About a decade ago, Diamondback invented the comfort bike. They took the mountain bike, which had evolved into a high-performance racing machine, and civilized it with a more upright riding position, a softer saddle, and a curved-tube frame that takes its styling cues from the more relaxed 1950s. The Wildwood is a fine example of the comfort genre of bikes. If you place one next to a typical mountain bike intended for the same height rider, you'll see that the Wildwood frame design and components place the handlebars much higher than the mountain bike's handlebars. This allows a more comfortable rider position, and it makes seeing and signaling easier in traffic. On this specific model you see some nice design touches. It has a cartridge-bearing crank spindle, which never needs maintenance and which will outlast most owners' usage of the bike. (The alternative, a cone-and-cup bearing crank spindle, requires maintenance that takes expensive shop tools.) The crankset has a disc-style chainguard (although we still recommend you use trouser clips, because no chainguard is infallible). If you take the bike into the woods and thrash it a lot, it has an inexpensive, easily replaceable 'breakaway' derailleur hanger, just like expensive mountain bikes. Mounting bosses mean that attaching a good-quality high-capacity rear rack is no problem. And the tires are belted, so it's more difficult to get flats. With its wide range of sizes, the Wildwood will fit just about any adult rider. The catalog pictures suggest very limited, casual use of the bike, but it is capable of serious day-in day-out riding. Pros: Comfort features from the company that invented the comfort bike; components such as the sealed cartridge bottom bracket and belted tires a durability plus in this price range. Styling is cute. Frame is high-tech. Cons: Comfort bikes have some of the excitement bred out of them. Too much softness and padding can blunt your ambition to ride beyond the next county line. For more information: Diamondback Bicycles 6004 S. 190th St. Suite 101 PO Box 97072 Kent, WA 98032 www.diamondback.com Overall value: 10 Performance: 7 Ease of use: 10 Bar Ends none Brakes Tektro linear pull V-brakes Fork SR M2000 with coil spring, alloy head and 50 mm of travel Frame Composition 6061 aluminum with replaceable derailleur hanger Frame Size 14. 16, 18, 20, 22 inches; 16 & 19 in women's sizes Kickstand no Number Of Speeds 21 speeds Front And Rear Hubs aluminum alloy, quick release front and rear Seat & seat post aluminum suspension micro-adjust post; Avenir DLX comfort 2-density saddle with coil/web springs. Quick release Headset 1 1/8 inch threaded. Tires Kenda Comfort 26 x 1.95 with K-shield protection. Type Of Shifters Shimano 31.8 front and TX-70 rear 7-speed with Shimano Revo RS41 shift levers Type Of Spokes/Rims 36, 14-gauge stainless, aluminum rims Water Bottle Mount one