VENTANA EL COMANDANTE
No bike symbolizes Sherwood Gibson’s love affair with the 29er like the single speed Ventana El Comandante. After introducing the El Capitan, a 29er 4” full-springer, the El Cap quickly became Gibson’s regular steed. The lure of the 29er is four-fold: 1) Bigger wheels roll over obstacles easier; 2) They provide more traction and stability because of greater surface contact; 3) The increased rotational force of the larger wheels makes it easier for the rider to sustain speed; and 4) The bike is more stable for larger riders, because it is possible sit between the wheels rather than above them. The 29er and the single speed are an ideal match -- who better to unite them into one craft than Gibson, arguably the finest craftsman in the mountain bike industry.
El Comandante uses Ventana’s proprietary 6061 aluminum tubing, shaped and butted to perfection. The tubeset is mated with their legendary “Electric Sex” welds, and finished with a rich powdercoat and a hand-crafted stainless steel head badge proudly displaying the Ventana “V” and the year of the company’s inception, 1988.
El Comandante is versatile as well – it’s crafted with custom dropouts that come stock with a beverage opener but can be easily swapped to accommodate a derailleur hanger, allowing you to effectively convert it to El Padrino, Ventana’s 29er hardtail. El Comandante features CNC’d vertical dropouts, made possible by the use of an eccentric bottom bracket. Even better -- it allows Ventana to make El Comandante disc specific. It has beefy International Standard disc brake mounts and S-Bend chainstays to provide superior braking performance and superb torsional rigidity.
El Comandante requires a 27.2mm seatpost and is available stock in Electric Superdust or Grinch Green. Or for $150 and a few weeks, it can be finished in any of Ventana’s awesome colors -- Electric Red Metallic, Electric Blue Metallic, Gloss Black, Gloss White, Army Green, Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Orange. It’s available in even sizes between 16”-24”. And if you’d like to personalize your frame, you may do so with custom or semi-custom geometry and custom colors.
2009 Ventana El Comandante Pricing
Frame |
Shimano |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $975 | Single Speed | 3066 | |||||
2009 Ventana El Comandante Geometry
Size |
Seat Tube |
Effective Top Tube |
Stand Over |
BB Height |
Head Tube Angle |
Seat Tube Angle |
Head Tube |
Chainstay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 16.6 | 22.5 | 29.0 | 12.0 | 70.5 | 73.5 | 3.75 | 17.9 |
| 18 | 18.0 | 23.0 | 29.8 | 12.0 | 70.5 | 73.5 | 3.75 | 17.9 |
| 20 | 20.0 | 23.8 | 30.9 | 12.0 | 70.5 | 73.5 | 3.75 | 17.9 |
| 22 | 22.0 | 24.5 | 32.2 | 12.0 | 70.5 | 73.5 | 4.0 | 17.9 |
| 24 | 24.0 | 25.4 | 33.7 | 12.0 | 71.0 | 73.5 | 4.75 | 17.9 |



