very very strong and beafy head tube and front triangle. front end very light but incredibly stiff.
rides over rocks and down the slopes with ease,

steel rear end is very wobbly, so much flex its almost 2" side to side.
looks weak.
very noisy and lots of chain slap,
2.3" maxxis minions rubbed all the paint off my swing arm.
Large size fitted me perfectly and im 5ft 6". anyone taller wont have any room.
iscg mounts are just rubbish. theyre not iscg-05 or iscg-old, theyre a mixture.
steel bolts used on pivot points rust so easily, 6 weeks after a total rebuild they looked like crap.

my setup,
2006 balfa 2Step HD Lrg.
2007 marzocchi 66-ATA with RC3 Ti-spring conversion,
mavic deemax rims
sram x9 rear mech and shifter,
hope M4 classic brakes.
TF-tuned rear shock (best bit of the bike)

awesome beafy bike for the money, but flexy and noisy rear end made me buy a santa cruz v10.