Ventana bearing service

Winter is the perfect time of the year to bring that full suspension bike in for it’s annual bearing overhaul/servicing or at the very least an inspection to make sure that those linkages are running smoothly. On a typical service it’s very rare that every bearing is bad or seized but it is noticeable when one or a few have gone bad. Not detectable through the slow degradation of the bearing but VERY noticeable once replaced. So if you’re one of those guys or gals that hasn’t had your suspension checked at all for the last couple of years then there is a good possibility that one or more bearings need replacement. Plus it’s winter and i need something to do.

a bearing candidate, my 04′ Ventana La Bruja
remove brake caliper, chain, rear derailleur and rear der.cable
chainstay and seatstay removed which allows access to individual bearings for inspection and possible replacement
bearings ready for retirement
in my case six bearings were bad…..keep in mind that your typical 4 bar Ventana has 16 bearings in total.
ventana’s super nice and easy to use bearing press
bearing press in action
the tool also captures the bearing
and presses the new bearing back in, we like to lightly grease the surfaces of both the bearing and the bore hole of the swingarm.
bearings pressed and swingarm attached
Breg……puttin’ it all back together

while we had the frame stripped down this far we also decided to overhaul the Fox RP23 with a float air sleeve kit. Mine had been oozing sludge for a bit too long…..it’s okay to ooze a little bit but it’s not good once it’s stops as additional damage can be done to the shock stanchion from high amounts of friction.
maintenence finished and ready for spring.

By |2009-01-06T18:45:00-07:00January 6th, 2009|shop services, ventana|2 Comments

650b Ventana stylie

the Ventana El Bastardo

here’s a few pics of Sherwood Gibson’s spin of a 650b wheeled full suspension bike. We’ve had this beautiful bike built up for a couple of weeks now and it’s honestly been heading out the door almost everyday for demo rides. Same response each and every time. Big grins coming in the front door followed by a Holy $hit that felt goooooood !! And since i’ve now ridden the bike a half dozen times on a variety of singletrack i can also comment on the behaviors of the 65o Ventana .
on my first ride out on a very rocky Blodgett Canyon trail which climbs slightly uphill along a streamside gradient i noticed that the gearing of the 650 wheels was fine and i could push that middlering much more often as opposed to dropping into my inner ring on a 29″ dually. It should be even more noticeable once the real climbing of summer approaches. I also noticed that when in technical terrain that required quick bursts of speed to get past or up and over a certain obstacle the 650 wheels accelerated very good. It also wheelied well when trying to get the wheel up and over a rock, waterbar, etc. I pretty much credited this to the chainstay length (17.5″), which is a half inch longer than the 26″ wheeled equivalent ElCiclon (17″) and much shorter than the 29″ wheeled El Rey (18.3″).
Climbing, the bike really handled much more like the ElCiclon, which could have also come from the shorter stays and possibly the combination of gear ratios being closer to the 26″ bike. I honestly didn’t seem to notice any benefits of the 650 wheels, but it did perform well and the wheel size certainly didn’t hinder any climbing abilities.
Decending at medium to high speeds was the true surprise of this bike in my opinion. This bike carved tight turns so well, and once it got really rocky with speed was the first time i really FELT the benefits from the larger wheel. I could pretty much pick the straight line through a section and the bike really kept it’s momentum very well through the chunk.
all in all….another well designed bike from those folks at Ventana and to make bike purchasing even more confusing another wheel size that works very well too. I suppose the only hangup for a consumer at this point would be the lack of tire, rim and true 650b suspension fork options. Only time well tell if the bicycle industry gets behind the idea. For 5″ + full suspension bikes i think the idea really makes sense as it doesn’t disrupt frame geometry’s or put constraints into frame design. We also reap the benefits of a larger wheel size that does indeed roll over obstacles easier.
the 2.3″ Pacenti Neo-Moto

if i really had my wishes granted i’d take one of each….26″, 650b, and a 29er ! A cup of tea for just about everyone.
come on in and demo the El Bastardo to see if it is your favorite flavor.

By |2008-11-30T12:14:00-07:00November 30th, 2008|650, stuff we sell, ventana|Comments Off on 650b Ventana stylie

Thomas’ Ventana El Rey

Here’s a nice picture of thomas’ new El Rey and of course one picture of him taking it out on a proper initiation ride up Crazy Creek trail in the southern portion of the bitterroot mountains.

By |2008-06-03T21:42:00-06:00June 3rd, 2008|29er, stuff we sell, ventana|Comments Off on Thomas’ Ventana El Rey

kirks got’a new fork

the captain says he likes his new Ventana bottle opener.


By |2008-05-16T13:38:00-06:00May 16th, 2008|29er, thirsty, ventana|Comments Off on kirks got’a new fork

David’s new ride

Congrats to Dave on his new 21# Ventana El Toro single speed.

By |2008-02-23T18:23:00-07:00February 23rd, 2008|stuff we sell, ventana|Comments Off on David’s new ride

Gary’s new ElCiclon

26.5 pounds of Ventana goodness.
Gary wanted a lighter weight 5″ travel trail bike so we opted for the new Shimano XTR kit with hydraulic brakes and 180/160 rotors. Thomson stem/post, some of our hand built wheels using Dt-Swiss 4.2d rims laced to XTR hubs and Dt Swiss Supercomp spokes and aluminum nipps. The front fork is the new Fox Talas RLC and the rear is a Fox RP23…a very nice match indeed.

Gary…..we had a bit too much snow to properly take her on its inaugural ride so i’ll turn the bike over to you and you can tell us how she rides. Enjoy buddy !

By |2007-12-01T16:45:00-07:00December 1st, 2007|ventana|Comments Off on Gary’s new ElCiclon

Ventana El Cuervo

We just finished up two of the El Cuervos this past week for a pair of fellas over in Anaconda….pretty nice and very fast.

Marzocchi Triple Eights RC2X….E.Thirteen gaurd and guides….Avid Codes…..Syncros bars, wheels, seatpin, saddle, and grips.

By |2007-08-04T11:25:00-06:00August 4th, 2007|ventana|Comments Off on Ventana El Cuervo

El Cuervo…..angus approved

as i was taking a few pictures of the Ventana El Cuervo today i managed to draw a small crowd of interested onlookers. I knew the cattle were drawing in closer and closer but i had no idea she was going to have a taste until i actually started to review the pictures later on….pretty funny if you ask me. Just don’t tell Cameron that his new shiny Ventana has been lick smacked.

i’ll post a few more pics of the two El Cuervo DH rigs once we finish building them up within the next day or two.

By |2007-07-30T21:46:00-06:00July 30th, 2007|ventana|Comments Off on El Cuervo…..angus approved

superdust

By |2007-04-28T16:14:00-06:00April 28th, 2007|ventana|Comments Off on superdust

La Bruja

semi-completed with cockpit adjustments needed. My new 04′ LaBruja:
and i can’t wait to go and get her all dirty !!

By |2007-04-23T21:44:00-06:00April 23rd, 2007|ventana|Comments Off on La Bruja