We’re going back to 2016 for this ‘vintage’ edition of Bike at Bedtime, and a contraption that was proclaimed the fastest bike in the world when it launched. The Diamondback Andean (yep Diamondback, best known for sensible and affordable leisure bikes) could be mistaken for a concept bike with its radical MotoGP-style frame, but it went on sale to the public.
The launch price was $8,069 (around £6,630 today) for a full bike with Shimano Dura-Ace shifting and disc brakes, which was expensive but not completely outrageous, and if anything rather reasonable compared to other triathlon superbikes of recent years. The equally radical Cervelo P5X beam-style tri bike, for example, launched with a whopping £13,500 price tag for the top-of-the-range version in 2016.
The Andean left us a bit stunned at the time because Diamondback wasn’t exactly associated with high-end or innovation by the 2000s. Although the name is a
