Wilde Dark Star Hardtail and Future Proof Rigid 29er Fork

Wilde‘s latest bike, the Dark Star ($1,200 pre-order), is a 120 or 130 mm travel hardtail 29er MTB with clearance for a 2.6″ tire and the option to run it with a rigid segmented fork Wilde calls the Future Proof Fork ($250 pre-order). What’s most interesting about this bike is how Wilde launched it to dealers…

Dark Star Quick Hits

Made by Ora in Taiwan (read about Taiwanese manufacturing here)
$1200 (pre-order)
*Prebook – Will Deliver in April 2025*
BOSS Premium Steel Super Tubes
Sliding Dropouts
UDH Compatible
29×2.6” 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

What’s so smart about this roll-out from the Minnesota-based brand is Wilde approached its dealers, asking if they would be interested in bankrolling the model. There are a lot of Taiwan-built hardtails on the market already and rather than flooding it with more, Wilde wanted to see if the demand was there from the dealers first.

This is a great move by a small company. Rather than cramming new, redundant models down its dealer network’s throat, every model year like the big brands, flooding their inventory, they asked if this was something they or their customers would be interested in.

Many obliged, placed pre-orders, and bankrolled the launch. Now it’s open to consumers as a pre-order for $1,200 with an April 2025 delivery.

The Dark Star is not a progressive geometry hardtail, it falls within the space we’d describe as an all-rounder. With a 74.5º seat tube, and a 66.5º head tube, it’ll excel on XC trails and gravel roads while offering a spirited and snappy feeling on trails with a bit more technical spice.