Wilde Moto Cruiser — 26in MTB Frameset, Fork & Bar Bundle, Purple Pizazz

Wilde Moto Cruiser — a three-bar looptail klunker, built for no reason other than fun

Some bikes are solutions to problems. This one is not. The Moto Cruiser exists because a three-bar frame, a looptail rear end and 26in wheels do something to a certain kind of person, and Wilde decided to stop resisting it. It is a bike for errands, pump track laps, local singletrack, questionable stunts and aimless evening wandering. A simple bike for bike people.

What makes it more than nostalgia is what Wilde did underneath the silhouette. The geometry is modern and deliberately playful — low bottom bracket, short 411 mm chainstays, a 69 degree head angle and generous reach. There is stealth dropper post routing through the seat tube. There are three-pack mounts under the down tube. It looks like 1982 and rides like something drawn this decade.

Sold as a bundle, because the bar is the bike

Wilde sells the Moto Cruiser as frame, fork and handlebar together, and they are right to. The 830 mm bar with 90 mm of rise and 15 degrees of back sweep is not an accessory here — it sets the riding position that makes the whole thing work. Upright, hands wide, weight back, elbows out. Fitted with a narrower or flatter bar it becomes a different and considerably less interesting bicycle. Buying the three together also costs less than buying the bar separately.

Built from whatever you already have

This is the rare modern frameset designed around old parts rather than new ones. Rim brakes on canti studs. 26in wheels, quick release or bolt-on, 135 mm rear and 100 mm front. A 73 mm English threaded bottom bracket shell. Horizontal dropouts that take a derailleur or run single speed. Every one of those choices points at the same thing: the box of parts in your basement, the co-op bin, the second-hand listing nobody else wants. Decades of used componentry suddenly has somewhere to go.

Frame specifications

• Material: butted 4130 chromoly steel, Wilde Double Tuff tubeset
• Silhouette: classic three-bar with looptail rear end
• Tyre clearance: up to 26 x 2.5in
• Headset: EC34/34
• Bottom bracket: 73 mm English threaded shell
• Brake type: canti studs — cantilever or V-brake
• Rear spacing: 135 mm
• Dropouts: horizontal, derailleur capable
• Seatpost: 31.6 mm, stealth dropper routing
• Seat collar: 35.0 mm
• Cable routing: modular guides under the down tube
• Mounts: bottle mount on down tube, three-pack mounts under down tube

Fork specifications

• Material: chromoly steel
• Axle to crown: 420 mm, suspension corrected for an 80 mm fork
• Rake (offset): 42 mm
• Steerer: 1 1/8in straight
• Hub spacing: 100 mm
• Brake type: canti studs
• Tyre clearance: 26 x 2.5in
• Mounts: mid-blade rack mount

Handlebar specifications

• Material: 100% butted 4130 chromoly steel
• Width: 830 mm
• Rise: 90 mm
• Back sweep: 15 degrees
• Up sweep: 7 degrees
• Clamp diameter: 22.2 mm

Geometry

Figures in millimetres unless stated, measured with a 26 x 2.3in tyre.

Finish and tubing

Phosphate dipped and E.D. coated before paint, then finished in wet paint — the corrosion protection matters on a frame likely to be ridden through winter and left outside a bar. The colour is Purple Pizazz, supplied in the Purple / Chrome bundle configuration.

Wilde are direct about the tubing: this is the same quality butted 4130 chromoly used on their TLC frames, but it is neither light nor especially compliant. It is robust and fairly stiff, because it is a full-strength mountain bike frame and that is what the use case asks for.

What is included

Frame, fork and handlebar. Headset, bottom bracket, seat collar, seatpost, wheels, drivetrain, brakes and stem are sold separately — which is rather the point.

Both parts are also available on their own: the Moto Cruiser fork and the Moto Cruiser bar, each in black or chrome. Worth knowing if you would rather run black at the front than the chrome supplied in this bundle, or if you want a spare of either.

Frequently asked questions

Which size should I take?
Wilde quote roughly 160–170 cm for Small, 173–180 cm for Medium, 180–188 cm for Large and 185–193 cm for X-Large. The sizes overlap deliberately: this frame has a low standover across the range, so the decision is usually about reach and how upright you want to sit rather than about clearing the top tube. If you are between two sizes and want the bike to feel playful, take the smaller. Tell us your height and inseam and we will give you a straight answer.

Can I fit disc brakes?
No. There are canti studs on the frame and fork and no disc mounts anywhere, and there is no safe way to add them. Cantilever or V-brakes only. On a bike this size, with tyres this fat, well set-up V-brakes are more than adequate.

Will my old 26in wheels work?
Almost certainly. The frame is 135 mm rear, the fork 100 mm front, both quick release or bolt-on, and there is room for anything up to 26 x 2.5in. That covers essentially every rim-brake mountain bike wheelset built between the mid eighties and the mid two-thousands. Check the rims are in usable condition for braking surfaces, since they are doing the stopping.

Geared or single speed?
Either. The horizontal dropouts take a derailleur and hanger, or tension a single speed chain without a tensioner. The modular cable guides under the down tube can be removed entirely for a clean single speed build.

Can I run a dropper post?
Yes, and it is worth doing. The seat tube is routed internally for a stealth dropper in 31.6 mm, which is unusual on a frame with this silhouette and one of the details that separates it from an actual eighties klunker.

Where is it made, and who designed it?
Designed by Wilde Bicycle Co. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and manufactured in Taiwan. The name is a nod to Sweetheart Cycles, who built a Moto Cruiser in the early eighties and later changed their name to Yeti Cycles.

Can you build it up for me?
Yes. Our workshop at L'Hirondelle Bike Shop in Meppel builds framesets to order — headset pressing, steerer cutting, wheel building, canti and V-brake setup, dropper routing. Bring us your box of parts and we will tell you honestly what is usable and what is not, or we can source a complete build to your budget. Contact us before ordering if you want the bike delivered ready to ride.