Hello if so what do they ride like, especially a X-5 with Fox 36’s? All I can find is singletracks review from a few years ago which said that it bobbed like mad on climbs?

i have a ventana el capitan 29r fs.
i have a rp23 on it, and it does not bob at all on climbs.
i run it with a fair bit of air in the shock and forks.

thanks ton, assume you like the bike still as you have has it a while 😉

vondally, i do indeed mate.

it is the only bike i have ever owned that
a. fits me
b. rides like i was told it would

I have had two X5’s.

The first one I ran with the first ever Fox 36’s (brown ones) and to be honest the fork as awful.

Changed to a Pike after that and was well pleased.

I have run both with 66sl’s at 170mm but for DH/uplift only.

My last one I had some Rev Teams at 150mm on it.

The biggest problem I found was that when you put the bigger fork on the front it made it very light when climbing.

as for the bob, pushed RP2/3 or Float (as on my first) cures that completely.

I had them for a total of 5 years and would have another without a doubt. Only changed to a turner 5 spot for a change sake.

IMG_2975 by eastham_david, on Flickr

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IMG_3084 by eastham_david, on Flickr

IMG_3134 by eastham_david, on Flickr

IMGP0621 by eastham_david, on Flickr

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and can certainly take a lot of abuse

IMGP1264 by eastham_david, on Flickr

anymore info you need just ask.

oh and to finish, Alan from Riverside who import them is the nicest and most honest guy you will find.

The x5 is a bike I’ve always liked the look of but never tried. I did a load of reading up a few years ago and was also concerned by that review. However, if you have a good look around the Internet I think it was identified that this frame doesn’t suit the Dhx air shock that was fitted; this shock often gets accused of midstroke wallow. I think some of the Yanks on MTBR fitted coils or smaller volume floats, which instantly cured the problem.

Mildred you are spot on, my first one had a DHX air and it was awfull, could never get a decent platform to pedal against, hence the move to the pushed float or RP2/3.

ive never been a great lover of the look of ventanas.id imagine they ride well though and they also look as though they have good standover clearance.

Vortex, I still keep toying with the idea of one; I seem to recall that looking at the ventana website, the x5 had a steep(ish) head angle. What do you think from an actual users point of view?

thanks vortex, intrested in mildreds point above, also what was it like as a Northern bike for use in lakes/peaks/calderdale and lancashire bridleways, was it overkill?

Head angle on mine was 68deg. which seemed spot on to me, obviously with the big forks it slackened it a degree or so.

also what was it like as a Northern bike for use in lakes/peaks/calderdale and lancashire bridleways, was it overkill?

absolutley not, in fact it was the opposite, when i was looking to change it the stiffness of the replacemnet (now a DW 5 Spot) was top of the list.

It used to eat up the rocky stuff like in the lakes and peaks etc. It was definitely not overkill.

In the last but one piccy with it having rev teams and 355’s on it it weighed 28.5lbs.

TBH with the Van coil shock and big forks like the 66sl’s on it was bloody fantastic at Fort Bill. 😆

Trailmoggy off here has the grey one now, he may be along in a bit with his view.

I’ve an El-Ciclon. I love it. So stiff at the back. Attention to detail & workmanship is first class. Mine has the RP23. It seems active to me, but that’s coming from a brain-shocked Enduro, but not in a negative way. It’s a very capable bike. Mine has male revs up front. Had coil Pikes before but front was bit heavy. Revs suit it very nicely. Attention grabbing bikes they certainly are not. 🙂

a mansize ventana………..in gentler hands

Positively small when seen with Ton in the picture 😆

yeah I have one, I have marzocchi Z1 freerides on it and although they are big ish forks, they do have ETA which helps ..

They’re awesome bikes though, I love mine and can’t think of anything I’d change it for. I mainly use mine for not going uphill however, quite the opposite, and its handled everything I’ve thrown at it. It’s been off the big ladder at chicksands too, which was pretty cool haha 🙂 recommended, get one. And as previously said, Alan is really useful and helpful, and is a family friend!

Had an X5 too, really liked it, super stiff with masses of standover.
Ventana do an exchange program so after a few years I swopped out the front triangle for an El Ciclon just for a change.
YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!

And Alan Richardson who runs the dealership in the UK is a fantastic bloke to deal with.

They may seem to be a bit outdated by todays fancy standards but imo they really work,will last foreva and have the best workmanship of any bikes.

here i am……..i hav’nt rode this half as much as i’d of liked recently so it may be a little early to tell but so far so good, ive done rivi a few times which is a fair test for any bike and it seems to track like my old horst link 5spot but is a million times stiffer….it is bike you have to ride tho not just point downhill and hope for the best, if you know what i mean

as for climbing its fine, crank the rp23 up

and the build qaulity is fantastic

Glad your liking it TM

so coil is better than air shocks?

it depends what your doing, like vortex said they can take a real beating so you can whack 6″ rockers a coil and some big forks even triple clamps or all i use it for is mainly pretty rocky singletrack and i find the 5″ rockers and rp23 fine… plus i don’t want to drag the weight of a coil shock around with me

i see why your troubled tho as i’d never even seen one of these before buying this

got to be honest, out of all the bikes i have ever owned over the years, be it road,touring or mtb, the quality of ventana’s is fantastic.

i think i would buy another someday.

so coil is better than air shocks?

Used the coil on the grey one just before I sold it to trailmoggy down the ice cream run up Rivvy. It still had the Rev teams on the front, but bloody hell did it fly down there. Better than with the RP2/3 but it did bob with the coil on.

I had considered getting a CCDB as a best of both worlds but went for the Turner instead.

Would not hesitate in having another.

thanks TM, this one is not for me which is even worse, can i ask how can you tell the year of frame?

I have a fox AVA air can on it, and it feels alright .. I blew it up though, and had a vanilla RC for a while .. the difference was incredible. It felt like a totally different bike. I’m on the look out for a van RC to put on, might be putting totems on it too .. They’re fantastic, get one! I also have the first one ever made, bit of a claim to fame 🙂

I had one, I thought it rode well until I tried a spesh pitch.
They have a high bb and as such don’t ride as nice as similar bikes
with a lower bb. The trek ex’s and spesh fsr’s are nicer riding bikes,
in my humble opinion. I had the el ciclone for 1 1/2 years.
The warenty is better with trek and spesh too.

The Ventana frames have had a complete makeover for 2011, nothing remains the same from earlier models.