Wilde Dark Star - Hardtail MTB

Hey Folks,

We’ve got our first production hardtail, the Dark Star, about two weeks away from arriving, so now felt like a great time to talk about what it is and why we made it.

First, let’s get into the very good question of why the heck we made a rigid fork to pair it with when we’re selling completes with suspension forks…

Future Proof Fork - $250

There's nothing that bums us out more than spending energy and resources on making things that don't have lasting value. MTB technology has changed rapidly over the last decade. A bike that you bought five years ago may be considered obsolete by today's geometry and standards. So the hardtail you ride today, will most likely not be your trail bike in a few years. However if you have a rigid fork to pair it with it can still provide considerable value as a transportation, exploration, or bike packing rig. That was the inspiration to create the Future Proof. It is our hope that all purchasers of the Dark Star (or any hardtail really) invest in a rigid fork to ensure its usefulness for years to come. Just look at all the 90's mtb's currently being put back to good use through the ATB craze.

Of note, the Future Proof is longer than most other rigid fork options at 501mm axle to crown. We feel that this pairs better with modern 120/130 hardtails.

Features

• Suspension corrected for 120/130mm frames

• Segmented Construction

• 29 x 2.8” tires

• Three Pack Mounts

• Mid Blade Mount

• Fender and Rack Mounts

Specs

• 501mm Axle To Crown|

• 44mm Rake

• Straight 1 ⅛” Steerer

• Steerer Length

• Boost Spacing

• Weight: 3lbs

The Dark Star

And now the main course, the Dark Star. $1,200 and available to reserve now.

Swoop here: https://www.wildebikes.com/collections/bikes/products/dark-star

The Dark Star is a premium steel hardtail with sliding dropouts. The sliding dropouts are useful for single speed adaptability as well as adjusting your wheelbase / rear triangle length for your terrain and riding style.

The geometry is fun, fast and playful. It is designed to be used with 120 or 130mm travel suspension fork or our Future Proof rigid fork.

As with all that we endeavor to do, we set out to make the best production hardtail we possibly could. To do this we partnered with ORA, the quality of who’s frames are widely celebrated by those of us in the steel bike trade, and who also make our Mean Jean. ORA also has a very unique and special trick up their sleeve, the ability to manufacture custom tubesets in house. This is virtually unheard of, and it’s a ridiculous value add, as we no longer have to rely on stock tubing choices but can literally design and create any butting profile, wall thickness, etc that we want from air hardened, heat treated, seamless tubing.

For instance you’ll notice that the downtube has no gusset near the headtube. This is because it has an internal one. The bottom of the tube is significantly thicker than at the top. By strategically strengthening the tube, we can apply less heat to this critical junction in fabrication. Creating a stronger and more beautiful frameset.

Designer Notes

Modern jargon might call it a "downcountry" bike, but I call it the perfect all around hardtail for our daily off-road life.

It bucks the current hardtail design trend of long wheel bases and super slack head tubes. These things make sense to me on my 150mm travel dual suspension bike, but on a 120-130mm travel hardtail, I feel they miss the plot. I reach for my hardtail for typically two reasons, one it's the most fun on the tight techy singletrack (which we have a lot of around here) or two because I've got some pedaling to do and I want to do it fast and efficiently. Whether it's a big climb, riding to the trails, a local race, or simply a lot of ground to cover that day.

Here then is what I want from my hardtail: I want it to feel fast as soon as I lay into the pedals, to be able to turn on a dime and be super flickable. And I want it to be fun and encourage me to hit all the little jumps and side hits that come my way.

The Dark Star has a 66.5 headtube angle which I feel strikes the perfect balance between descending confidence and slow speed maneuverability. It also has a tall-ish bottom bracket for tight techy rock sections and ease of bunny hopping. It's adjustable dropouts allow the rider to adjust the chainstay length from 425 -440mm so it can be fine tuned to your terrain and riding style.

To me a short travel hardtail is all about immediate gratification, immediate fun from your house or the parking lot and all-terrain utility. It's sharp handling, but not too twitchy. You could race it if you wanted to, but you could also have a heck of a time blasting jumps or even do some bike packing.

- Jeff

Features

• BOSS Premium Steel Super Tubes

• Sliding Dropouts for adjusting wheelbase or single speed operation

• UDH Compatible

• 29x2.6” tire clearance

• Bottle Mounts: two in main triangle on Large and X-Large, one on Small and Medium

• Three Pack Mounts: Under downtube - all sizes

• Top Tube Feed Bag Mount

• Stealth Dropper Routing

Build Packages

We are offering two stock build packages, Shimano Deore, and SRAM GX AXS. Of course we are always able to do custom builds, so just let us know if you want something else.

$3600 Shimano Deore Specifications

• Fox 34 SL Performance 120mm Travel

• Shimano Deore 6100 shifter

• Shimano Deore 6100 derailleur

• Shimano Deore 6100 crankset 170mm

• Shimano Deore 6100, 12 speed, 10-51

• Shimano Deore 6120 4 piston brakes

• Wolf Tooth Performance headset

• Pro Koryak 50mm stem

• Race Face Aeffect 150mm dropper seatpost

• Pro Koryak 30 handlebar

• Stan's Flow S2 wheelset

• WTB Peace Keeper 29 x 2.4 tires

• WTB Volt saddle

• Shimano R66 Rotors 180mm Front / 160mm Rear

$5300 SRAM GX T-Type AXS Specifications

• Rock Shox Pike Select 130mm Travel

• SRAM GX AXS shifter

• SRAM GX AXS T-Type derailleur

• SRAM GX crankset 170mm

• SRAM GX cassette, 12 speed, 10-52

• SRAM Motive Bronze 4 piston brakes

• Wolf Tooth Performance headset

• Thomson X4 50mm stem

• Wolf Tooth Resolve 150mm dropper seatpost

• Thomson Handlebar

• Stan's Flow S2 wheelset

• WTB Peace Keeper 29 x 2.4 tires

• WTB Volt saddle

• SRAM HS2 Rotors 180mm Front / 160mm Rear

• AXS Battery Charger

Hit us up if you have any questions.

Xoxo,

Wilde

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