So…if this frame is so great…what am I getting rid of it? Because I switch out my personal rides about once a year…it is just kind of how I am. I am going to miss this ride, but I like to get out and try new things. This was my second Ventana in a row and for good reason…they are very solid bikes.

If you guys are interested, the frame is up on eBay right now and if you mention this article…I’ll knock another 100 dollars off the buy it now price bringing it to $1,400. I’ll also still add in the Hope seat collar and Chris King headset as advertised. If you are looking for a 6″ travel bike, the El Terremoto is hard to beat.

Ventana El Terremoto eBay Ad

Click here for the eBay auction.

Hand Made in the USA Mountain Bike frame and Rear Shock

Frame: Ventana El Terremoto 6.0
Travel: 6″ of rear travel
Size: Standard Large
Color: Custom Ordered Black
Rear Shock: Cane Creek Double Barrel w/450# Spring (175-190 lbs.) – Can source new spring if needed.

The frame is in near perfect shape. There is only one, very small cable rub spot on the head tube and the bottom shock bolt was brought down to accommodate larger, aluminum granny rings. All decals were covered with 3M film to keep them looking brand new…and they still do!

I am the owner of Mountain Biking by 198 (mtbtrailreview.com) and I have used this as my personal bike for about a year. You will not find a better, more capable 6″ travel frame on the market. The welds, machining and build quality of a Ventana is the best you will find anywhere.

The Cane Creek Double Barrel is the best rear shock on the market. You will not find a better riding, more adjustable shock.

Buy It Now Bonus!
If you choose the buy it now option, I will press in a black Chris King headset and include a black Hope QR seat collar for free!!!

Retail Value
Ventana El Terremoto 6.0 – 2249.00
Custom Color Upgrade – 200.00
Cane Creek Double Barrel – 650.00
Total: $3,099.00

and you can buy it now for $1,500!

Please contact me with any questions…

As much as I would like to keep every bike that makes it through my quiver…that just isn’t possible. Please excuse the excessive sobbing when I let this one go to its new home…I am going to miss this bike.

Click here for the eBay auction.

I went ahead and loaded up both the Moots MootoX and the Ventana El Terremoto to get some final runs in before doing my Maxxis Ardent and Moots reviews. When I got to the trail head, the weather and conditions were perfect. We had just enough rain the day before to make the soil conditions nice and tacky with minimal dust.

I unloaded the Ventana with it’s new rubber and headed the free ride section. Big Creek’s free ride area is small, but has a good couple of short runs that are a blast for a local urban trail. I climbed the first run and walked the rest. There will be more on the tires later, but these conditions seemed perfect for them. I ran the rock gardens and drops several times mixing in full gully/jump runs in between. So far, the day was perfect.

After shuttling for a couple of hours, I headed back to the car to unload the Moots and get some cross country laps in. When I got the the parking lot, I ran into Rusty (iridetitus) and in pure iride fashion…I got the response…”yeah, I can do one more,” so off we went. The trail was in great shape and we were blasting through the first half of the lap. We even hit the free ride section and took two gully runs. I believe my exact comment was, “It’s a lot different when you lose 13 lbs. and 6 inches.” The Moots and 29 inch wheels handled the runs like a champ and afterwards we met up with some friends from the local board at the bottom for some trailside bike talk (The Heckler).

Rusty and I headed back to the parking lot to pack up and head out. It is really amazing how a great day on the trail will clear your head. It was just what the doctor ordered for lack of a better phrase. After the Saturday that I had…there was nothing other than a good day on the bike and some time at home with the other half that was going to fix my head.

I did end up missing the 12 hour race at Yargo due to my Saturday circumstances. Joe, thanks for taking my place on the team, and Marty (Lonestar), Eric (Redrocker), Tom (Omega) and Joe (RegularJoe)…I hope you guys had a great time. I’ll be there for the next one.

• Bike:  Ventana El Terremoto 6.0
• Front Wheel:  Chris King 20mm Hub with DT Swiss 5.1d Rim (27.8mm wide)
• Rear Wheel:  Chris King HD Fun Bolt with Mavic EX 823 (30mm wide)
• Front Fork:  Rock Shox Lyrik Coil U-Turn 115-160mm
• Front Tire:  Maxxis Ardent 2.6 DH 3c
• Rear Tire:  Maxxis Ardent 2.4 DH 60a

Note:  Results will vary depending on tire and rim.

