At this year’s MADE Show, it was the Wilde Bikes booth that really stopped me in my tracks. They were displaying what may be my favorite bike of the show. The Wilde Pleezer is the crew’s take on the iconic Breezer #1, the “world’s first purpose-built modern mountain bike”. Wilde did this one up right! It is a stunning tribute to arguably one of the most important bikes produced in 1977 during the birth of our beloved sport.
As I swim in nostalgia while looking at the Pleezer, I am reminded that restoring vintage mountain bikes has become quite popular lately. So I wasn’t totally surprized by the constant crowd gathering around the Wilde booth during all hours of the show.
But, first, before we go any further about the bike, I’d like to shine the light on the insanely talented frame builder that is responsible for this stunner.
About Brad Wilson
The fabricator’s name is Brad Wilson. Brad works for Wilde as a full-time in-house frame builder. He is stationed in Wilde’s Minneapolis workshop. All of Wilde’s frames that are made in their Minnesota shop are either fillet brazed or lugged, as Brad is a “brazer,” not a “welder”.
Brad learned how to do what he does at Waterford, which he joined right outta high school. He stayed with Waterford until he moved to Minnesota in the mid-2000s. He then went on to build hundreds of frames under the Capricorn label, in business for over a decade.
After Waterford closed, Wilde recruited Brad for their USA-made and custom frame offerings. Wilde says they’ve known Brad for 20 years. So it only made sense to team up and build a new shop in Minneapolis around his talents.
The Wilde Pleezer – Retro 29’er
Retail: $5,800 (Frameset & Bullmoose)
“The Pleezer is our take on the iconic Breezer Series #1 silhouette, and was developed for the MADE 2026 bike show. The one pictured was created for Wilde Co-Owner Andy, who wanted modern componentry with classic aesthetics. The Pleezer is fillet-brazed, with boost spacing, disc brakes, and Andy’s is set up specifically for an AXS wireless drivetrain (though yours can be tailored to your individual desires). It also features a 1” threaded headset, with Wilde-made stub and fillet-brazed bullmoose bars. The design intent was to create an everyday around-town bike.”
Ok, let’s take a look at Brad’s work. Here is a gallery of the Wilde Pleezer.
