American manufacturer partners with top domestic team
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Diamondback is jumping into the road racing game for the first time with Optum Pro Cycling(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Pros' stems are generally considerably longer than stock(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
FSA headsets go into the Podium Equipe(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
As the name suggests, SRAM Force 22 is an 11-speed group(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Force 22 features SRAM's yaw front derailleur, which allows eliminates the need (and ability) to trim the front derailleur(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
The Diamondback Podium Equipe has a press-fit bottom bracket(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Keeping track of geometry details for two teams is a task best done with spreadsheets(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
The Diamondback Podium Equipes are built up with SRAM Force 22(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Like many teams, Optum races on tubulars and trains on clinchers(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Can you guess which companies provides wheels for Optum Pro Cycling?(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Will Routley is one of the riders on the team that took the 2013 NRC title(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Carbon road bikes are relatively new for Diamondback, which began with BMX bikes before moving into mountain bikes(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Cable stops screw into the frame. Having a small panel that detaches makes servicing the cable easier(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
The new Diamondback Podium Equipe carbon frame features internal routing(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Mechanics in Optum Pro Cycling's service course in Golden, Colorado, were busy in December building up bikes(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Once built, the bikes were loaded up into Optum's trucks(Image credit: Brett Wilhelm)
Born in California as a BMX brand in the 1970s, Diamondback is not known for its road bikes. With the 2014 sponsorship of the US domestic squad Optum Pro Cycling, Diamondback is hoping to change that.
Optum Pro Cycling has a men's and a women's team. Both will be racing in the US and Canada on Diamondback’s Podium Equipe, which BikeRadar reviewed last year.
Diamondback is part of the Accell Group, which owns more than 20 bike brands, including Lapierre, Raleigh, Redline and Torker in North America, and Ghost, Batavus and others in Europe.
“Diamondback has made a significant commitment to our program and is working very closely with our staff and athletes to deliver the most competitive racing machines available,” Jonas Carney, Optum Pro Cycling men's performance director, said in a press release. “Diamondback’s willingness to support us, and to collaborate in the areas that will help our riders get the most out of their racing, will be a major asset in 2014.”
Women’s performance manager Kevin Field said Diamondback designers are taking rider feedback for new frame improvements.
Optum was the number one men's team on last year's USA National Racing Calendar (NRC). The women's team won the USPRO Road National Championships with rider Jade Wilcoxson.
Sprinter Alex Candelario said he knows Diamondback from the brand's roots in mountain biking: “So to now be sponsored by such an American icon is truly something to be proud of."
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