AM Canfield Brothers Balance

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Given that I'm a hopeless bike slut I couldn't resist buying this when it came up for sale on FB.

I haven't spent a heap of time on it yet but its already pretty clear that it lives for the downs.

I've changed out the shock, drivetrain and brakes. I blame the original owner for the purple.

Frame - Canfield Brothers Balance
Rear shock - DVO Topaz
Front shock/fork - DVO Diamond with SD Components DVC
Handlebars - Deity carbon. (Hey don't blame me it cam with the bike.)
Stem - Hope
Headset - CK
Grips - Redmonkey Klampz
Saddle - Selle SMP
Seatpost - Fox Transfer
Front brake - Shimano XT m785/m755
Rear brake - Shimano XT m785/m755
Cranks - Shimano XT t8000
Chainguide - Blackspire Derguide
Chain - KMC x10
Pedals - Time mx2
Front derailleur -
Rear derailleur - Shimano XT 10s
Front shifter -
Rear shifter - Shimano XTR 10s
Cassette - Sunrace 11-46
Front hub - Hope pro 2 evo
Rear hub - Hope pro 2 evo
Front rim - E13 LG1 race
Rear rim - E13 LG1 race
Spokes -
Nipples -
Tyres - Maxxis HR2/DHF
Tubes -
Total weight -


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pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Always loved these. Hate the logo but otherwise awesome.
Do you miss the skull too?

Such a different rig to the balance I had. Those guys have always made nice frames. Have you given this one much stick @Oddjob?wondering how it feels in the air and railing the chunder?
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Do you miss the skull too?

Such a different rig to the balance I had. Those guys have always made nice frames. Have you given this one much stick @Oddjob?wondering how it feels in the air and railing the chunder?
Nah I didn't mind the skull but thought that when they did the rebrand they had an awesome opportunity to make it a little more refined and less early 90's microsoft paint. In the many years since they started peoples expectations and tastes have changed and what they have doesn't cut it against the YT's and Canyon's of the world.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I love the purple bits. So cool!
Thanks. I don't suppose you would be interested in a set of purple Hope V4s?


Sweet 755s with finned pads!
Uberbike make finned pads for Hope m4s which are the same size as m755 pads. I've read that Hope E4 pads fit too.

Just in case I don't already sound like a broken record, Uberbike racematrix pads are awesome. I'm undecided as to whether the Trickstuff power+ pads are better, but they are both superior to all of the other pads I've tried including sintered Shimano, EBC and Clarks (Carbone Lorraine).

Do you miss the skull too?

Such a different rig to the balance I had. Those guys have always made nice frames. Have you given this one much stick @Oddjob?wondering how it feels in the air and railing the chunder?
Only given it a few rides. It's a super dynamic bike. The Diamond fork is incredibly supple, perhaps too much. I might wind off the OTT negative spring a bit. The DVC also allows a lot of tweaking of the air spring and I have to work out the right pressures for the 1st and 2nd air chamber.

The rear end is really active too. You can see in the graphs below that the anti-squat and leverage ratio progressivity are good but not super aggressive, ie balanced.


Combined with the supple Topaz shock this translates into a bike that responds to every input from the rider and the terrain.
The first time I rode it I was expecting it to be a bit of a couch like the Focus SAM and it almost bucked me a few times.

If you ride it with a more active style it really responds well and jumps and rails corners with aplomb. Plowing chunder is more challenging in some ways because you really have to guide the bike rather than hang on and plow like I can with the SAM and to some extant the Rune.
Out of the saddle climbing is definitely not this bikes forte. I'm kind of wondering whether I should do a fork and shock swap with the Rune to make the Rune more plush and the Balance bounce less.

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pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I had the balance when it was a slope style frame, so I don't think much comparison can be made. But...I did find their linkage design was awesome for sucking up square edged bumps and delivering a smooth ride through mildly rough terrain. Given the short travel and my love of a stiff rear end of was also really snappy on jumps.

Before the death of 26 inch wheels these guys had an all mountain frame that was a bit more like the modern balance.

It's such a sweet lookin rig.
 
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