One year ago, Santa Barbara, California-based Stinner Frameworks got mountain bikers buzzing when they announced the production-ready Tunnel hardtail. Today, the all-metal Stinner Romero full-suspension mountain bike has arrived, and it’s sure to send riders into a full swoon all over again.
3VO suspension and a half steel, half aluminum frame that’s 100% USA-made
Stinner is using a 3VO suspension design for the Romero trail and enduro bikes. Patented by industry veteran Chris Currie, 3VO “is built around three performance pillars working in concert: anti-squat, anti-rise, and a progressive leverage curve,” according to a media release. The Romero joins brands using 3VO like Currie’s own Ministry Cycles and Jamis, whose Hardline and Portal mountain bikes have featured 3VO since 2018.
The Stinner Romero frame pairs a TIG-welded steel front triangle with a 6016 aluminum alloy swingarm. Both pieces are handbuilt in-house. 3D-printed steel inserts reinforce the headtube area and provide precise control over geometry.
Stinner says combining a steel front triangle with an aluminum alloy rear triangle gives riders the best of both worlds. “Where steel’s compliance is an asset up front, aluminum’s rigidity is exactly what you want in a swingarm: torsional resistance under hard cornering loads, precise lateral tracking, and the structural confidence to push the 3VO kinematics to their full potential,” according to the brand. “The result is a hybrid platform that plays each material’s strengths against the terrain they are best suited to handle.”
Frame features include external brake hose and derailleur cable routing, a set of bottle mounts inside the front triangle, accessory mounts beneath the top tube, and a powder-coat finish.
The Romero is named for the Romero Canyon trail, “one of the most beloved and demanding trails in the [Santa Barbara] region.”
Available as a trail or enduro bike
Two distinct models of the Stinner Romero will be produced. The Romero MT (medium travel) is a trail bike that pairs 150mm of suspension travel up front with either 130mm or 140mm of travel in the rear. A 65° headtube angle, paired with an effective seat tube angle that’s about 77-78°, suggests the bike is well balanced between climbing and descending.
The Stinner Romero MT is offered in seven sizes, which is more than many of the biggest bike brands offer, even for their more popular models. With a background in custom frame builds, and a domestic manufacturing setup that allows them to respond quickly to changes in demand, Stinner is able to provide a wide range of sizes that’s sure to fit more riders.
For enduro riders, the Stinner LT (long travel) delivers 170mm of suspension up front and either 150mm or 160mm in the rear. The LT is offered in just five sizes, starting at medium with a slightly slacker, 64° headtube angle. Reaches top out at 520mm for both the Romero MT and LT frames.
Interchangeable dropouts let riders choose chainstay length, or go mixed-wheel
The Stinner Romero frame utilizes interchangeable dropouts that can be swapped to give the bike either a 435mm or 445mm chainstay length. This simple change takes the bike from playful and more adept on tight, technical trails to more stable for high-speed descents.
A dropout change also allows riders to swap the rear 29″ wheel for a 27.5″ wheel to go mixed-wheel.
Framesets will be available starting at $2,999 without a shock. Pricing for complete bikes starts at $6,200, with both wireless and mechanical SRAM Eagle Transmission builds available. Bikes can be purchased directly from Stinner’s website.
US buyers have few choices when it comes to domestically produced full-suspension mountain bike frames. Reeb, Foes, and Lenz, along with a few smaller custom builders, have made a name for themselves offering metal, full-suspension bikes produced in the USA. And Ibis recently announced that their new Ripley SL carbon fiber mountain bike frames would be produced in the US.
With this new Stinner offering, buyers have another great US-made full-suspension option.
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