29 June 2017

A Look Inside Syntace

Walk into Syntace HQ in Tacherting, Germany, and you won’t see a showroom, products on display, or a flashy storefront. You’ll see a workshop, a design team, a CNC mill, and testing machines. Lots and lots of testing machines.

Over the last decade, Syntace hasn’t concerned itself with bright colors or loud graphics. Syntace’s only focus has been to engineer the strongest, most durable, and overall highest performing components on the market.

Engineering & Testing
Anyone who has spent days on end touring, bikepacking, or riding blown out bikepark trails knows how badly fatigue can impact a rider. For this reason, Syntace engineers vibration damping qualities and compliance into their seatposts and handlebars. The components are stiff enough to provide responsive handling while still being compliant enough to keep fatigue at bay.

But Syntace doesn’t just stand out solely because of their design, they stand out because their engineering is evaluated time after time, with a level of meticulousness that borders on obsessive.

A percentage of every production batch that comes in from Taiwan is tested to the point of failure at Syntace’s Taiwanese factory, and again at their German headquarters. If the data from both of these tests does not match historical performance, the batch won’t be allowed to reach consumers. And since all of the testing is done in house, Syntace can always be sure that their own product testing is consistent.

When pushed to the limits that would ordinarily warp or snap other components, Syntace’s engineered compliance keeps their components intact. Not surprisingly, Syntace is confident enough in their components to back them up with a ten year warranty.

Ride with peace of mind knowing that your components will be performing for years to come.


18 February 2017

2017 Ventana El Gordo Bike Packages


Introduction

For 2017, we have revamped our Ventana El Gordo Fat Bike packages.  These bikes have proven to be solid performers for many types of riding over the past year.  Customers have used them as traditional winter fat biking, expeditions across deserts, year round trail riding, beach riding, and off road touring. We made updates based on new parts introduced in the past year combined with feeback on what has worked out best long term.  The frame, Rohloff SPEEDHUB XL gear hub, and Gates Carbon Drive belt system carry forward.  See chart below for details.

Frame Overview

We worked with Ventana Mountain Bikes USA to create a special Cycle Monkey edition of their US-made El Gordo fat bike frame. The Cycle Monkey edition features dedicated cable routing for the Rohloff SPEEDHUB and stealth dropper seatposts. These frames are also belt drive compatible through Ventana's clever adjustable dropout system for the most maintenance-free fat bike drivetrain available. Options are available to build the bikes up with a suspension fork and dropper seatpost or with a rigid fork and post.

Contact us at info@cyclemonkey.com or 510-868-1777 to place an order.


El Gordo Kit Options

15 February 2017

Super Commuter: Co-Motion Camino with Schlumpf Speed Drive


This bike was built for a customer in San Francisco, CA who had a very specific idea of what he wanted in a commuter bike. He was looking for a clean, minimalist aesthetic and the zippy, responsive ride he was used to on his road bike in a fixed gear package. He also wanted to have more than one gear to handle the hills in San Francisco without getting off the bike and flipping the back wheel around to a different sprocket size. Disc brakes were a requirement for stopping on the way back down those same hills, as was a Gates Carbon Drive belt system for no drivetrain maintenance.

He liked the options that Co-Motion offered, and the Camino model covered all the bases. We worked with them to customize the frame to accept a belt and then installed a Schlumpf Drive internally-geared cranksets to provide two gear choices without adding any clutter and maintain the simplistic look of a single-gear bike. A rich paint color makes this bike stand out.




03 January 2017

9:ZERO:7 Fat Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive Belt



This 9:ZERO:7 Slider is a build we did for a customer in Herndon, Virginia. He wanted an adventure fat bike that would stand up to anything he might encounter off the beaten path. Low maintenance and dependability were top priorities. He had already purchased the frame set, so he sent it to us to build up with a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 internal gear hub and Gates Carbon Drive belt drive. With this extremely durable drivetrain, a rigid fork, and large volume tires for comfort and traction, this bike can handle just about any terrain with almost no maintenance.