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Canfield Brothers release 3rd Generation Balance that is lower, slacker, faster, and stronger

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Canfield Brothers 2016 Balance-WEB

When you and your brother are both pro level gravity fed riders as well as bike designers, you can go out and design the very bike you want to ride. It also means that it’s highly unlikely you’ll quit thinking of ways to improve it. Chris and Lance, better known as the Canfield Brothers have built a business on this cycle of design, ride, and repeat. Now in its third iteration, the latest enduro rig from Canfield is a Balance between all of the design features that allow you to pedal up and still bomb down…

Canfield Brothers 2016 Balance 2-WEB
Photos courtesy of Canfield Bros

Chris and Lance Canfield have some major pedigree at the top levels of mountain bike competition with Lance having competed in the first four Redbull Rampages, while Chris raced as a pro downhiller chasing world cups. Having piloted many of the rigs they designed, the Balance was to be…. well a “balance” between something that could be ridden daily, but able to completely bomb some of the gnarliest descents. They actually designed the first Balance well before Enduro was even a thing. The 2nd generation Balance we covered last year came with 27.5 wheels and a the standard at the time 66° head angle.

To make the 3rd generation Balance more capable, they increased the travel from 160 to 165mm with a lower leverage ratio to give it a more consistent, smooth travel in harsh conditions and a more progressive stroke before bottoming out on big hits. They also developed a new CNC machined upper link to increase stiffness and the new rear triangle gives you a little more tire clearance. To make it even more bomb-proof, they are now making the entire frame out of 7005 series aluminum. Handling is kept playful and confident with an aggressive 65-degree head-angle and short 16.5-inch (419-millimeter) chainstays pivoting on their CBF (Canfield Balance Formula) suspension platform.

The balance frame is available in Ano Black or Factory Raw, and you can choose what ever color link you want between, black, red, blue, fern (DVO) green, purple or orange. The Balance is available for pre-order to start shipping the first part of January with retail set at $2,099.

Features:

  • Ÿ27.5” Aggressive All Mountain
  • Ÿ7005 aluminum with an all new, stiff CNC’d upper link
  • ŸPatented Canfield Balance Formula Suspension
  • Ÿ165mm travel
  • Ÿ216mm x 63mm Cane Creek Double Barrel Air CS included
  • Ÿ142 x 12mm rear dropouts, axle included
  • ŸTapered headtube
  • Ÿ15mm and 20mm pivot bearings
  • ŸReplaceable rear derailleur hanger, spare hanger included
  • ŸAnodized and factory raw frame options
  • ŸAvailable in Small, Medium, Large and X-Large

Canfield Brothers 2016 Balance 10-WEB

Build Specs:

  • ŸCane Creek Double Barrel DB Air CS included
  • ŸShock Specs – 216mm x 63mm, (22mmX8mm/36mmX8mm hardware)
  • ŸRecommend fork length – 160mm – 170mm
  • ŸHeadset – Tapered 44mm upper/49.6mm lower
  • ŸFront derailleur – Not available
  • ŸBottom bracket – 73mm, threaded
  • ŸSeatpost – 30.9mm, stealth dropper compatible
  • ŸSeatpost clamp – 35mm
  • ŸRear dropouts – 142mm x 12mm, Canfield axle included
  • ŸISCG tabs – ISCG 05
  • ŸBrake mount – IS brake mount.

Canfield Brothers 2016 Balance 5-WEB

 

Balance Geo 2

CanfieldBrothers.com

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Chip
9 years ago

Can someone explain seat tube angle actual vs effective?

This thing looks sweet.

Bill
Bill
9 years ago

Seat tubes that are bent or interrupted usually have two measurements. These are actual and effective. Actual is the angle the seat tube follows along the axis of the actual tube. Meaning the actual measured angle of the seat tube itself. Effective angle is measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the center of the saddle that intersects the seat post. This is common practice in downhill and mountain bikes with short chain stays. The seat tube may look very slack, but its effective angle is usually something more traditional.

Trail Dog
Trail Dog
9 years ago

What Bill said, but keep in mind since the actual seat tube is quite slack, there’s only one point where the effective seat angle is true, the point where they cross. So if you’re a taller rider/long legged or sizing down, your actual saddle position might be slacker than the effective angle indicates, or of course, steeper if your seatpost extension is small.

I was actually wondering about this the other day so I calculated some numbers. As a reference, at my seat height (from bb) of 775mm (30.5″), the fore-aft position difference between a 73 and 76 degree true seat tube angle is 40.5mm. Though the effective vs actual thing is a little less than critical as even at an actual seatpost angle of 65 degrees with an effective angle of 75 degrees, you’d still have to raise or lower the saddle roughly 70mm to change the effective angle by 1 degree. So i’ll just shut up now.

chris
chris
9 years ago

Thanks Trail Dog, knowing it takes 70mm to change the effective angle a whole degree is good information to have!!!

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