Ride report 2017: Diamant 132 - Road bike from Saxony: Diamant 132 in practice check

What a beautiful bike, was the unanimous opinion of the editorial team when a press release from the traditional Saxon brand Diamant about the "Collection Bike 132" arrived in early February. The older colleagues immediately thought of the so-called half-racers that were en vogue at the end of the 1970s: Everyday bikes with mudguards, pannier rack and lights, on which curved racing handlebars were mounted. The unanimous opinion was that we should show our readers a modern city and touring bike like the 132, which takes up the idea of these half-racers and is reminiscent of classic racing bikes.

The 132 is a favourite not only in photos, but also in the flesh. The elegant frame is welded from slender steel tubes and has a number of attractive, practical details. A reinforcement plate stabilises the transition between the head tube and down tube, filigree dropouts accommodate classically spoked wheels. The lovingly crafted seat post clamp stands out pleasantly from the cheap aluminium clamps that are often installed here. Like the chain guard, the mudguards on the 132 are made of real sheet aluminium and painted in the same warm burgundy red as the frame. Despite its retro look, the bike is equipped with top modern features. The excellent hydraulic disc brakes from TRP and the lighting system with hub dynamo and powerful LED headlight would never have been dreamed of in the 1970s.

Seating position for professionals

However, the seat test puts a damper on the anticipation of the first ride. The size 56 test bike, suitable for riders around 1.80 metres, has a 570 millimetre long top tube. This is sporty, especially for a bike that is more suitable for everyday use than as a sports bike. However, the real problem with the 132 is not the long frame, but the handlebar/stem combination. The bike comes from the factory with a 110 millimetre stem, which - because the handlebars are extremely bent forward - puts the brake levers almost out of reach for normally proportioned riders. The resulting riding position would be worthy of a professional cyclist. We fitted a 90-millimetre stem and still found the brake lever position to be very long for city riding. There are also a few small details, such as the carelessly made light cabling, which spoil the predominantly good impression of workmanship.

Nevertheless, the 132 could be fun with a different handlebar. Once you've got the 14.7 kilos, of which 5.5 kilos are accounted for by the wheels, rolling, the bike is a little sluggish but good-natured. However, it shouldn't get too steep, because the narrow gear range of the eight-speed gear system, which is controlled by a handlebar limit switch, puts an early limit on riding fun on climbs. In addition to a wider range of gears, we would also like to see different tyres. The heavy Schwalbe tyres with the iconic 70s lettering look great, but their puncture protection is no longer up to date. We had a puncture after just 60 kilometres on roads littered with grit. On closer inspection during the repair, we noticed that the tyres were riddled with small shards and cuts after just a few kilometres.

Small wish list

The practical test of the 132 therefore revealed some shadows. However, not much would actually need to be changed for the bike to fulfil the expectations raised by its successful appearance. If the 132 were to get a successor, a different handlebar would be at the top of the wish list. It could be a curved one again.

TECHNICAL DATA:

Price 1,299 Euro
Weight of complete wheel 14.7 kilos

Frame sizes** 50, 54, 56, 58 cm
Seat/top tube/head tube 560/570/155 mm
Stack/Reach/STR 596/388/1,54

Equipment
Bottom bracket 42 Z., BSA
Brakes TRP Hylex (160/160 mm)
Circuit Shimano 8-speed
Wheels/hubs Shimano, front hub dynamo 3D-72
Rims Vuelta Cut 19
Tyres Schwalbe Century 37 mm
Lighting Supernova E3, Spanninga rear light

*Manufacturer's specification, test size bold

On moving 132 years of company history Diamant can look back on 2017. This makes the company from Hartmannsdorf near Chemnitz in Saxony the oldest bicycle manufacturer still in production in Germany. As one of the few GDR brands, Diamant even survived the phase of actually existing socialism. The fact that the brand still enjoys a legendary reputation in parts of the cycling world today is not least due to the successes of Täve Schur, who became amateur world champion on a Diamant in 1958 and 1959. So it's no wonder that a buyer was found shortly after the fall of communism: the Swiss manufacturer Villiger, who brought the brand with the beautiful name into the era of the market economy. However, the change of system also led to Villiger and thus Diamant being swallowed up by Trek in 1997. Since then, Diamant has been a German brand under US management, although it continues to assemble its bikes in Hartmannsdorf. Within Trek's huge portfolio, Diamant today mainly produces high-quality trekking bikes, everyday bikes and e-bikes for Central European markets.