Mountain Biking - OT: Balfa Frames, any feedback?

an lbs here just went bankrupt and the receiver is clearing their stock...they have a few Balfa DH and FR frames that look like they could become serious bikes but I've never heard of them...the Balfa site seems to be stuck: www.balfa.com

...wondering if anyone here knows anything about them?

thanks in advance

Anything you want to know specifically? They have made some solid bikes based on solid designs. They went bankrupt because of a poor market...not due to the bikes, due to how expensive they were.

not sure as I know nothing about them...saw one on a car bike carrier a couple of weeks ago, it was my first and last

I understand that the warranty is no longer operative, all the spare parts were bought by a company in the U.K, but at a 30% (or more) discount may be worth looking into. I currently ride Ellsworth, have been looking at Intense, Orange, Banshee, Foes, and others, but these look like they may build up into a mean bike

this is the store:

http://www.mcbridecycle.com/

but I went there at noon and was told it was a 2 hour wait in line to get in, another hour to pay

so we'll give it a few days as most of the people are there for the motorcycles

Just a long way of asking if this frame is worth exploring, especially now that there is no factory support

Thanks again

Balfa are good http://elsmar.com/pdf_files/various%20picture%20files/thumbs%20up.gif There are two riders here with BB7's(both 02 models) and someone else has a minuteman. They seem to like them.

Thanks all...

The shop has 2 BB7's and a Wooly Bully that they'll be bringing out for sale later this week...at 30% off list, it may be worth a look

They also have a Minute Man for about $1000 cdn...seems a bit much as its a cheap build (V-brakes, low end Bomber fork, and a low end shimano drive train)

cheers

seems a bit much
the following was posted on dropmachine by a riding buddy of mine who used to go to that shop before it went bankrupt ... might tell you why the prices aren't that great.


all prices are back to "normal" (which means that you could have got a better deal with MacBrides sale prices on bikes before bankrupcy than with this ticket price -30% "deal"...ie. they were selling the Norco Six for $2100 before bankrupcy, the price is back up to their ticket price of $3100-30%=$2170...big whoop). 30% off bikes, 40% off accessories & parts.

They have some used motorbikes that seemed as though they were an Ok deal. 40% off motorbike accessories.

If anyone is looking for circa 97 (?) RM Hammer Race with RS Indy's you can get it for $1500 (-30%)... :rolleyes:

yep, i noticed the same thing yesterday...not many bargains to be had and they have a lot of vintage parts in the other building that should have been scrapped years ago

they even bumped up the RM Slayer to $4000

went back to McBrides last night to check out their 40% off accessories...wish that I had looked on Tuesday

picked up a pair of Kenda Karma Lites (454g) @ $30 ea, 2 bike computers @$12 ea, pair of good gloves @ $30, heavy duty tire spoons a $1.20/set...even a few litres of 2 stroke oil for my kid's Vespa @ 40% off

going back tonight to check out an XTR wheelset priced @ $1200-40% and they think they may have a Crossmax set in the other building

Will also check out the XTR chain ring/crank, cog set, and go through the Sram stuff as I need an X-Gen front derailleur...some nice seatposts and Easton stems there as well, all with the original price tags...not the "tag price" like on the bikes

woo hoo