Ventana’s secret SS stash
so just out the back door of the shop is a sweet labrynth of singletrack, so after talking about bikes all day we decided to head on out to the stash and end the day in dirt…..it was a good choice of trail and thanks to aaron and sherwood for the ride. It’s just what the doctor ordered after a 20 hour drive, no sleep, and a giant burrito. day # 1 is done.
day one.
The Ventana Factory tour…..i suppose i’ll kick you guys into submission eventually with the repetition of the V word, but i really can’t express enough just how friggin cool it is seeing a manufacturer in the full suspension business able to bring a bicycle to life under one roof, by themselves. Bravo Sherwood & Co. !
So this is the start…the machine shop where the madness happens. The first step to every frame ( other than the order be taken by Teresa ) is given credit to CNC machine (computer numeric controlled), this piece of expensive machinery takes a CAD drawing and produces the BB shell and chainstay yokes on each and every full suspension frame. The liquid that you see here is used for cooling/lubrication of the tooling as it shapes the aluminum. After the etching the parts head into a tumbler machine that deburs the edges and smooths out the surfaces. After 15 minutes in the tumbler the bb shell is ready to be placed onto a frame jig and awaiting mitered tubesets.
heat & paint
so here’s a few pics of the heat treating process and then afterwards the frames heads on into the powder coat booth where you get to choose from a variety of gloss or matte colors….after powder paint the frame heads to the final prep work which includes the facing and chasing of headtube and bb shell. But during the installation stage they also install bearing, rockers, swingarm, and those sweet little headbadges.