Ryan aka El Diablo

My name is Ryan Morse. Although the nickname bestowed upon me by the most recent crew of mechanics I worked with is Diablo, I’m a pretty nice guy. Really. I’m a wheel builder and a bike mechanic. Since you clicked to learn more, I’ll go ahead and tell you a little bit about myself.

I was born and raised in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. I squeaked in just under the wire and was lucky enough to be able to experience the world when it was still socially acceptable for parents to let their children roam free. The closest things to a cell phone, back then, were street lamps. When they came on, it was time to get home.

I got my first real taste of two-wheeled freedom at around age 6. While Ponch and Jon were just a couple miles away patrolling PCH on their motorcycles, I was on my bike exploring and stretching the boundaries of our neighborhood. If I strayed too far and had my wheels impounded by my parents, Legos and Lincoln Logs kept me busy until I was released on parole.

Despite all the fads the 80s had to offer, my fascination with bikes never wavered. I was 12-years-old when the idea of becoming a bicycle mechanic occurred to me. The wheels of my future career started turning by tuning my friend’s bikes. As a “big” project, I tore my dad’s bike apart and rebuilt it piece by piece.

My real first “real” repair came from a gracious friend of my dad who was an annual competitor in the Race Across America (RAAM). In my eyes, he was bigger than Greg LeMond. Who cares about the puny TdF when this guy did RAAM every summer? Looking back, he was probably just humoring me when he let me adjust his gears but the fact that he didn’t die and returned genuinely impressed that everything was working great was all I needed to solidify my decision to become a bicycle mechanic.

My childhood fascination with RAAM returned with a vengeance when I was invited to be the mechanic on a Soloist team that will be competing in 2016. The only thing standing in the way of immediately accepting the offer was my job. As enjoyable as it is to work on bikes every day, a job is still a job and they somehow always find away to constrict your passion. 10 vacation days a year really don’t go that far.

After much consideration, I realized the best way to make my childhood dream of being a RAAM mechanic happen would be to unshackle myself and strike out on my own. Life does come full circle, but only when you’re not looking for it.

While building your own business from scratch doesn’t exactly scream opportunities for ample free time, I’m going to be doing exactly what I love with Diablo Wheel Works and that is serving the cycling community of Los Angeles and beyond.

And as my own boss, I will be scheduling myself plenty of time for lunch rides.