[Ian - AE86]

Yeah it turned out he bought it this year in 06' off his cousin that originally got it in Canada in 05'. Its Black in Color with white Balfa stickers.

Looked at it today with a friend of mine who used to race and he said it was a good bike. usual war wounds on it but was good and tight in all the right places. Bars and stem were'nt great but that personal stuff. the frame, forks etc are all good so i will probably go ahead with it.

It wasnt as heavy as i presumed and although it was a pig to ride on the street im sure it will Kill the Downhill. It has savage sus travel compared to what i was used to back in 2000-2002.

 

[DH biker]

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:f5ChNJk7XssJ:www.balfa.co.uk/+balfa+bikes&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

 

[no skid marks]

Awsome bike,you'll love it. I had about four of them and never had no pulley problem.My mates been riding one of my old ones for two years and it's never had a problem. The whole pulley thing has just appeared to be a big deal,anyone with half a brain could fabricate/modify/use a deraileur wheel.

 

[Ian - AE86]

Hahaha...thats what my mate said! he said the internet people are probably making it out to be a big deal when its a simple maintenance thing! a problem is when u have Hope brakes and u break a lever at a race meeting and u have no spare so u have to fix it with 2 small twigs and wrap it back on with tape and HOPE (Ironically) that it lasts the wkend and u dont end up in a tree!!

The bike seemend pretty cool. Just wanted to work out what it needed etc etc....il prob buy it 2moro and then strip her down and rebuild and re grease over the next week and then il be happy i gave it a proper once over!

 

[x rider]

I have a Balfa BB7 too from end of 2004 and I have some problems with the pulley.
It's not that the whole pulley will come loose, but the chainring in the pulley, pushes the chain out right to my frame above.
I checked my chainline and it's really straight.

I saw a picture of the pulley wheel from appalache real, and that pulley wheel doesn't have a chainring in it anymore.......

Is it possible that i remove my chainring from the pulley, or is that a bad idea?
Anyone have a suggestion?

thanks.

Ohh and my bb7 pedals really well, it only weight about 35lbs

 

[How]

About the pully:

You should contact Appalache Cycles and see if they might be able to provide pullys for the older BB7s, the 2008 "BB7" is now called the Appalache Real, that is a combination of the BB7 and the Balfa 2-Step.

http://appalachecycles.com/

 

[x rider]

Yes I know and I can order a new pulley wheel from balfa.co.uk for about 25 pounds.
But the appalache has no chainring in the pulleywheel, the chain rolls over it.(without chainring)
Maybe it's better that way, so I was thinking about doing the same to my balfa pulley wheel.

good idea or not...

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yes I know and I can order a new pulley wheel from balfa.co.uk for about 25 pounds.
But the appalache has no chainring in the pulleywheel, the chain rolls over it.(without chainring)
Maybe it's better that way, so I was thinking about doing the same to my balfa pulley wheel.

good idea or not...

Yeah back in 03 or 04, a buddy had the same problem where when he would pedal, the chain would jump up from the pulley and jam into the frame above.

-Did this just happening to you?

-Take the pulley apart: it was a while ago but I seem to remember my buddy taking the cog out of the pulley and grinding the sides of the teeth to make sure they where straight with no chance of the chain mobing up or sideways. Kinda like the difference between a ramped chainring and a non-ramped DH chainring.

 

[x rider]

Yeah back in 03 or 04, a buddy had the same problem where when he would pedal, the chain would jump up from the pulley and jam into the frame above.

-Did this just happening to you?

-Take the pulley apart: it was a while ago but I seem to remember my buddy taking the cog out of the pulley and grinding the sides of the teeth to make sure they where straight with no chance of the chain mobing up or sideways. Kinda like the difference between a ramped chainring and a non-ramped DH chainring.

Yes that is exactly the same problem i have, in one hour my chain has jumped of 4 times or so.
I try to grind the sides of the cog, I hope this works.

 

[x rider]

And this is the appalache real pulley

Has no chainring/cog in it.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yeah back in 03 or 04, a buddy had the same problem where when he would pedal, the chain would jump up from the pulley and jam into the frame above.

-Did this just 'start' happening to you?

