It’s been nearly three years since we first spoke with Chris Currie about his Ministry Cycles project. The fully CNC’d aluminum front triangle is made in two halves, bonded together, and features Currie’s own 3VO Suspension design.
But Currie didn’t stop there. In the past three years, he’s dabbled with different frame materials, different bonding methods, and now a completely new design. His latest venture has him designing a high-pivot suspension platform for Yueh Sports out of China. And he liked it so much that he’s bringing the bike here to North America.
The Ministry/Yueh Zahn
If you don’t follow Currie’s Ministry Cycles Instagram page, you should. Not only does Currie provide updates on the projects he is working on, but he also dives into the details like few others do.
It was on this page earlier this year that he announced that he was working on a suspension platform for a bike manufacturer in China. Along with the many hats that Currie wears, suspension designer is one of them. In addition to using his 3VO Suspension on his own Ministry bikes, Currie licenses the suspension platform to other bike manufacturers. Currie told us in previous conversations that this is especially attractive for smaller, boutique frame builders. That said, bigger brands like Jamis also utilize the design.
For his work on the Yueh Zahn, Currie went with a more traditional 4-bar high-pivot design. And, before the frames were released, he was excited about what he saw, teasing them on the Ministry page.
“They made a really cool frame,” he said in the February 11th post. “I’m not able to show everybody the frame yet, but I’ve seen some photos, and it’s pretty cool. I’m really looking forward to being able to share it when I get to Sea Otter.”
A few months later, Currie revealed the 6061-T6 alloy Yueh frame with his high-pivot design and mentioned that he was toying with bringing the frame to North America. When Yueh actually sent Currie a bike, he was pretty solidly set on the idea.
“I wanted to partner with Yueh based on what a nice job they did packaging the kinematics and designing the frame,” Currie told Singletracks via email. “There was an attention to detail there that you don’t often see on more affordable frames.”
Currie also mentioned that the timing of the partnership just made sense. Yueh is a small brand without a presence in North America, but is interested in finding a way in. Currie’s established Ministry Cycles, complete with insurance and an online platform, made sense to both parties.
The bike can be configured with two different shock options — 50mm stroke for 140mm of rear travel or 55mm stroke for 156mm of travel. It is designed to be run as a mixed-wheel only, with fork travel ranging from 150-160mm.
The Zahn comes in three sizes, with reaches ranging from 430mm (XS/S) to 477mm (M/L). Head tube and seat tube angles are 64.5° and 78°, respectively, with a 435mm chainstay length across sizes. However, the rearward axle path of the frame has the chainstays growing to a lengthy 470mm at full travel.
As far as kinematics, the anti-rise on the Zahn starts at about 95% and drops to 75% at the end of the travel. For anti-squat at SAG, Currie says that the bike sits right around 115-120%, and the leverage ratio is 22% progressivity.
Currie currently has information on how to reserve a Ministry/Yueh Zahn on Ministry’s website. A $100 fee reserves the impressively priced $1,250 frame. To be clear, this is only the frame, and Currie mentioned that he is “working on rear shock pricing with options from EXT, Fox, Marzocchi, RockShox, DVO, and Cane Creek right now.” Availability will be limited, with potentially only 20 or 30 frames in the first batch.
“The goal is to offer a solid frame that’s a little more affordable for a lot of riders,” he told us.
Making bikes, riding bikes, and battling cancer
Currie is doing all of this while he battles pancreatic cancer. Curry announced his diagnosis in an April 15th post, where he also said he would not be attending Sea Otter as he had hoped. He continues to update his followers on bikes and his health, often from the side of a trail.
“Well, the chemo is finally starting to hit me pretty hard — a lot of neuropathy. If you’ve ever hit your funny bone, that is kind of how my hands and feet feel all the time, but there is nothing better for me than getting out onto the trails if I can manage to.”
In another post from just a few days ago, Currie thanks Pivot Cycles owner and friend, Chris Cocalis, for sending him a new Pivot Shuttle e-bike to use.
“Health-wise, I’m dealing with some pain, but good overall,” Currie said, wrapping up his email with us.
It is good to see Currie is still hitting the trails and keeping us updated on his many adventures — we’re here for it! Thanks, Chris, and, oh yeah, f*** cancer!
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