At a glance A solid, durable and aggressive trail bike ideal for the descents on UK trails
Tested by
Oliver Laverack
Performance
The Ride
Out on the trail, the performance of this bike is definitely
weighted in favour of going down hills rather than up them. If I
had to give that split a number then I'd say 30% for going up and
70% for going down however that's pretty much the essence of what a
5" travel, aggressive trail bike is about. After all you wouldn't
really ride a trail bike aggressively up a hill would you? You work
your way up the hills, pushing your legs through the pain because
you know at the top you'll catch your breath and then reap the
rewards on the way down. As you can probably guess, getting this
bike up tho
se never ending climbs was a bit of a struggle at
times. I found that I needed to extend the seat post to its fullest
position for ups and flats and also use the easy to reach lockout
function on the forks to save energy. Do this and on flat sections
the bike copes admirably well and pedal bob is barely noticeable.
You can then lower the seat on the descents to manoeuvre the bike
around underneath you. Once into the decent this bike comes into
its own and you can really push your limits. On any gravity
assisted trail or drop, the XSL Comp has a very solid and
predictable feel which kept me constantly looking for more. If
you're looking for an aggressive trail bike to cover medium
distances and enjoy the down hills then you should certainly
consider the Diamondback XSL Comp.
The Frame
The XSL frame stays the same for 2010 again using
the simple, single pivot suspension design. The main advantage of
this is fewer moving parts than other designs, which means there is
less to go wrong. The pivot on the XSL Comp uses two sealed bearing
units which have been placed in line with the chainline to reduce
undesirable pedal bob. The swingarm's solid CNC'd construction
should also help ensure a long and trouble free life. The seat tube
slot has been cut into the front of the tube to prevent dirt
getting into the quick release area and there are also two bolts
underneath the down tube for attaching a front mudguard.
The Specification
Both suspension units are produced by Rock Shox and
perform well under a variety of riding styles and conditions. The
Monarch 2.1 rear shock manages a good balance between not sapping
too much energy when pedalling and activating at the right time on
rocky, bumpy trails. The Tora 302 Solo up front is also a great
unit and only really felt a little shaky when the going got really
rough or technical. The Quad QHD-1 brakes with 180mm rotors offer
excellent braking power and are adjustable on the fly which is
really useful. The groupset consists mostly of Shimano SLX
components with a Truvativ Firex 3.2 crank which all add to the
reliability of this bike. The neat finishing touches consist of FSA
handlebar and stem, a WTB saddle and lock on grips. Finally the
wheels are a solid combo of Shimano hubs and SunRingle rims with
good all rounder Michelin A/T tyres. This bike uses some good
quality components which helps justify the £1500 price point
and all components chosen are well suited to the bike.
