The Diamondback Sortie series is the quintessential trail bike. Responsive enough for challenging epic trail rides or those all day XC grinders, the Sortie dominates the singletrack. The Sortie is designed to strike a balance of agility and stability. It rides well at all speeds and is as nimble climbing up the mountain as it is stable descending.
Years of product testing and refinement have gone into the Sortie’s platform. For 2013 we’ve continued to tinker with the rear triangle, making it stronger and stiffer than ever before. Put simply, the Sortie is a bike that’ll make you feel like you are cheating.
Diamondback’s Design Philosophy is a no-nonsense approach to building quality bicycles. We want our bike designs to be straightforward: their hardware accessible and their suspension simple.
2013 Sortie frames are created from 6061-T6 Weapons Grade Aluminum and feature a hydroformed top tube, a butted and formed downtube and seatstays, an under arch seatstay bridge, a tapered headtube, a standard 9×135mm vertical drop out, and Diamondback’s legendary Knuckle Box Suspension technology.
The Knuckle Box, or bell crank, is the core of our single-pivot four-bar suspension platform. Optimally placed pivots equate to a low leverage ratio, and ultimately to superior pedaling efficiency and small-bump compliance. This also allows the shock to work more efficiently and reduces pedal induced motion. It also reduces overall load on the system which will lead to improved shock and bearing life.
Placing the Knuckle Box low within the frame, situates the greatest weight of the bike closer to the bottom bracket, which lowers the bike’s center of gravity and allows it to better track and corner.
Wheel-rate, the effective spring-rate when measured at the wheel, is one of the most significant aspects of a suspension system. A benefit of our four-bar linkage is increased control over the wheel-rate. Obtaining the spring-rate curves in a shock allows us to determine the wheel-rate. We’re then able to optimize the wheel-rate to be linear-to-slightly progressive. This results in superb small-bump compliance, more perceived travel and excellent bottom-out protection. For this application we’ve chosen to run a Rock Shox Monarch R 200×57mm Air Shock with external rebound adjust – keeping things simple and effective.
Component wise, the Sortie continues to be a high performance machine, weaving in a more cost effective component package. Starting with a Rock Shox XC 32 120mm travel coil sprung fork , with turnkey lockout, external rebound damping, preload adjust and a standard 9mm quick release axle.
Shimano adds value and performance with an Alivio/SLX drivetrain. Alivio 9spd Hollowtech crank set shifters and front derailleur combine with a SLX SGS Shadow type rear derailleur, a KMC Z99 chain to transfer power to the ground. 
Shimano brings the stopping power with a set of M395 hydraulic disc brakes.
A DB AL6061 aluminum and DB Lazer Series 31.8mm low rise bar comprise the cockpit while a WTB Vigo seat provides a style and comfort atop a Diamondback Lazer Series Micro Adjust 31.6mm post for those all day spins.
Last but not least we’ve finished off the Sortie with a set of 32h SL-6 Doublewall Disc rims laced to alloy disc hubs and mounted with Kenda Slant 6 tires.
Knuckle Box Frame Characteristics:
Single-Sided Hardware – Single-sided oversized heat treated hardware is used for the three main pivot points allows for easy access to your 14 high-quality Enduro Max bearings simply with standard tools. No more removing the crankset to tighten or service your pivots.
Partnership w/ Fox – By providing suspension kinematics early in our design process, Fox is able to custom tune their shock to work precisely with our frames, improving performance.
Knucklebox Technology
LOW AND TIGHT – The Knuckle Box platform was designed specifically to be low and tight:
- Low center of gravity: All suspension parts are positioned farther down on the frame for a stable and balanced ride.
- Low leverage suspension design: Lower air pressure results in longer shock life, less frame loading and better pedaling.
- Tight, compact linkage system of the Knuckle Box bell crank isolates and cradles the rear shock.
- Tight and large anodized aluminum hardware, matched with Force-Rated Enduro Max Bearings: Withstands higher loads and better handles oscillating motion.
The 2013 Sortie comes in SM (15.5"), MD (17"), LG (19"), XL (21") sizes and is in color. If you are on the hunt for the most nimble and aggressive Trail/XC bike on the market… look no further. The Sortie is the perfect full suspension trail machine for the rider serious about ride and value.