MAXXIS ARDENT INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

They are relatively light for DH tires.  Both the 2.6 and 2.4 weighed in at 2 lbs 14 oz (roughly 1304g) which really isn’t that bad for tires this large with thick DH casings.  After the weigh in, I removed the Maxxis 2.35 High Roller UST’s and mounted up the Ardents.  The Ardents went on much easier than the High Rollers they replaced.  I didn’t even need to use tire levers.  In comparison to the High Rollers, the Ardents are much larger with a lot more volume.  This is a welcomed change because the “claimed” 2.35 High Rollers really only measured out to about 2.2 and the volume was much less than the other 2.35′s on the market.  It appears that Maxxis is really making an effort on claimed vs. actual specs this year.

HOW DO THEY MEASURE UP?

Measurement Specs (pictures below):

• Front 2.6 Casing Width:  2.210 in. @ 28 psi
• Front 2.6 Tread Width:  2.522 in. @ 28 psi
• Rear 2.4 Casing Width:  2.175 in. @ 28 psi
• Rear 2.4 Tread Width:  2.317 in. @ 28 psi

Now, these measurements will vary slightly depending on rim choice.  My 2.6 is measuring out smaller on the 5.1d (27.8mm wide) than it would on an 823 (30mm wide).  The rear 2.4 width on the 823 is pretty close to what you should find on most DH rims.  The full labeled production versions should be very close to this set.

198′S THOUGHTS

So far, these tires look great.  The tread pattern is the best that I have seen out of the Maxxis camp so far, and I am really hoping that they rail the corners with lower rolling resistance than the High Rollers or Minions.  I will be taking the bike to the Big Creek freeride area to check their rock garden and drop performance and then a couple of laps around the cross country course for some overall performance testing.  These tires have increased my patience line on the UST Big Betty’s that were supposed to be in our hands Jan. ’08.  I am starting to think Schwalbe meant Jan. ’09.  Stay tuned for full ride reports and final thoughts.

Side note: For those of you with Lyrik’s or Terremoto’s, I included stay and fork clearance pictures.

I was having issues with the spacing of the Race Face Atlas set that I was using.  Something about the bottom out bold design with the small washer spacing just wasn’t meshing well with my frame.  On top of that, I am pretty sure that I bent the spindle and that was causing a horrible creek that continued no matter which bottom bracket I was using.

So far the XT’s have been perfect, and I am glad to say that the spacing and installation is much easier.  With the axle attached to the drive side and the simple load nut on the non-drive side, the cranks come on and off easier than any other set I have tried recently.  I had been using the cranks out of the Race Face stable ever since my move to external bearings years ago.  Now…I am wondering why I didn’t just start with Shimano to begin with. I tend to wrench a lot, sometimes even when I don’t need to, so the simplicity that these cranks display for install/removal is a huge plus for my needs. Some people may be a set and forget type rider, but that just isn’t my style.

These cranks also seem to be stiffer than the Atlas cranks they replaced. This may not be completely accurate due to the problems I was having with the previous set. Those symptoms might have caused the Atlas cranks to feel flexier when in fact they weren’t.

Complete Setup

• Blackspire SuperPro Rings 2×9 24T/34T
• Gamut 34T Bash Black
• Shimano XT Cranks
• Wicked Racin Dual Chain Guide (installation finishing this weekend.)

Coming soon…
The square taper vs. external bearing debate w/198′s thoughts…
Wicked Racin Dualrailleur Guide Review

Now, there was a really fine line that I was jumping around in choosing the right bike for her.  I didn’t want it to be really cheap because then she wouldn’t like it because the bike was terrible.  I also didn’t want to get something really expensive in case she ends up not liking it.  That fine line came together on a great deal on a Virtue 4 from Felt.  5″ (130mm) of travel with a U-Turn Rock Shox Recon up front ended up fitting the bill (and the wallet) perfectly.  It even has a pinkish Equilink!

Now to the build…

Johnny checking out his new girlfriend…that’s right…I finally got you a girl to play with.

This is the first “prebuilt” bike I have ever bought.  To my surprise, it is almost completely built inside the box!  Even the rear tire is mounted with the chain length taken care of!  I was so amazed by this that I had to call Chad and joke around about it for awhile.  ”So you mean I really don’t even have to cut a single line?!”

This is where the fun began.  I took longer to get all the packing off of her than it did to actually build her up.  I made a mess of the garage with all of the zip ties and packing.

So once you get all of this in the trash can and clean up the garage…this is what you are left with.

Johnny is ready to assemble his new girlfriend.  I think he is just pumped to hang out with someone other than just me for once!

Here she is…the first time ever in the stand.  Do you remember that first time stand feeling?  It’s a great one isn’t it?

Once she was in the stand…some items had to go before I started.

She went together extremely easy.  Quite possibly the easiest and fastest build that I have ever put together.  She looks pretty good too.  She even has some sexy carbon stays.

