In the last few years long travel 29ers have come a long way, and won over many enduro and trail riders. Guerilla Gravity has just released the Gnarvana, which in stock form is a long travel niner… but it could also be a mid or short travel niner, or even a 27.5” bike if you wish!
The Gnarvana is the fifth bike Guerilla Gravity has built around their Modular Frame Platform. This concept was inspired by auto racing, where teams often have one primary car that can be tuned or set up for optimal performance on each different track they race. While this idea certainly isn’t new in the bike industry (eg. flip-chips) Guerilla Gravity takes it further than most.
First of all, GG’s frames have a 10mm reach adjustment built into the head tube. Their GeoAdjust headset employs the flip-chip idea in their front ends, providing two settings (long and short) that move your fork in or out by 10mm’s.
Out back is where things get really interesting: On the Gnarvana, and any of GG’s modular frame bikes, you can swap the seatstays to alter the bike’s rear travel and/or wheel size. Depending on which Seatstay Tuning Kit you choose, the Gnarvana can have 160mm, 145mm or 120mm’s of rear travel with 29” wheels. If you prefer 27.5” wheels, no problem! With those wheels the Gnarvana can offer either 130-140mm or 155-165mm’s of travel.
Anyone who already owns a modular frame bike from Guerilla Gravity (The Smash, Megatrail, Trail Pistol or Shred Dogg) can now add a Gnarvana Seatstay Tuning Kit to it. The kits include the seatstays, bearings and derailleur hangers. All other mounting hardware is simply borrowed from your complete bike.
Now if your swap requires a different sized shock or you’ve changed wheel sizes and need a new fork or wheelset, those must be purchased separately. Guerilla Gravity conveniently offers a selection of such parts to help you make any conversions, and they sell Short and Tall lower headset cups to switch between 27.5” and 29” wheels. As for how each kit might affect your ride…. there’s a lot of numbers to crunch there so I’ll just say contact Guerilla Gravity if you’re curious about a Seatstay Tuning Kit conversion.
Gnarvana Frame Details:
The Gnarvana’s rear travel (however much you choose) is controlled by Guerilla Gravity’s Freedom Linkage. While GG has offered flip-chips that alter the shock rate on other bikes, the Gnarvana’s rear shock has a fixed mount position.
In stock form, the Gnarvana runs a Metric 230 x 65mm shock. Out back is a 12 x 148mm Boost rear axle, offset 3mm to the drive side for optimal tire clearance and spoke bracing angles. The seat tube accepts 30.9mm seatposts, and GG stuck with a threaded bottom bracket. Even with their extra tough Revved carbon, the frame still gets a downtube guard, plus chainstay and seatstay protection.
The Gnarvana’s front end is made from carbon fiber, and the rear stays are aluminum. The front triangles are built with GG’s ‘Revved Carbon Technology’, which is a patent-pending process that uses an advanced resin. This makes Revved carbon 300% more impact resistant than traditional carbon fiber, and it provides the same strength and stiffness. The Revved carbon can also be powder coated, which provides a more durable finish than the wet-paint method used on normal carbon frames. Even the decals are cured onto the frame so they’re just as tough as the powder coated finish.
Geometry:
The Gnarvava is available in three frame sizes; Size 2, Size 3 and Size 4! Check out the above chart to figure out what size you’d need. There are some common figures across all sizes: They all get 450mm chainstays, which were lengthened since The Smash to provide a more balanced rider position.
The Gnarvana pushes today’s geometry trends with a very slack 63.7 degree head tube angle, and a very steep 76.1-75.9 degree seat mast. While the bike’s reach (and wheelbase) are adjustable via your chosen headset position, the BB and standover height remain the same in either setting.
Complete Builds:
Guerilla Gravity is offering three customizable build kits for the Gnarvana, called Ride, Rally and Race. All stock builds come with 170mm forks. Looking over the chart, I’d have to say GG is being pretty competitive on prices. For those considering a Gnarvana Seatstay Tuning Kit, Guerilla Gravity sells forks, shocks and wheelsets to help you re-vamp or dual-purpose your ride.
As for availability, framesets and Seatstay Tuning Kits are 2-4 weeks away, while complete bikes will be available in 3-4 weeks. All Gnarvana frames come in a grey finish, but there are six different color options for the decals. Guerilla Gravity’s bikes are available online, at select bike shops (USA and Canada only), and through distributors in several other countries (contact GG to inquire).
And as a bonus, the first 100 Gnaravanas purchased will come with a limited edition poster, which was screen-printed by hand and signed by Colorado artist Travis Gillan. Rock on!
