Longing to be in the saddle on those postcard perfect days is something that as cyclists, we all dream about. Think backcountry excursions with high alpine single-track that spirals down in ribbons of brown dirt through meadows of mountain flowers. Wanna ride? The 2012 Sortie can take you there. A balanced and featherweight 5 inch ride equipped with just the right geometry make this the go-to XC/trail machine for those long rides we long for. 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. The Sortie Black frame is a perfect example of this. Made from 6061-T6 Weapons Grade Aluminum, the Sortie Black frame features a tapered head tube, a hydroformed top tube, butted and formed down tubes and seatstays, an under arch seatstay bridge, a 142×12mm E-Thru Axle drop out, and oh yeah… our legendary Knuckle Box 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 is also one of the most significant aspects of a suspension system. Wheel-rate is the effective spring-rate when measured at the wheel. A benefit of our four-bar linkage is increased control over the wheel-rate. Obtaining the spring-rate curves in shocks from Fox is necessary to allowing us to determine the wheel-rate.