Diamondback Wildwood Build

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A

AZMotorbiker

New Member
May 20, 2010
29
0
0
Chandler, Arizona


Hey gang, as promised, here's a pic of my new pride and joy.

The bike started out as a 15+ year old Diamondback Wildwood mountain bike. I don't think they make this model anymore - I looked online and the bike they call a "wildwood" now looks nothing like this bike. It's a real shame because the motor fit it so well it was like they were built to go together. So if you happen across one at a goodwill or something, they make great MB's and you can probably get one for cheap.

It has foam tubes instead of air filled, and no shocks so the ride's pretty rough, and she likes to skitter around a bit on bumps because of the hard tires. Not too bad overall though - I wasn't beat up too badly after a 2 hour ride, so it's more comfortable than I thought it would be. No fenders yet - I'll be adding those soon. The lights and speedo are what you'd typically find at Walmart in the bike section. Nothing fancy but they work. No one crashed into me today. ;)

The motor is a Grubee 66cc Starfire 2 stroke. Good little motor, but the instructions weren't all that great. Having my dad on hand was the difference between a successful build versus a $185+
paperweight.

If I had it to do over, I'd have gotten black zip ties instead of white ones, but with this build I was more interested in function than form. My son's OCC Stingray will be the one we take the time on to make pretty.

Thanks for looking.
-AZ

usflg
 

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C

city of angels

New Member
May 24, 2009
470
0
0
tucson az
nice built the reason why i you have such of a hard is because your solid tires change the tires (tubes) and you wont have such a rough ride trust me i had them on my first built i would not recomend them we had to cut them with a hack saw if you really want a bullet proof set up go with keplar tires, slime inside liner , and slime tubes i had mine for about 8 months so far not a single flat
 
A

AZMotorbiker

New Member
May 20, 2010
29
0
0
Chandler, Arizona
city of angels said:
nice built the reason why i you have such of a hard is because your solid tires change the tires (tubes) and you wont have such a rough ride trust me i had them on my first built i would not recomend them we had to cut them with a hack saw if you really want a bullet proof set up go with keplar tires, slime inside liner , and slime tubes i had mine for about 8 months so far not a single flat
Click to expand...
Ugh, now they tell me... :rolleyes: ;)

No way am I tearing this thing apart until I need to for some other reason. Then I'll worry about the tubes 'n' tires.

I realized today why I keep feeling the back end slip. It's the bike lanes out here. The road slopes down slightly right where the bike lane is for drainage into the gutters, so I always feel like I'm fishtailing a little. The hard tires aren't helping there either. But I confirmed it today by hopping out of the bike lane when there were no cars behind me. Sure enough, no more "fishtail feeling".

I also sneaked up to 25 in a few spots where no popo was around. Shhh..... :D

-AZ
 
J

jmr3394

New Member
Apr 5, 2010
79
0
0
U.S.A.
haha my mb is a 2010 diamondback wildwood i like it a lot, its got nice big front shocks and rides really smooth. i flipped the handlebars upside down so it looks really cool. i had to get bigger mounts though because the tubes are big. Especially the front down tube. But i love it and it looks really slick! Yay for wildwoods!
 
Jumpa

Jumpa

New Member
Aug 12, 2011
607
2
0
Cape Cod
AZMotorbiker said:


Hey gang, as promised, here's a pic of my new pride and joy.

The bike started out as a 15+ year old Diamondback Wildwood mountain bike. I don't think they make this model anymore - I looked online and the bike they call a "wildwood" now looks nothing like this bike. It's a real shame because the motor fit it so well it was like they were built to go together. So if you happen across one at a goodwill or something, they make great MB's and you can probably get one for cheap.

It has foam tubes instead of air filled, and no shocks so the ride's pretty rough, and she likes to skitter around a bit on bumps because of the hard tires. Not too bad overall though - I wasn't beat up too badly after a 2 hour ride, so it's more comfortable than I thought it would be. No fenders yet - I'll be adding those soon. The lights and speedo are what you'd typically find at Walmart in the bike section. Nothing fancy but they work. No one crashed into me today. ;)

The motor is a Grubee 66cc Starfire 2 stroke. Good little motor, but the instructions weren't all that great. Having my dad on hand was the difference between a successful build versus a $185+
paperweight.

