2008 Interbike OutDoor Demo: 2009 Ventana El Chucho

The bike: 2009 Ventana El Chucho

The cool:
29” front wheel and 5” of front travel rolls over some pretty big obstacles
26” rear wheel accelerates faster, is stiffer and maintains standard gearing ratios
5.5” rear travel soaks up the bumps that the front rolls over
Rock solid rear suspension – no slop whatsoever

The luke warm:
Slightly slower 29’er steering
Need to carry two tubes on rides

The Options:
Shock options
Custom geometry, paint and sizes

The review:
If you’ve ever ridden a Ventana mountain bike you’re probably familiar with the solid trail feel that few other bikes can muster. The El Chucho is no exception. What makes this bike different is the 29” front wheel and the 26” rear wheel combines the benefits of both schools of current mountain bike design.
Now how does it ride? To me it feels a just like my two year old El Saltamontes. But the big front wheel on the El Chucho simply rolls over things where my Salty needs a little encouragement. The El Chucho also maintains the wheel stiffness and quick acceleration that most 29’ers lack since it sticks with a standard 26” rear wheel. It’s shorter (than a 29/29) wheelbase and standard 26’er gear ratio also make the El Chucho a quicker handling than any 29’er I’ve ridden. Great for attacking the steep and rocky trails we have in the Las Vegas area or any place where rocky technical conditions prevail.

Many of my riding buddies think it’s funny that Ventana hasn’t adopted a new fangled suspension design like all the other boutique mountain bike brands in the USA. But after riding the other brands, I still find the plushness and stiffness of a Ventana second to none. Sherwood Gibson has finely adjusted his faux bar suspension so that it performs at a higher level than most frames on the market.