Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
The latest custom creation from Berlin’s Vetra Bikes caught our eye with its beautiful bends, funky prototype truss fork, raw finish, and color-coordinated set of Gramm Tourpacking bags. Take a look at the one-of-a-kind Vetra Venom mountain tourer here…
Builder André Roboredo of Vetra Bikes in Berlin always manages to stop me in my tracks with his imaginative frame designs, and his latest is certainly no exception. Built for Christophe Synak, a friend and close collaborator of Vetra and Akinn who designed the graphics for the Vetra Geosmin and Harvester, the new Vetra Venom was dreamed up while the pair were bikepacking through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The idea was to create something that could handle the region’s chunky descents with style and grace, and the end product incorporates several fresh features André has been eager to incorporate for a while, not least of which is the custom suspension-corrected truss fork. Take a closer look below.
Vetra Venom Frame
The Venom frame was custom made for Christophe using Dedaccai Zero Uno and Reynolds 853 steel tubes. It has a 75.5-degree seat tube angle that moves the center of mass slightly forward to provide better climbing, improved control and stability thanks to an lengthened wheelbase and 68 degree head tube angle, and an extended 527mm reach. It has 423mm chainstays, 615mm of stack, and a 60mm bottom bracket drop. Brake/shifter cable routing is external, and the dropper post is routed internally up the seat tube. It also sports rear rack mounts and two sets of bosses along the top tube for mounting accessory bags and cages.
Prototype Truss Fork
The Venom features a suspension-corrected truss fork that André created to experiment with neutral trail numbers. His idea was to get enough rigidity at the crown section to provide more accurate braking with less juddering—a classic truss feature. The fork rake of 69mm makes the trail number on the lower/neutral side at 74mm with a 29 x 2.25″ tire), which quickens the steering response and offsets some of the slack head angle’s stability, making it more agile yet still providing grip due to the frame’s slightly forward center of mass. The fork is packed with mounts and has an axle-to-crown of 485mm. It’s a prototype for now; the frame will eventually be fitted with a 120mm FOX 32 suspension fork.
Vetra Node Stem
The new Vetra Node—the small maker’s first limited edition stem—is made for 1 1/8″ forks, measures 50mm long, and has a top-load 31.8mm clamp, harkening back to the designs from André’s BMX/trials days (watch this short video to see him in action back in 2011). His idea was to create a stem using a 31.8mm diameter that could be fitted to MTB commuter conversions and modern high-rise MTB bars. The limited edition batch of 20 Vetra Node stems is already sold out, but there will hopefully be a second batch coming later this year.
Vetra Venom Build Kit
Christophe’s Venom features a sensible mix of components and accessories at more attainable price points that prioritize durability and simplicity. The lovely Gramm bags look ideal for lightweight MTB touring, and I couldn’t help but notice those unreleased Gramm Micro Panniers in Allygn Micro Racks on the fork, which we’re excited to share more about soon.
- Frame/Fork: Vetra Venom with truss fork
- Wheels: Boost Hope Fortus 30
- Tires: Vittoria Mezcal 29 x 2.25″
- Handlebars: Ergotech Comfort 50
- Grips: Ergon GA3
- Headset: Cane Creek 40
- Crankset: SRAM GX 175mm w/ 32T chainring
- Pedals: Xpedo Detox flats
- Cassette: SRAM GX 10-52T
- Derailleur(s): SRAM GX Lunar
- Brakes: Magura MT7s
- Shifter(s): SRAM GX
- Saddle: Ergon SM
- Seatpost: DXF dropper, 170mm
- Stem: Vetra Node Stem
- Front bags: Gramm 10L Handlebar Roll made of EcoPak Ultra
- Fork bags: Gramm Micro Panniers
- Rear bags: Gramm 10L Dropper Seat Bag
- Accessory bags: Gramm Hot Orange X-Pac top tube bag
- Other accessories: Allygn Micro Racks
You can keep up with Vetra Bikes on Instagram, and they’ll finally be launching a full website soon at VetraBikes.com. If you missed Josh Meissner’s fascinating “Inside Vetra Bikes” piece, be sure to catch it in the Further Reading grid below.
Further Reading
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