Diamond Back Gear Box Bike - SABBATH II

The knowledgeable and innovative guys down at DiamondBack HQ have been real busy working with Nicolai and his new GearBox II system. Is this the best looking gear box bike there is? Probably..First thing you will notice is the glorious finish she is in, brilliant white means she stands out a treat along with the new DiamondBack logo on the main tube and the decals on the rear chain stays means this bike has been finished beautifully. The suspension link has been revised and updated with similarities towards the Intense Socom the way it is linked under the top tube.

The real meat on this bone is the brand new G-Boxx II from Universal Transmissions, now down to seven speed means it’s lighter and more reliable (less parts). You never needed 14 gears anyway, seven is definitely enough. Shifting is silky smooth and of course you get to change gear without pedalling and get instant engagement. This means you can keep hammering down that straight, pedalling in the right gear, whilst your competitors are down shifting and loosing momentum. You can then shift gear and pedal straight off without cranking up or down the gears and again loosing power and time.


Universal Transmissions are still working on utilising a SRAM shifter on the cockpit for the pilot as the Rohloff style grip shift works well but is so uncomfortable on the hand.

The finishing kit on this is all top draw, Fox 40 forks and then a few new pieces worth a mention. The WTB saddle as used by Steve Peat and the rest of the Santa Cruz Syndicate. The WTB Prowler Tyres are on test with myself and Jon-e Beckett. These ran well all day with plenty of grip and zero pinch punctures on that last berm of Cwmcarn that’s a little too eroded.. Same can be said regards the WTB tyres and rims that ran true and free all day, unlike my mates DT Swiss 6.1 Rims that I think are made of cheese.. The new Quad Deuce Brakes come standard with braided hoses and come with a huge 25mm diameter pistons that stopped you on a dime..


The original Sabbath Prototype weighed in close to 50lbs, the above model was the right side of 44lbs so definitely competitive as a race machine. With the Gear Box weight all in the right place, in the middle and down towards the ground does mean great cornering and a lighter back end to hop and flick around.

In all this was a sweet bike to ride with the geometry spot on meant confident and flawless runs down the testing and challenging Cwmcarn track. Hats off to DiamondBack for pushing the sport and technology forward, it’s not a brave move, it’s a clever one. My only question is where are all the other big manufacturers, are they all going to let Nicolai, DaimondBack and Orange have a clean sweep of the market?

Karl Nicoali runs a separate company totally separate of Nicolai, called Universal Transmissions, check it out at www.g-boxx.com



He is also real busy trying to standardise the international gearbox mounting standard, as I have said before: Within 5 years you go online and order your frame, next box to complete will be your choice of Gearbox: G-Boxx, Suntour, Shimano, Sram etc.. which will all bolt on in the same manner with the international gearbox mounting standard.

Estimated price is sub £5,000.00 for the complete bike that you will definitely be seeing a lot more of.

For more info on DiamondBack: www.DiamondBack.co.uk

Stay Unclipped Forever.

Si Paton