If I had it to do over, I'd have gotten black zip ties instead of white ones, but with this build I was more interested in function than form. My son's OCC Stingray will be the one we take the time on to make pretty.

Thanks for looking.
-AZ

usflg
Click to expand...
Next time your at Wally world just grab a bag of black zip ties there cheap.
Either way it's a nice and neat job you and your father did very neat. Just a side note I hit a new top speed today of 35.3 mph with my 66 cc I wish I had gears.
 
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Jumpa

Jumpa

New Member
Aug 12, 2011
607
2
0
Cape Cod
AZMotorbiker said:


Hey gang, as promised, here's a pic of my new pride and joy.

The bike started out as a 15+ year old Diamondback Wildwood mountain bike. I don't think they make this model anymore - I looked online and the bike they call a "wildwood" now looks nothing like this bike. It's a real shame because the motor fit it so well it was like they were built to go together. So if you happen across one at a goodwill or something, they make great MB's and you can probably get one for cheap.

It has foam tubes instead of air filled, and no shocks so the ride's pretty rough, and she likes to skitter around a bit on bumps because of the hard tires. Not too bad overall though - I wasn't beat up too badly after a 2 hour ride, so it's more comfortable than I thought it would be. No fenders yet - I'll be adding those soon. The lights and speedo are what you'd typically find at Walmart in the bike section. Nothing fancy but they work. No one crashed into me today. ;)

The motor is a Grubee 66cc Starfire 2 stroke. Good little motor, but the instructions weren't all that great. Having my dad on hand was the difference between a successful build versus a $185+
paperweight.

If I had it to do over, I'd have gotten black zip ties instead of white ones, but with this build I was more interested in function than form. My son's OCC Stingray will be the one we take the time on to make pretty.

Thanks for looking.
-AZ

usflg
Click to expand...
Next time your at Wally world just grab a bag of black zip ties there cheap
 
B

biken stins

New Member
Jul 11, 2008
156
0
0
You can always use zip ties.
Might suggest zip tie the spokes. With the hard tires may help.
Gald it came together so well.
Good job.
 
F

FarRider

New Member
Jun 8, 2011
134
0
0
Brooklyn N.Y.
Those old steel diamond backs make great moto bikes, lots of room in that front triangle, and the steel keeps it real...You might want to consider V brakes instead of those short cantis...much better leverage.
To smooth out that rough ride you might want to get a sprung saddle and a suspension fork, but that looks like a 1" steerer tube so you might have trouble finding a good cheap fork
Very cool bike, clean build...nice job.
FR
 
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bluenosegoat

bluenosegoat

New Member
Dec 29, 2009
259
0
0
arizona
Just a little personal experience with those "solid" tubes--- I ran them for one day and broke spokes not to mention the completely terrible ride and wishy washy feel. The air in your tires are what absorb road shock and with no suspension and solid tubes its just a matter of time because the spokes are the weak link, Just for your safety I would ditch them asap. While I like the slime tubes, the slime liners dont work really well imo. I've been using Mr. Tuffy tire liners for a couple years along with Kevlar tires- probably 8,000 miles between my bikes and not one flat. I'm constantly picking out the larger thorns from here in AZ but not one flat. Mr tuffys (I get them on ebay) cost a little more but that extra 6 bucks has saved me countles hours of messing with tires not to mention no broken spokes or a sore arsss!
Sorry to be so long winded! I love your bike though! Really hard to beat an old diamond back- they are tough!
 
LS614

LS614

Active Member
Dec 22, 2009
1,236
3
38
CT and MA
Great advice goat, and yeah I have a diamondback frame about that vintage, they are GREAT to motorize. I'm planning to pop a morini in mine soon, the frame should be the last thing to go on you :) Peace
 
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