Bb7!!!!

Nice! That thing looks pretty immaculate, good find.

Timeless.

Congrats. That was one of the few bikes that I've had ridden that felt really natural. I'd trade most of the tech out right now for a nice high pivot bike.

Enjoy

BB7s are damn tough looking. Liked those since I first saw them as well! congrats! SUPER clean find..... Should be a rearward arch and that is a huge bonus in the nasty stuff..

Keep us posted, reviews and pics are great always!

this is the one I had, it was great, but hard to manual off of drops with my little legs

Nice ride, those bikes are just cool looking!!!! Really dig the fact of the rearward arch being as I ride that type of suspension and the looks are cool on those!
Nice bikes guys........

have fun with it. i loved mine. i would love to build up one again as a retro DH bike. lord knows i got enough parts laying around my house

Looks good, its a shame that spare parts are so hard to find for them now. The linkage plates on my bb7 are slightly bent (they are the newer ones too), which means that I can't put it into the higher/stepper shock mount. It doesn't bother me too much as my 40's are set at 7" so it is super low, but not too slack at the same time.

Pic of mine:

Nice FJ!

toby

balfa.co.uk has spare parts for Balfas.

http://www.balfa.wooyek.pl/ Has great info.

That brings back some fond memories! My first downhill bike was a 2001 BB7 and the shock settings were most definitely a pain to get to. I replaced that one with a 2003 in that lovely blue that you have. They improved the shock access quite a bit which is why you haven't had any issues. I still miss how well the BB7 handled rock gardens. My Sunday handles the rocks pretty well but not as well as the BB7 does! Enjoy!!!

Brings back good memories-nice ride

Another "brings me back" post in this thread

Just be sure to keep an eye on that bolt that holds the pulley on above the sprocket. Mine kept coming undone, no matter what I did to hold it on.

mandown said:

Another "brings me back" post in this thread

Just be sure to keep an eye on that bolt that holds the pulley on above the sprocket. Mine kept coming undone, no matter what I did to hold it on.

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Blue locktite is the key. This reminds me, check your pivot bolts every now and then.. They can come loose. If they do, don't over tighten them.. the axle is aluminum or some other soft alloy.

Those bolds are only about 1/2" long too

Here's mine when I used it, got the last unused one from balfa.co.uk
only used it for one season... now she's hanging on the wall.
i'm planning to make me a customframe based around the balfa soon.

nelsonjm said:

Blue locktite is the key. This reminds me, check your pivot bolts every now and then.. They can come loose. If they do, don't over tighten them.. the axle is aluminum or some other soft alloy.

Those bolds are only about 1/2" long too

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i would have thought that would do the trick... if i hadn't seen it not to the trick on my rig.

That frame still looks great, too bad the company was shut down. As far as needing new plates couldn't you have a machine shop fab you up some more? Just think you could have plates made out of ti.

mandown said:

i would have thought that would do the trick... if i hadn't seen it not to the trick on my rig.

Click to expand...

How long did you wait before riding it? It takes a little while to set (24hrs+) ... I learned the hard way

wuchi: want to sell me that chainguide/bashguard?


I better pimp a picture of my balfa too.

Hey Shortbus, your BB7 looks like an 04 to me as it seems to have the machined HT (but I could be wrong). Good looking bike BTW!

Nice bike shortbus!

Shortbus said:

Awesome BB7s!

Yes I did remove one of the bolts on my main pivot and blue loctite'd it. I did notice just how measily those bolts are... It kinda makes me nervous about them just shearing off

I did try removing the silver plates on mine but the big bolts were on there SUPER tight so I decided to leave them alone for now... Until i get that itch to take everything apart again...

Framing your BB7 frame is an awesome idea btw.

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Good thing about the bolts are that you can screw them out and take them to a specialist hardware store and get how many spare sets you want for nothing. I still have some lying around in my toolbag..

