# 1993 Diamondback Overdrive Comp



## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Well, I finally found one of these and it's on its way to me. All I have now are the seller's photos, but I'll post more as the project progresses.

Key items:
Avenir (in-house DB) 700C rims by Sun
Panaracer Smokes
Almost full Suntour XC Pro
Tioga Revolver cranks - need paint
987 cantis
XT platform pedals

I'm going to put CX tires on it and use this as the neighborhood/greenway bike.

<EDIT> Oops, tubing is TT OX - didn't mean to leave that out.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Interesting....normally one would overlook such a bike. Someone tricked it out with decent parts! Nice.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Nice. A 29er before 29ers were cool.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

laffeaux said:


> Nice. A 29er before 29ers were cool.


29ers are cool


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## djmuff (Sep 8, 2004)

Me = very jealous.

I've been wanting one of these for a while, and they are not easy to find. I can seem to find almost everything BUT one of these old Diamond Backs. Nice ride, can't wait to see new pics.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

i like the zoom stem in ti finish. i know it's not the right bling but it brings me memories.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

hollister said:


> 29ers are cool


 29er bikes don't svck.. it's the 29er people that do.


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## banks (Feb 2, 2004)

I have none that is all OE: Deore stuff. Hard to find bike, good score!


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Thanks for all the comments. It feels good to get another project after a year off, well, except building up the El Santo late last yr.

This one is actually all stock except for the bar and the cranks (came with XC Pro cranks). This is my first 29er, so I'm interested to see how it rides...


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

colker1 said:


> 29er bikes don't svck.. it's the 29er people that do.


They're a bit narrow minded to say the least.


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

*wish it wuz mine!*

cool 29er!!!:thumbsup: 
i know this is a crappy pic (i'll try and get a better one soon),it's a 80's-90's (?) db outlook frame i picked up.know anything about these?


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## djmuff (Sep 8, 2004)

longhaultrucker said:


> cool 29er!!!:thumbsup:
> i know this is a crappy pic (i'll try and get a better one soon),it's a 80's-90's (?) db outlook frame i picked up.know anything about these?


Those are the absolute bottom-of-the-line Diamond Back mountain bikes. About one or two steps up from a Huffy, because the frame is actually welded, and the parts are a little better. I can't remember if the front wheel is a QR or not, but the rear is definitely bolt-on. It's a heavy bike, and seeing as though the fork is already bent, I'd donate it to the gods of sanitation. Or cut off the front and use the rear triangle for a stool.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

longhaultrucker said:


> cool 29er!!!:thumbsup:
> i know this is a crappy pic (i'll try and get a better one soon),it's a 80's-90's (?) db outlook frame i picked up.know anything about these?


I don't know much about them, but that one looks like a winner. :|


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## ~martini~ (Dec 20, 2003)

Been there before....I bought this one two years back or so. It was in great shape, full Deore DX as well. I sold it shortly after buying since the wife didn't want another bike for her to be floating around. The way I measured it out, it was the same size as her beloved Bonty. I changed the bars to something nicer(wider), added a new stem and cranks. Oh, and tires. I put more street freindly tires on it. Now I wish we still had it. Oh well. As you can see, I fit a pair of the Conti Vapor 28X2.1 tires on it. Those tires actually measure out closer to 1.9. So if you want to take it off roading, with somewhat nice tires, those are your best bet. The new Bonty 1.8's would fit real well too!

oh, and the 29"er comments? like you guys should talk! :skep: 

I'm still on the look out for a Bianchi Project 7. An even rarer bird.