-Take the pulley apart: it was a while ago but I seem to remember my buddy taking the cog out of the pulley and grinding the sides of the teeth to make sure they where straight with no chance of the chain mobing up or sideways. Kinda like the difference between a ramped chainring and a non-ramped DH chainring.

edit. goddam, I can't spell or put together proper sentences anymore

 

[Wooyek]

I will allow myself a little advertisement, because it'll be probably interesting for you, Balfa lovers

I've just launched new Balfa website including probably everything connected with our bikes: geometry, technicals, suspension design notes, information about spare parts and accessories, reviews, logos, even link to this topic There is also something about Appalache Real (data, comparison with BB7). In future, brief information about other Balfa models (2-Steps, Belair, Minuteman, and NR maybe) will be added.

Site is available at www.balfa.wooyek.pl
(domain is Polish, but don't worry, the site is in English)

Any comments and criticism will be appreciated I'm still working on improving it, so if you'd like to participate - please, contact me.

Cheers!

 

[Shortbus]

I am getting my new to me BB7 soon. I keep wondering with the chain jumping the pulley issues, is it possible to mount the pulleys flipped around? If so, if your cassette cog inside the pulley is spinning backwards instead of forward, there's a good chance this can cause the chain to jump.
An example would be take a normal bike with gears and cranks the pedals backwards really fast, it will likely jump off the cog it's on. I always attributed that to ramped teeth.
Now I can't wait get to get my Bebe7 </rant>

 

[no skid marks]

I never had the chain jump off my properly set up ones in two years riding them, then my mate who still rides one for the past three years has never spat a chain either. You'll be fine, don't believe the haters.

 

[thad]

My boy just bought one for $500, complete. It's 2001, 2002 vintage, hayes, boxxers, etc. He's shredding on it. Beoeoom.

 

[nelsonjm]

Already shot you an email about the site Wooyek. Very nice.

no skid marks: Can you take pics of your rollers? Since I got my bike (used) I have sometimes had issues with the chain coming off the front cog. I can purposely make it happen by pedaling backwards very quickly, or if I am going through a rockgarden/etc and don't keep tension on the chain.

I would be interested to see both what your rollers look like and at what angles you have the boomerang aligned.

I'm a sucker for balfa pics too

 

[no skid marks]

These are the only pics I have of my last BB7 sorry.



Are your chain ring, idler and guide wheel all lined up straight(chain line)?

 

[no skid marks]

I'd love to see someone make the silver plates on the sides to lower the BB, slacken the head angle, shorten the chain stay length(not much), and possibly lessen the travel to make the shock work less.

 

[nelsonjm]

Ah, that's why you don't have problems.. you have a totally different setup. What chainguide is that? I want it!

The chainring, idler, and guide wheels are aligned, but with the stock rear MRP roller there is enough play that the chain has a tendency to stop catching on the teeth of the chainring.

This happens sometimes when you pedal backwards/etc because the rear deraleur isn't going to be aligned with the front chainring.
Your setup won't have this problem because the cog design inherently doesn't have the issue of the chain drifting slightly to the right/left.

It sucks when this happens.. you have to pedal forwards/backwards a bit until the chain settles into place. Sometimes if you don't catch that it happens the chain will free itself from the rubber rollers even though the rollers are pressed right up against the bash plates... it's a pita to put back on if it happens in the middle of a trail.

 

[no skid marks]

Are your bash rings too big? Get smaller ones if they are, also, rotate your guide more clockwise, so the front wheel isn't putting any pressure on the chain.
That's an E13 on mine. But I've used roller wheels like yours(MRP type) successfully also.

 

[nelsonjm]

Are your bash rings too big? Get smaller ones if they are, also, rotate your guide more clockwise, so the front wheel isn't putting any pressure on the chain.
That's an E13 on mine. But I've used roller wheels like yours(MRP type) successfully also.

The bash rings are the right size, and the front roller is not touching the chain. I'll try rotating it some more clockwise I guess?

 

[no skid marks]

Do you need to space the rollers over more, so the chain just rubs on the back one in your lowest gear?

 

[Wooyek]

I've just uploaded completely new version of my Balfa website: www.balfa.wooyek.pl

It has new engine, some new and refined content, and first of all - finally a FORUM for all Balfa owners (I've recieved numerous questions about this).

Feel invited!

 

[mandown]

That looks way nice. Love the vid of the suspension movement on the 2-step.