It looks like Johnny likes his new girlfriend…

As a matter of fact…they all get along pretty well.

So now the family is complete…for now…

Thanks for playing along with my story.  For some reason…I like to make a story out of my builds.  Take a look at the Terremoto build on the site to get another one.

Now onto the Felt.  Overall, the bike is pretty solid.  It feels like a trials bike in my hands because it is a 15.5″, but it will fit her perfectly.  There are some thing that are going to have to change.  First off, I went ahead and put my Hope QR’s on the front and back.  After looking at the cheap QR’s that were supplied with bike, I decided that Jenn was not going to ride those.  The other part that will be going as soon as possible is the big ring along with the cheap imitation bash guard.  I am going to put a real bash on, and the cheap one broke during shipping.  Eventually, a RP23 and a new set of brakes are going to be in order.  As she gets better at riding, they may turn into a necessity.  Other than that, the bike is spec’d out perfectly for her.  As she becomes a better rider, we can switch out parts here and there (probably with pink ones), but this bike is above my expectations for what I thought would be her first bike.  I am pretty stoked about the whole thing and spending time riding with her.

I had built up the Ciclon into a dual coil 6″ machine before I ordered this bike, so all of the parts transfered over without any issue. I did order up a new set of rockers so the frame would have nice glossy black ones instead of the faded ano adjustable 5″/6″ ones that I already had. I was also using my existing seat stays because there is no difference between the ones off the Ciclon’s and the Terremoto’s. The chain stays were replaced with the gusseted HD versions. After installing the rear end, new rockers and my Cane Creek Double Barrel (there will be a blog review on this shock at a later date), I was ready to start the build. But first, for some attempt at humor on the SORBA forums and the Ventana board on MTBR.com, I took some pictures of the frame around the house along with a Homer styled couch shot.

THE FRAME

The fit and finish on this frame is perfect, all the way down to the “Electric Sex Welds”. The crew over at Ventana Mountain Bikes really know what they are doing. They are also one of the last companies that do everything in house, all the way down to the powder coat. The amount of love for the sport that the employees have can be seen in every single frame. From the quad bearings, head tube gusset and bottom bracket machining, you can see how much attention to detail is really put into these frames.

THE BUILD

The build was the fastest I have ever had. It also helps that there was no cutting, bleeding or general fitment issues because I was just moving parts from one frame to another that were very similar. It even surprised some people when I had the entire bike posted on the forums within a little over an hour. The part that took the longest was actually getting the CCDB in the bottom shock mount. Both companies hold very tight tolerances.

The final build specs

Frame: ’07 Ventana El Terremoto 6.0

Color: Custom Matte Black

Options: Quad Bearings, HD Rear End

Shock: Cane Creek Double Barrel 450# Spring

Fork: Rock Shox Lyrik Coil U-Turn

Wheelset: Chris King HD on DT Swiss 5.1d

Skewers: Chris King Fun Bolts and Rock Shox 20mm Maxle

Seatpost Clamp: Hope QR Black

Front Der: Shimano XT

Rear Der: SRAM X.0

Shifters: SRAM X.0 Triggers

Chain: SRAM

Cassette: SRAM 990

Brakes: Hope Moto V2′s 203mm

Cranks/BB: Race Face Atlas w/DH BB and 24T/34T Blackspire SuperPro rings

Pedals: Shimano XTR

Headset: Cane Creek 110

Handlebar: Syncros Bulk

Seat Post: Gravity Dropper

Stem: Thomson 70mm X4

Saddle: Selle Italia Prolink

Grips: Oury Lock ons

Front Tire: Big Betty 2.4 Triple Compound

Rear Tire: Maxxis High Roller 2.35

Accesories: Roach Chain Stay Protector, XTR Shift Cables, Heim Guide w/black MRP roller

Weight: 35.20 lbs

Future changes: Big Betty UST 2.4′s, Thomson 50mm X4 Stem, Custom black pc’ed XT cranks

THE RIDE

Now enough about the build, how does it ride? One word….SOLID! This bike does it all. It was also a perfect choice for what I needed right now. One of the characteristics that I love about Ventana bikes is how they sit in their travel. It is incredibly plush but controlled, and with the CCDB on the back I can run more than average sag and the bike still feels bottomless. Now, this is a 36 lbs. bike, so it isn’t going to climb like a sub-30 lbs rocket, but it does climb surprising well for how much it weighs. Weight is really all relative anyway. I have gotten used to the weight so it isn’t that big of a deal anymore. Since the initial build, I had to have the rear wheel rebuilt. I taco’d the DT Swiss 5.1d, so the wheel went off to Chad @ Red Barn Bikes to get rebuilt with a Mavic 823. The front has not been done yet.