The Wildwood:

1996 diamondback wildwood custom klunker commuter

This bike is my magnum opus.
It is my “main bike.” The one I use to commute to class, go on rides with friends, pick up something small from the shop. It can go almost anywhere at decent speeds, with no suspension but larger tires and a tough chromoly frame. It started life as a 1998 Diamondback Wildwood, but is now far from stock. It sports a sleazily fabricated front fork to mount a disc brake on the front and a coaster brake for single speed simplicity on the rear. This bike changes with the seasons and with me. Snow, sunshine, or just the need to pedal from my fears, this bike has me covered.

current state:

Coming back from my wrist injury, not much changed. The front tire changed back, and the handlebars as well. I actually used a slight wider version of the same Bontrager crowbar riser bars, and ergo grips because coming back after a broken wrist the old riser bars and grips just felt kind of off. This feeling continued to my other bikes and similar handlebar changes were made to my delivery and mountain bike.

past state(s):

broken wrist mode

A the start of this fall semester I broke my wrist from fall delivering for Jimmy John’s. However, I still needed to get around, so modified the wildwood to suite my needs for my recovery period. Changes include:

Large cruiser bars for easy one-hand control.
Front brake lever moved to right side (my good side)
Raised stem to lessen pressure when left hand must be used.
Larger-volume front tire to absorb bumps and lessen jolts to handlebars.
Upright seating position to encourage more laid-back riding

This setup served its purpose very well, and I actually really enjoyed the laid back feel the new bars gave this old bike. It made it a lot of fun just to cruise down streets, but I was still capabale of going fast and off-road here and there.

spring/summer 2020:

This was the second real iteration of this bike. With spring came a new, much less knobby pair of tires and some new handle bars. The biggest new addition was the front fork. I took apart two different suspension forks with 1″ steerer tubes, took the springs out, and slammed them together, just so I could have front disc brakes on a rigid fork. Its a quite heavy and janky addition, but the reliable and strong stopping power is worth it. Winter’s rear fender was kept, as I had quickly seen the value of a dry butt. The new handlebars, slicker and slimmer tires, and eventual new stem made this iteration feel a lot more sporty while keeping the reliable heft and solid construction from the first iteration

winter 2020:

New year, new me as they say. The introduction of this bike meant that my old commuter I had built from scrap as a freshmen and I had ridden through many miles and eight seasons was gone. This bike, at least at this stage, was very similar to the old one. Strong, steel frame with 90’s geometry, bigger than average 26″ tires, front rim brakes, rigid fork, and flat bars. High gear ratio, one speed, and a coaster brake for reliable and childlike rear braking rounded out the similarities.
However, there was a lot new too. The wheels were fresh picked, the frame was a lighter and stiffer chromoly steel, and it had extra long cranks to get all the power I could out of one gear. There was also a new stem and more slang back handle bars, for a more sturdy ride. Specifically for winter, I installed a rear fender and matching knobby tires to combat the slushy and slick Indiana winter. This made this bike a great winter beater, however it did feel a little sluggish.