Looking for the best hybrid bike for beginners that’s made specifically for women? If yes, try the adventure-loving Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike. It’s equally at home on paved roads and off-road trails.
Now, let’s take a closer look at this hybrid bike for females from Diamondback. Read on to learn about its features and specifications, as well as its pros and cons.
Table of Contents
Features and Specifications
Rugged, Female-Specific Frame
The Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike features a sleek gray finish, so it matches almost everything in your closet. It’s built on aluminum alloy (6061-T6) butted frame with forged dropouts for superior durability while keeping the weight low.
Diamondback ensures you enjoy a comfortable, injury-free ride after ride. They designed the frame to keep you upright to prevent your neck and back from getting sore, while the riser handlebars reduce your reach for better bike control, easier breathing, and better balance and position.
Multiple Gear Options
The Calico St Women’s is equipped with a 21-speed Shimano 3×7-speed drivetrain (commonly found in entry-level bikes) and Shimano Revo grip shifter. This means it’s easier and faster for you to pedal your way through various terrains, while the alloy linear pull brakes with adjustable reach provide the stopping power you need.
Dual Sport Tires
The Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike features 700x40C dual sport tires that provide great traction and a smooth ride on bike paths, city streets, and other smooth roads. The tires are attached to 28-inch, double wall wheels with 32h spoke count for extra durability and lateral stiffness. Also, the bike is fitted with high-tensile, straight-blade steel fork for more solid handling.
Technical Details
- Rider height: 5’3” to 5’9”
- Bike weight: 41.9 pounds
- Size: 14, 16, 18, and 20 inches
- Diamondback dual density comfort grips
- Forged steel crank with chainguard
- DB Dual Sport Series seat
- Strong and lightweight 27.2mm Micro Adjust (DB Laser Series) seatpost
- Shimano TZ31 Freewheel 7 Speed (14-34 teeth) cogset for climbing up those difficult hills
- DB Laser Series Micro Adjust seatpost with 27.2mm diameter
- Stem: DB 3D forged, with a rise of +/- 7 degrees angle between the handlebar clamp and steerer tube (connects the fork to the handlebars through a stem)
The Good
Simple to Put Together
It’s not difficult to assemble the Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike at all. Diamondback designed this hybrid bike in a way that even novice bike riders would spend less time putting it together.
There are only a few parts you need to assemble out of the box: the pedals, seat, and front wheel. The gears and brakes are already adjusted. Just inflate the tires and the bike’s ready for use.
Solidly Built for the Price
The frame tubing is butted and made from aluminum alloy for corrosion resistance and strength near the joints. The dropouts and cranks are forged, so they’re more flexible and less prone to cracking. The rims are double walled for extra strength.
Smooth Ride, Powerful Stopping
The Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is a hybrid bike, not a mountain bike. It’s great for paved roads, trails without obstacles, and moderately steep hills. But if you expect to ride on rough, inclined roads, the Diamondback Bicycles Trace Dual Sport Bike is faster and has better traction than this bike.
Whether you’re looking for a women’s hybrid bike for on-road and off-road paths, the Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is for you.
The Bad
Designed for a Female Rider
This hybrid bike is perfect for women who are at least 5’3”, depending on the size you choose. If you’re a guy, the good news is Diamondback has other unisex and men’s hybrid bikes that you could choose from, such as the Diamondback Bicycles Trace St Dual Sport Bike.
A Bit Heavy
The Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is a little heavy to carry up a flight of stairs or load into your car trunk. It weighs 41.9 pounds, about the same weight as a female bulldog.
Not that being a heavy bike is a bad thing. It has its advantages. If you want a lighter bike, the Diamondback Bicycles Insight 2 Complete Hybrid Bike might meet your requirements.
Safety Issues
The tires easily go flat and the rear brakes came apart after a few uses, according to one customer. We’d like to think this this is just an isolated case because only one person complained about this, but it’s still worth noting.
Who Is It For?
The Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is for people who want a woman-specific hybrid bike for riding around the city or on bike trails. With its 21-speed drivetrain, shifter, and derailleur, it’s great for areas with light to moderate hills and inclined roads.
You’ll have to be at least 5’3” to ride this. If you’re shorter than that, you won’t find this comfortable to ride, and you’ll encounter some safety issues.
Conclusion
Although the Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is a mix of a mountain bike and a road bike, it’s still not fit for people living in mountainous regions or areas with roads in extremely bad condition.
The Diamondback Calico St Women’s has a few entry-level components, so you might need to adjust, repair, or replace some of them after a few uses. But overall, it serves the durability you want.
It could use a few accessories for safe riding (e.g., bell and headlight) and carrying your stuff (e.g., rear rack and front basket). Most hybrid bikes don’t have these, so this is not really a major issue.
Despite a few issues, the Diamondback Calico St Women’s hybrid bike is still worth the consideration.
Perfectly combining the efficiency of a road bike and the comfort of a mountain bike, the Diamondback Bicycles Calico St Women’s Dual Sport Bike is a great choice to take you anywhere.