Light and it works

No bearings in the pivots

I had Ventana build me a custom Marble Peak frame back in 1998. I've ridden it from Downieville to 50 mile of road excursions and this is the best bike I've ever owned.

I purchased an Intense 6.6 last year and it will now be my descending bike that has to climb.

I'm going to rebuild this bike and update it to modern components so it can whup up on the new bikes.

I love this bike and I will never get rid of it.

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There is nothing like a Ventana

The MPFS was the only bike i did find in my size (23), but it is a greatbike anyway. Absolutely no bobbing, very stiff rear end, an d after some dealing with the manufacturer i got the suspensin tweaked in with free spare parts (swingarm, rocker). It is really fun to ride, handles great even in downhill.

The pivots are not sealed and a somewhat strange design. But greasing and lubing them after every ride and replacing them once a year, everything works fine. Very expensive.

Great! I will ride until it breaks apart.

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Is there any bike this size that gives you similar handling and weight ?

Climbs well, reasonably light, handles great

price,

Fun bike, its all good. One thing, can anyone enlighten me on the rumored frame failures? I heard this from a bitter Ibis rep. Please reply.
Thanks

Strong, light, dependable, zero maintenance, incredible handling

They don't make it anymore and I worry that I'll never find a replacement if it is stolen.

I also have the El Habernero that is the same as the Marble Peak. After finally ditching a ProFlex 856 and getting the Ventana, I'll never ride anything other than Ventanas. I bought the bike because I was preparing to move to northern Italy and the Alps can be brutally punishing on a bike. I chose the Ventana because of its strength to weight ratio and the fact that the rear suspension is without a doubt the finest, plushest, most stable that I have ever ridden.

Well, I moved to Italy late this spring and I then spent the entire summer and most of the fall trying to destroy this bike on the most wicked Italian and Swiss Alp trails but I had to give up due to the snow and I finally decided to return to work. But considering close to a thousand miles of vicious trails this bike shows no sign of fatigue anywhere, in fact I havn't had to do anything to the bike. I just hose it off every now and then.

This bike with a Marzocchi Atom Bomb can handle anything I run into. I think I could nap on 1000ft. descents. The problem is the climbs here can be very long, but the fact that the bike weighs a little over 25 pounds and has smooth suspension really helps out a lot. I did finally switch the Fox Alps-4 for a Cane Creek AD-10 in the fall and noticed a little bit of difference but the ride is still essentially the same. It takes a nasty impact to get this bike to bottom out, yet it seems really plush all the time. In fact, I have gotten really lazy and no longer stand up for impacts on flat runs and light descents. This bike encourages bad habits.

I have no choice but to give Ventana Mountain Bikes and Bicycle Therapy of Philadelphia 5 flaming haberneros for building the best bikes immaginable.

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There is nothing similar, other INFERIOR products are ProFlex and Specialized bikes.

I have a '97 Ventana Habanero which is the same frame as the Marble Peak. I have loved and continue to love my bike with respect to handling and suspension characteristics. My only complaint is failures with the swingwarm cracking. I am now on my 4rth swingarm breaking one about every year. Ventana was good about replacing the first three free of charge but now they have changed policy and charge me $150. The frame has a lifetime warranty and I should therefore not have to pay.

Everything about the bike.

None yet.

Sweet bike. The first time I rode it I knew I spent my money well. I will ride it till it completly falls apart. It is made so well that it will be a long time. I would highly recommend purchasing ventana over any other brand. It is worth the money. Turner and Ellison were pretty good too but I felt like the ventana was better built, has better metal and it was about $500 cheaper.

It came spec. with a Fox Vanellia coil shock which works ok but could use improvements. I's getting a Cane Creek AD-10 this week. Iv'e continuously ridden the bike for well over a year, on massively technical to totaly flat, and there has not been one problem with it. Even the bushings are still in excellent condition.

This bike will take total abuse!! The faster you go the better it feels and responds. Accidently slam a huge boulder? No problem it wants another and another. It is exacly like a full suspension rigid frame.

If you don't own one you might as well stick with your road bike. If your into wasting money too don't bother buying one. Any other bike is a waste.

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I tested a few bikes Pro-Flex, Specialized, Turner, AMP, Ellison, etc.. None measuerd up.

Nice welds and awesome paint. Relatively light (27.5 lbs w/ coil-over and Z2) -- depending on setup. Great handling on downhills and an exceptional climber.

None --- except maybe design a little boring.

The Marble Peak is an awesome bike for anyone who live in an area filled with rocky or technical climbs and descents. My Mantis is faster on the smooth stuff -- but I can climb steep nasty things on the Ventana that I never could on the Mantis (even though I'm not nearly as conditioned).

The trans red paint is awesome!

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My other bike is a Mantis Pro-Floater (faster on smooth trails).

beautiful construction
perfect alignment
strong where needed, (seat post, head tube, bottom bracket, rear drop outs)

none so far

This bike is an absolute pleasure to ride on technical and fast cross country single track and was well worth the money. Consider that even more money could be spent on a similar full suspension cross country frame of similar build quality, (intense, dean, ellsworth, san adreas etc.) and you'll see the value of this bike. I used to ride an aluminum hard tail with a manitou pro fork and my Ventana definitely allows me to ride faster and with better control over virtually everything. Because of rear suspension, I gained a pound of weight and did give up the ability to get snap acceleration on smoother terrain (I am still learning how to get more out of this bike so that will soon change for the better) but gained better braking, overall handling, some climbing advantages and more speed in the rough. I got the frame in May 99 and have ridden dozens of times in all condtions and have had absolutely no problems with pivots (no slop or noise) even though the pivots are not sealed and haven't been lubed. The rear end is absolutely flex free just like when it was new. Before you buy anything else out there, compare this bike to other active suspension bikes. This bike is built to handle long term, high intensity use.

Bullet-proof. Smooth. Inexpensive. Smooth. Not a tank. Smooth. Tall bottom bracket

Ventana doesn't make it anymore. Doesn't weigh two pounds.

Excellent bike, the best combo of climbing, descending and weight available. Someone once said Strong, light, inexpensize, pick any two. Well i feel like i got all three. Ventana was mega helpful. Riding in washington muck i've gone through amp pivots in 2 months but the Ventana is still going strongwith no end in sight. I like steep stuff and the frame tracks great, no hint of wiggle like some other noodle bikes i've ridden. I used to work in bike shops so i've had the opportunity to ride lots of bikes and designs and this is the best. Mostly i ride trials so i look for the most unrideable stuff and try it, the bike has never let me down.

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Kona King kikapu, Specialized fsr, fsrxc, Amp b3, b4, Dagger b3, GT LTS and RTS, Titus quasi moto, Ellsworth truth, K2 4400, 5500.

Bike handles great! It climbs and decends perfectly. The welds are perfect and the attention to detail is outstanding. Great fully active ride. The little touches such as the head tube gusset and stainless steel dropout liners are nice adds.

Wish it had sealed pivots. Honestly though, I have had no problems with them. Just a perception thing on my part.

I called Ventana to find out about dealers in the area and since none where available, they sent a bike for me to try out (I only paid for the shipping back). As others said, I'll ride it to it falls apart. Excellent bike!

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Proflex, hardtails.