I finally hung up my '02 (serial # 007) mid way through last season....love that bike, so durable....definitely still ridable, but the pully is disintigrated, and the plates should probably be replaced too.....might just let me roommate slap a fork and wheels on it and use it as a chainless bike in the park....

dont forget ladies and gents, you can still buy the BB7 in all its glory as the appalache Real..... without the weight since its only 9.5lbs





BB height: 14.75''
Head angle: 66 deg. with 8'' Boxxer
Recommended static sag: 40% of total travel
Seat tube angle: 69 deg (recommended seatpost offset)
Max recommended rear tire width: 2.8''
Top tube length: Small: 21.75''
Medium: 23.25''
Seat tube length : 15.5''
Chainstay length: 16.25''
Head tube length: 4.5''
Seat post dia.: 27.2mm
Fork steerer dia.: 1.125''
BB shell width: 73 mm
Chainline: 50 mm
Rear spacing: 135mm
Rear axle dia.: 10mm
Shock length/stroke: 8.75''/2.75''
Front triangle material: 6061 T6
Swingarm material: 4130 Chromoly
Travel: 9.1''
Standard shock: Manitou Swinger 6way choice of 350/400/450lbs/in.
Frame weight : 9.5Lbs(with Dhx Ti spring)

^ i was under the impression that appalache had died some time ago...

love the bb7's. great design. a modern variation would rock.

Shortbus said:

I don't really ride hard enough to notice and be be annoyed by brake jack (yet, perhaps...), so she can brake jack all she wants

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It squats not Jacks, so it'll keep the back like the front(both will dive)when braking.
Here's my last one(I've owned a few, none failed).

Since we've got such a great thread going I will add mine. I just can't believe how the bike keeps going after all these years. I haven't touched the frame bolts or pulley in a long time; I am scared that if I mess something up that it will be a pain to get it fixed. If one of the plates should break though, I would get some new ones made that will allow me to use a more modern, longer stroke shock, while at the same time altering the geometry so that an 8" fork can be used without raising the bottom bracket too much. I hope my bb7 never quits because there isn't anything else I would rather ride! The Appalache is definitely a nice ride but I wish it improved upon more of the bb7's weaknesses, (135mmx10 hub, high bb height with 8 inch fork, relatively short shock stroke, etc...) plus, there's just something about the bb7's industrial aesthetic that I really like!

How's it with the floater?
I liked the 135 rear, and would get it again if I got a bike custom made. I ran a Hadley SS hub with 5 gears and dishless, so it's as stiff as a 150 rear, I didn't have a floater though.
Yeah I always thought of getting new side plates made to shorten the rear, and drop it a touch at the BB. I think I worked out a bigger shock wasn't possible by just changing the side plates(might be wrong though, can't remember).

no skid marks said:

How's it with the floater?
I liked the 135 rear, and would get it again if I got a bike custom made. I ran a Hadley SS hub with 5 gears and dishless, so it's as stiff as a 150 rear, I didn't have a floater though.
Yeah I always thought of getting new side plates made to shorten the rear, and drop it a touch at the BB. I think I worked out a bigger shock wasn't possible by just changing the side plates(might be wrong though, can't remember).

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I wouldn't even consider using it without the floater. When you simply ride down a flat street and hit the brakes, the rear suspension squats probably halfway into its travel (as I'm sure you are familiar). With the floater, the rear end remains level. Now depending on the course or type of terrain you ride the benefits will vary. On relatively smooth or low-speed courses I think the floating brake would not have a huge benefit, but on the courses that I ride (super fast with huge braking bumps) it is very helpful. In fact I would have to say that the bike is perfect for these courses. The rearward axle-path inspires so much confidence, especially when approaching a g-out! Now if the course becomes flat, twisty, or pedally, that's a different story!

Yeah I suppose that using a SS hub does solve the wheel dish problem, but I find it hard to believe that it would make the rear end that much stiffer. I would think that its the interface between the axle and frame that causes most of the flex, not the dishing of the wheel. That's still a good idea though, nobody really needs 9 gears anyway.

The best solution for such a design I think would be to use a 150mm rear hub and therefore a wider bottom bracket, spacing the chainguide out for better tire clearance. The bike then could have been designed for shorter chainstays, and for the 2004 models the floating brake could have a pivot that is concentric with the axle.

WheelieMan said:

I wouldn't even consider using it without the floater.

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I used it for 6 years without a floater and never had any problems or issues, or noticed too many wierd traits...

xy9ine said:

^ i was under the impression that appalache had died some time ago...

love the bb7's. great design. a modern variation would rock.

Click to expand...

can anyone confirm this?? they still have a website and are on balfa uk