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| Pros | Disc brakes, frame, price |
| Cons | Saddle, shifters |
| Summary | This bike has everything you could want in a hybrid, including multiple size choices to fit you perfectly and it rides like a dream. |
| Our Rating | 78/100 |
| Manufacturer | Diamondback |
The Insight 2 Complete Hybrid Bike from Diamondback is a sleek, stylish bicycle that offers customization like no other and a wide range incredible features that are typically reserved for more expensive bikes.
It is one of our top picks for hybrid bikes under $1000 – but should you really be spending less than $1000 for a hybrid bike?
The truth is, you can get just as good or even better bike for much less than $1000.
Some people may want to brag to their friends about how much they paid for their hybrid bike but for the more budget conscious of us, saving several hundred dollars on a bike that outperforms those premium ones is even more satisfying.
Luckily, we have been able to find some hybrid bikes for much less than $1000 that outperform just about everything else currently being sold. These are the bikes that look and feel like a high-end machine, without the high-end price tag.
Introducing the DB’s Insight 2 Complete Hybrid Bike
FRAME: Insight 6061-T6 Butted Aluminum Frame Performance Hybrid
BREAKSET: Tektro Aries Mechanical Disc Tabs w/ 160mm Rotors
SHIFTERS: Shimano 21-speed drivetrain
MEASUREMENTS: Not listed
TIRES: Tires Kenda Kwick Trax 16” (SMALL) 18” (MEDIUM) 20” (LARGE) 22” (EXTRA LARGE) 700c road wheels
EXTRA FEATURES: Flat bar cocktail
Diamondback bicycles are always built with amazing quality, but the Diamondback name has become associated with “high price”. In this case however, the price is surprisingly reasonable.
One of the best features of this bike is that it allows you to choose your size, which means that you can get the perfect bike whether you are tall, short or buying one so your children can ride with you.
This is the sequel to the Insight One that was originally released a year ago. It shares many of the same features that the Insight One model has, but Diamondback listened to their customers and implemented a few improvements in the new version.
The Insight line of bikes is a crowd favorite mostly because of how easily they can transition between the trail and the asphalt.
The frame on this bike is the same as the original Insight and the lightweight aluminum makes it stable and durable. The bike is designed for upright riding and is built with high-quality parts from manufacturers like Shimano.
One thing that was changed with this model that is an improvement over the original Insight is the addition of disc brakes.
Disc brakes tend to last longer, and provide more accurate braking when you’re on rough terrain. They are one of those high-end features you typically only find on $$$$+ bikes, but Diamondback found a way to put them onto the Insight 2.
Let’s take a look at the other features that this bike has to offer.
- Durable aluminumalloy frame
- Eyelets installed on the frame in the fork which makes adding front and back fenders or rack very easy
- 21 speed drivetrain from Shimano
- 700c road tires
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what about the results?
What makes the Insight 2 different than many of the other bikes on the market is that it comes from Diamondback and is part of the original Insight bike line. Diamondback has been developing the Insight line for years, and taking feedback from their customers to continue improving the original design.
The features that worked with the original Insight were carried over to the new model, and, when complaints were made, Diamondback looked into the issues and developed new ways to improve them. That is a strategy that’s not being used by most other manufacturers right now, who instead tend to start completely from the ground up, ignoring faults of previous designs.
It’s possible to find the same features that the Insight 2 has in other hybrid bikes, but it isn’t possible to find those same features at the price tag that Diamondback is offering the Insight 2.
Right now, they are, hands down, outperforming their competition while still keeping the price as low as possible. That’s why we’ve picked both the Insight 1, and the Insight 2 as the best hybrid bikes under $1000.
what do customers say
You can tell by the customer reviews that are posted on Amazon that this is one of the best products out there when it comes to hybrid bikes. 100% of the people who purchased this product rated it at four stars or higher and most of them rated it a perfect five stars.
Some of the things that were mentioned by customers who wrote glowing reviews about this bike included how light it was, how easy it was to assemble, and how nice the disc brakes were over the previous Insight model. They also noted how well it transitions between the pavement and dirt / rocks on the mountain trails.
There was almost nothing negative mentioned about this bike.
What to watch out for before buying this bike
There are a couple of things that you should know about this bike specifically.
The first is that even though the disc brakes that come with this bike are great and makes for a much safer ride, they do have to be broken in. You may notice some shuddering or shaking when you first start riding this bike, but it will disappear once the brakes have been broken in. Take it slow for your first few rides, and you’ll quickly get accustomed to the brakes.
You also want to make sure that you take a look at Amazon’s sizing chart before you choose which one of these are going to fit your frame the best. You do have choices between 16 inch, in 18 inch, 20 inch and 22 inch.
buying advice
As far as what sort of buying advice we can give you to get the most value for your money – you really should shop on retailers like Amazon rather than from other bike websites or your local bike shop.
The first reason is that you will save money since Amazon usually has the lowest prices over all of the other online and off-line retailers. The second reason is that Amazon makes it really easy for you to do a return if you have any issues with the bike.
You may not get the same treatment at other stores, and most other retailers will markup the price of the bike to increase their profit margins — which makes the Diamondback name even more expensive.
my recommendation – should you buy insight 2
So, the Insight 2 has some improvements over the original Insight model and we think you are really going to like the features that this bike has including disc brakes, a lightweight aluminum frame, 21 speed drivetrain made by Shimano and a whole lot more. This is especially true if you’ve ridden the Insight 1 — you’ll notice the changes, immediately.
This makes it really easy to recommend this bike to just about anyone, big, tall, short, and small — man, woman, or child.
The quality is top-notch and the price makes you feel like you’re purchasing a budget bike instead of a premium one.
The Diamondback Insight 2 has everything you could want including multiple size choices to fit you perfectly and it rides like a dream. We have no problem recommending that you get one of the new Insight 2 models.
