Is Ventana still around?

[squatch]

I haven't seen any website or blog updates since 2014 and I've emailed them with no response for about a month.

If they have quietly closed their doors (or stopped making custom frames) - who do I call to make a really big FS 29er? The components have finally caught up in size / design / etc to the bike I've wanted 6 years ago and I think it's time to make it.

[kidwoo]

He's still busy. Just doing other things besides bikes. It actually looks like he's doing spooky branded frames though.

Not sure how fired up he'd be about one-offs but keep bugging him. Holidays and off-season and all.


Bug guerilla gravity too. They'll probably do a one off trail pistol for you. They made a megatrail for a guerilla friend of mine last year.

[gravitylover]

How about Lenz?

[shirk]

Walt Works is doing full custom suspension in steel that is competitive on weight. He started using Ventana rear ends but now it's just the rockers with steel seat stay and chainstays.

[simple]

Outdated suspension is outdated...

[shirk]

Outdated suspension is outdated...

Please explain how it's out dated.

LR? Nope it's nice sweet progressive ratio.

AS? It's low sure, but move the bb pivot up and forward a touch and you've got your 100% AS.

AR? It's going to be pretty close to anything that's not Split Pivot/APB. Horst is a bit better but worrying too much about AR is over rated. I don't see anyone on a Evil complaining.

So what's outdated?

[simple]

Because it isn't switch infinity. Duh. That and it isn't carbon. Duh again

[squatch]

Please explain how it's out dated.

LR? Nope it's nice sweet progressive ratio.

AS? It's low sure, but move the bb pivot up and forward a touch and you've got your 100% AS.

AR? It's going to be pretty close to anything that's not Split Pivot/APB. Horst is a bit better but worrying too much about AR is over rated. I don't see anyone on a Evil complaining.

So what's outdated?

Sorry, what is AS and AR?

As someone who is clumsy and known to trash and scratch bikes, I was a little hesitant to get steel. Even though it's real, and all.

[GeezerSteve]

who do I call to make a really big FS 29er?

Curtlo

As someone who is clumsy and known to trash and scratch bikes, I was a little hesitant to get steel.

Huh?

[squatch]

Curtlo

Huh?

Does steel no longer rust?

[GeezerSteve]

Does steel no longer rust?

Cromo steel alloy bicycle tubes never rusted if properly maintained, i.e., spraying Frame Saver inside the tube every couple years. Some guys spray Rustoleum inside the tubes. Even if you don't paint or spray the tube insides every couple years rust failures of Cromo frames are very rare. Aluminum alloy bicycle tubing fatigue crack failures are much more common.

Back in the day Reynolds 531 (manganese moly steel alloy) frames did rust out but that's because they had very low chromium content because the British Empire didn't have a colony with a chromium mine.

Back to Curtlo, Doug is an expert at big guy frames at a good price.

[dunfree]

Back in the day Reynolds 531 (manganese moly steel alloy) frames did rust out but that's because they had very low chromium content because the British Empire didn't have a colony with a chromium mine.

Eh? The most British of British colony's - Rhodesia - had several Chromium mines producing tons of it. That and Tobacco were the mainstay's of the economy.

[squatch]

I like how a (possibly incorrect) history lesson on the British empire has become part of this discussion.

Cromo steel alloy bicycle tubes never rusted if properly maintained.

Hi, we must not have met. My shoes are large enough that I rub paint off chainstays. I don't know if that's a personal problem or what but if history has been a lesson none of my bikes stay nice for long. Anyways, it's things like that that give me pause for steel bikes.

Serious nerd question, though, since you guys have broken the seal on nerdery. I generally have a hard time with traditional bike geometry because if you keep extending the seat tube, the center of gravity keeps moving rearward (especially when climbing). Most modern linkage designs seem to use a seat tube angle that only works for a "normal" height. If you went on a WW or Curtlo style bike that uses Ventana rockers (I assume Ventana has a standardish size that they sell), would that impede the flexibility in seat location when going taller?

[shirk]

Walt can land your seat anywhere he needs to relative to the bb and the rear axle and it has very little affect on the suspension.

Lengthening the cs's just increases the LR slightly if you you used the exact same rockers. I believe Ventanna has a couple different rocker size options so this can be tweaked a bit.

The longer cs's don't change the rate of the LR it just slides the the curve up a touch to a higher value.

Some of your problems with the seat angle issues are fixed with modern steeper seat tube angles. Remember thou that every bike has a single "ideal" rider that it's designed around. Ie if the seat angle is 75 degrees it's only that exact number at a specific seat height. You go above that height and your angle will be lower. It gets exaggerated further on lower angle bikes hence your old problems or bikes with a virtual seat tube angle. With a custom bike you might still have a virtual angle on the frame, but it will be designed to land the seat exactly where you need/want it.

Does any of that rambling make sense?

[squatch]

Walt can land your seat anywhere he needs to relative to the bb and the rear axle and it has very little affect on the suspension.

Lengthening the cs's just increases the LR slightly if you you used the exact same rockers. I believe Ventanna has a couple different rocker size options so this can be tweaked a bit.

The longer cs's don't change the rate of the LR it just slides the the curve up a touch to a higher value.

Some of your problems with the seat angle issues are fixed with modern steeper seat tube angles. Remember thou that every bike has a single "ideal" rider that it's designed around. Ie if the seat angle is 75 degrees it's only that exact number at a specific seat height. You go above that height and your angle will be lower. It gets exaggerated further on lower angle bikes hence your old problems or bikes with a virtual seat tube angle. With a custom bike you might still have a virtual angle on the frame, but it will be designed to land the seat exactly where you need/want it.

Does any of that rambling make sense?

Yeah. I was perusing Walt's stuff actually. He's probably the guy. For every generic rontele 29er he makes, there are also a ton of ripping monster beast bikes. And he's a big dude so he'll "get" it.

Bikes have come a long way. It's ridiculous.

[bagtagley]

At least give him a call. He's really knowledgeable, and open to about anything.

[pollydog]

I have a Waltworks hardtail. Walt is great to work with.

[Rontele]

Why would you post a stupid thread on the internet when you know the answer is to call Walt? He's built three bikes for me and I ride them all of the time. First one is going on 13 years old this season, no rust and still rides great.