Hand-built frames — bench 03, since 2011
Frames built to be
repaired in ten years,
not thrown away.
Every Vanta frame leaves with a dimensioned drawing, a materials record and a machinist's stamp. That paperwork is the point: it is what makes the tenth service as easy as the first one.
- Rider-frames since 2011
- 0
- Median build time
- 0 days
- Frames returned at year 10
- 0
Exploded assembly · all components pulled apart
Hover a component to draw it out · click for specification
Geometry updates the drawing live. Numbers are the frame we cut to, in millimetres.
VT-07 · dimension sheet
Four sizes,
one handling.
all figures in millimetres
Size changes the numbers, never the character. Reach, stack and wheelbase move together so a 181 cm rider and a 168 cm rider get the same front end and the same brake feel at the hands.
| Size | Stack | Reach | Wheelbase | Chainstay | Head tube | Rider |
|---|
- Measured, not claimed
- Every frame is set up on the jig, then re-measured cold. The numbers on the sticker match this table to within half a millimetre, or we scrap it and start again.
- Seat angle
- 73.5° on all four sizes. We shorten the seatpost instead of sloping it, because a steep angle is harder to replace than a long post.
- Before we cut
- You get this table in full, with every tube spec, before anything is milled. Talk it through in person
Build your frame.
Five decisions. The drawing and the price move as you choose.
Docket VT-07 · Rev C · nothing configured later
Eleven cogs. One honest ratio.
50/34 at the front, 11–34 at the back. Pick a cog and the crank turns against the cassette at exactly the ratio that cog implies — nothing smoothed, nothing lying.
| Cadence | Speed | Wheels per pedal turn |
|---|
Switch to the 34 t ring on the steep sections. It saves roughly 14% of the pedal force and costs you 32% of the top end — the trade most riders should take more often than they do.
The 118 km test loop.
Every frame is shaken down over one fixed circuit before it is signed off: the reservoir climb, the broken tarmac, the chip shop that shakes the bearings loose.
drawing survey line…
| Segment | Distance | Climb | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop → canal path | 14 km | +40 m | Smooth |
| Reservoir climb | 26 km | +610 m | Rippled |
| Quarry loop | 19 km | +180 m | Broken |
| Chip shop run | 31 km | +90 m | Deliberately awful |
| Return through town | 28 km | +120 m | Traffic |
- Week 01
Fit, on the road
Ninety minutes out on your bike, on your terrain. We measure reach and stack against how you actually ride, not against a chart.
- Week 02
Drawing issued
You get the full drawing before we cut anything: every dimension, every tube spec, every clearance. Approve it or change it.
- Week 03–05
Tubes, mitred
Each butt is cut on the milling machine and checked twice. A mitre that is a degree out shows up in the head angle, and we would rather catch it here.
- Week 06–09
Joined and brazed
Silver at the joints, hand-finished, then a full heat cycle to relieve stress. The frame goes slightly out of true on the bench and is pulled back afterwards.
- Week 10–12
Filed, stamped, logged
Serial, materials record, torque figures, and the date. This is the sheet that makes a repair in 2040 a ten-minute job.
Ten years of returns.
- Repairs logged since 2011
- 0
- Frames still riding
- 0
- Scrapped in ten years
- 0
- Mean age at repair
- 7.3 yr
| Year | Frames serviced | Avg. repairs per frame | Frames scrapped |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 38 | 1.4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 74 | 1.9 | 1 |
| 2021 | 96 | 2.3 | 2 |
| 2024 | 61 | 2.8 | 1 |
Four frames have been scrapped since 2011. Three were crash damage, one was a fork cracked at the crown after a kerb strike — we logged it, told the owner the same afternoon, and paid for the fork. The table above counts what came back, because that is the only number that matters to somebody buying a frame in 2040.
Bench 03 · Kowloon
Come and be measured.
- Workshop
- Bench 03, Unit 9,
Ferrier Works, Kowloon - Open
- Tue–Sat, 10:00–18:00
Closed Sun & Mon - Fitting session
- 90 minutes, $90,
credited against a build - Current lead time
- 94 days
Bring a bike you like riding and shoes you wear. We will not sell you a frame you do not need, and we will tell you when your current frame is fine.