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## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

*that's what i wuz thinkin...*



djmuff said:


> Those are the absolute bottom-of-the-line Diamond Back mountain bikes. About one or two steps up from a Huffy, because the frame is actually welded, and the parts are a little better. I can't remember if the front wheel is a QR or not, but the rear is definitely bolt-on. It's a heavy bike, and seeing as though the fork is already bent, I'd donate it to the gods of sanitation. Or cut off the front and use the rear triangle for a stool.


yep,it's way heavy,and the fork's toast.i literally picked it up fer free...i noticed it sittin w/ grass growin around it at a rental property for a month as i went on our weekly group ride,so i finally stopped and asked the neighbor (who turned out to be the owner of the vacant property),who said a previous tenant left it,and she'd been meanin to get around to haulin if off if i wanted it.

well,don't guess i'll start lookin fer cool vintage parts (i do have a better fork that'll fit),but as parts come and go,i guess it'll eventually be a vintage SS.thanx to both guys who answered,it's appreciated:cornut:


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

~martini~ said:


> I'm still on the look out for a Bianchi Project 7. An even rarer bird.


Yeah, no joke. I sat on the fence about buying one when we were selling them and just couldn't justify it at the time. Now I kick myself. I would LOVE to have one and one of the Bianchi Axis from a year or so earlier.


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## el-cid (May 21, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> They're a bit narrow minded to say the least.


That's a pretty narrow-minded generalization:ciappa: .


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Okay, so I was riding the Overdrive the other day and the "open top" Zoom stem is bothering me! Does anyone happen to have a cap for this stem lying around (see photos in thread above)? If not, I may have to get creative...maybe a wood cap? :thumbsup:


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

cegrover said:


> Okay, so I was riding the Overdrive the other day and the "open top" Zoom stem is bothering me! Does anyone happen to have a cap for this stem lying around (see photos in thread above)? If not, I may have to get creative...maybe a wood cap? :thumbsup:


I feel your pain. I have a missing cap for one of my Zoom stems too. They're hard to come by.


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## alexk (Sep 30, 2005)

cegrover said:


> Okay, so I was riding the Overdrive the other day and the "open top" Zoom stem is bothering me! Does anyone happen to have a cap for this stem lying around (see photos in thread above)? If not, I may have to get creative...maybe a wood cap? :thumbsup:


I would have to check my parts draw but I may have a spare Zoom stem sitting in there, complete with rubber top cap as I found the rise too high when I bought my DB Axis in 1993. I changed it over for a zero rise 135mm Answer ATAC stem which I also have sitting in the parts draw. The only problem is that I'm away from all my bike stuff for another two weeks (approx.) and I'm also in Australia but if no other offers come up I'm happy to help you out.

_EDIT: additional info_

Just a suggestion, but as an interim measure could you try cutting down a champagne bottle cork to see if it fits where the rubber cap is supposed to be.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

what's the seatpost diameter on that DB Overdrive ?


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Speaking of Overdrives...

It's back. 
http://www.diamondback.com/items.asp?deptid=14&itemid=304


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## gm1230126 (Nov 4, 2005)

Rumpfy said:


> Interesting....normally one would overlook such a bike. Someone tricked it out with decent parts! Nice.


As USUAL. Bah humbug! We didn't expect anything better than that from you Rumpfy. "Someone" didn't just trick it out with "decent" parts. The only parts on the bike that aren't
original are the handlebar and the crank set. If you consider a crank change from XC Pro MD to Tioga Revolver and switching a handlebar from Brahma to 3t flat bar tricking out a bike???....... you've bumped your head.

Original Specs:
http://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/S...nd=Diamondback&Model=Overdrive+Comp&Year=1993


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## ~martini~ (Dec 20, 2003)

IIRC, mine was a 27.2. Or a 27.0. Definitely not skinnier though.


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

Just chime in here between the difference between the Overdrive and Overdrive Comp.
Overdrive was True Temper AVR tubing and Shimano Deore DX parts
Overdrive Comp was True Temper OX II tubing and Suntour XC Pro kit
I owned 2 Comps as my heavy mileage beater bikes when they couldn't sell them and I was wrenching for a DB dealer in '92-'93ish. I sold one maybe 10 years ago and gave the second to a friend last year because it just wouldn't die.
best,
MonkeyB


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## gm1230126 (Nov 4, 2005)

'93 Overdrive specs:
http://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/Step4.asp?Brand=Diamondback&Model=Overdrive&Year=1993
'93 Overdrive Comp specs:
http://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/S...nd=Diamondback&Model=Overdrive+Comp&Year=1993


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

themanmonkey said:


> I owned 2 Comps as my heavy mileage beater bikes when they couldn't sell them and I was wrenching for a DB dealer in '92-'93ish.


