diamondback bikes on their website and thinking ‘I’m sure they didn’t cost this much in the past’ and you are right!

Things simply cost more these days than they used to, which isn’t a good thing but is something we all have to deal with if we want our favourite brands to survive. 

Next time you shock yourself with the price of one the Diamondback bikes, come back here and remind yourself why they cost so much.

Learn more about why bikes are so expensive in this post.