I tired to test ride one at a shop in DC back when they were new. The salesman talked me out of it before I ever sat on the bike. The inability to sell them might have been partially due to an unenthusiastic sales force.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Just as an update, one happened to come up on Ebay; so I'm set now!

DeeEight, I'll check on the seat post when I have a chance...I'm thinking it's 27.2, but I'm not 100% sure.


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

laffeaux said:


> I tired to test ride one at a shop in DC back when they were new. The salesman talked me out of it before I ever sat on the bike. The inability to sell them might have been partially due to an unenthusiastic sales force.


Absolutely, they were a real tough sell. The tire selection was really poor for off-road use in general and few sales folks could differentiate between them and the "hybrid" bikes that were just starting to take off. The shop I was working in was also a Bianchi shop and we had the whole Project series in too. A lot of rodies would buy the Project-7 as a high end beater bike. We also sold Bridgestone and the now legendary XO-1 would gather dust just like the Overdrives.

As many have said, 'if we only knew then what we know now.'
best,
MonkeyB


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

themanmonkey said:


> Absolutely, they were a real tough sell. The tire selection was really poor for off-road use in general and few sales folks could differentiate between them and the "hybrid" bikes that were just starting to take off.


Yeah that was my case. I walked into the shop to test ride the Diamondback and before I rode it, the salesman said something like, "it's a hybrid bike, not a real mountain bike." I ended up testing another bike that they had, and buying a different bike at a different shop.

I don't know if I would have liked it or not at the time, but the sales guy really didn't seem to care about selling them. I was happy with the bike that I ended up with (although the shop wasn't my favorite), so i was likely okay in the end.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

DeeEight said:


> what's the seatpost diameter on that DB Overdrive ?


DOH! I forgot for a very long time, but I was messing with/cleaning up the Overdrive yesterday and remembered to take a look. It's a 26.8mm post...


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## socalkev (Dec 19, 2011)

yeah my Uncle had an overdrive that lucky bastard bought the last one so i got ascent ex DB at the LBS this was when DB was like trek Bike Shop Specific God how i miss those days They Still do Bike shops but its alot harder getting one now than back then


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

Heykevitbereallyniceifyouusedpunctation.



socalkev said:


> yeah my Uncle had an overdrive that lucky bastard bought the last one so i got ascent ex DB at the LBS this was when DB was like trek Bike Shop Specific God how i miss those days They Still do Bike shops but its alot harder getting one now than back then


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

Dave Wiens raced one back in the day. There was one here locally in the SD area, but I passed. 

I've always liked DB. I have a DBR Vertex AL that's a rider, and a Axis frame/fork with OX sitting in the garage. Oh yeah, and the frame left over from the Arrival I parted out.....


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

I'm all about resurrecting ancient threads! :thumbsup:

The Overdrive has been called up for Wee Ride duty! Our first ride was today (around the 'hood) and our daughter loved it!


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## Scoutergtg (Feb 20, 2014)

I just read the entire thread and like the way you wrapped it up. Perhaps someday she"ll be on the trails with your Overdrive. ;-)


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## Greasyhand (Jun 14, 2021)

cegrover said:


> Well, I finally found one of these and it's on its way to me. All I have now are the seller's photos, but I'll post more as the project progresses.
> 
> Key items:
> Avenir (in-house DB) 700C rims by Sun
> ...


Hi may I know what's the seatpost clamp diameter?


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Greasyhand said:


> Hi may I know what's the seatpost clamp diameter?


I don't have the bike here, but I know the post diameter is 26.8mm. The Overdrive is with family in another state, so I may be able to get a measurement...


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## Greasyhand (Jun 14, 2021)

cegrover said:


> I don't have the bike here, but I know the post diameter is 26.8mm. The Overdrive is with family in another state, so I may be able to get a measurement...


 Yes the post diameter is 26.8. I need to know the seat tube diameter for the seat collar.


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