[BadgerOne]

Slow-walked the build but finally got it together and set up.

N9 frame cherry cola in large
150mm Lyrik
DT E1700 wheels
2.6 Goodyear Escape
Eagle GX
Descendant carbon cranks
Guide RE (Code reborn) with RSC levers
Spank Oozy bars and PNW post


Hits:
Though I was concerned, the large fits me well. The only things I bought for this build was the seat post and tires, I had all of the rest. It's a beautifully welded and finished frame and needed no prep to assemble. Packed well and nice bottle included. Was able to cram a 170mm dropper in there and get the correct leg extension. Fits a true-to-size 2.6 in the rear with the dropouts in the middle for a few mm of clearance. 30 lbs and a few ounces, not bad considering I made no attempt to keep things light. No real issues with assembly or setup except for alignment, which brings us to...

Misses:
[Edited] Nothing except an axle with a small burr in the threads. It caused a perceived misalignment in the dropouts and interfered with tightening the axle. See the post below.

Shakedown trail ride tomorrow, will report back findings.

 

[Grinchy8]

looks sweet. That color so much better than the photos I’ve seen if it previously.
I like the top tube gusset on the L vs on the M.

 

[Canfield Bikes]

Hey, @BadgerOne.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with that rear axle.

We haven't seen any alignment issues on the N9, but if that's the case, we need to address that for you. But we'd like to learn more and trouble shoot a bit first. Please email or call us!

Contact

Canfield Bikes616 E. Grand Ave.Fruita, CO 81521 (not a retail location - currently under construction) Visits by appointment only. Phone:(801) 548-2556Mon – Fri: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Time Email:Have a customer service question for our team? Drop us a line (info at canfieldbikes dot com) and...

canfieldbikes.com

Slow-walked the build but finally got it together and set up.

N9 frame cherry cola in large
150mm Lyrik
DT E1700 wheels
2.6 Goodyear Escape
Eagle GX
Descendant carbon cranks
Guide RE (Code reborn) with RSC levers
Spank Oozy bars and PNW post


Hits:
Though I was concerned, the large fits me well. The only things I bought for this build was the seat post and tires, I had all of the rest. It's a beautifully welded and finished frame and needed no prep to assemble. Packed well and nice bottle included. Was able to cram a 170mm dropper in there and get the correct leg extension. Fits a true-to-size 2.6 in the rear with the dropouts in the middle for a few mm of clearance. 30 lbs and a few ounces, not bad considering I made no attempt to keep things light. No real issues with assembly or setup except for alignment, which brings us to...

Misses:
The rear triangle / dropouts are misaligned. I knew something was weird when I fixed the dropouts in precisely the same position in the slot and couldn't get the axle installed. When it finally threaded, it was very difficult to start threading and I abandoned it to avoid damage. To get things to work, I have to adjust the stop bolts precisely the same, loosen the dropout bolts a few turns, thread the axle through the wheel and snug it, tighten the non-drive dropout at the stop bolt, then use the wheel as leverage to manhandle the other dropout to the stop bolt and tighten the dropout bolts while under tension. Once that is done everything is fine. So, to remove the rear axle, I have to loosen the dropouts to get it aligned enough to unthread it, and the opposite with the leverage trick to reinstall it. That is gonna suck if I have to do it on the trail.

For a not-inexpensive frame from what is considered a boutique company, this is pretty disappointing and I expected better.

Shakedown trail ride tomorrow, will report back findings.


View attachment 1959030

 

[Sanchofula]

Did you loosen the clamping bolt on the non drive side drop out? I forgot to do this once and it made taking out and inserting the axle a challenge... then I remembered the bolt

 

[biker human]

Slow-walked the build but finally got it together and set up.

N9 frame cherry cola in large
150mm Lyrik
DT E1700 wheels
2.6 Goodyear Escape
Eagle GX
Descendant carbon cranks
Guide RE (Code reborn) with RSC levers
Spank Oozy bars and PNW post


Hits:
Though I was concerned, the large fits me well. The only things I bought for this build was the seat post and tires, I had all of the rest. It's a beautifully welded and finished frame and needed no prep to assemble. Packed well and nice bottle included. Was able to cram a 170mm dropper in there and get the correct leg extension. Fits a true-to-size 2.6 in the rear with the dropouts in the middle for a few mm of clearance. 30 lbs and a few ounces, not bad considering I made no attempt to keep things light. No real issues with assembly or setup except for alignment, which brings us to...

Misses:
The rear triangle / dropouts are misaligned. I knew something was weird when I fixed the dropouts in precisely the same position in the slot and couldn't get the axle installed. When it finally threaded, it was very difficult to start threading and I abandoned it to avoid damage. To get things to work, I have to adjust the stop bolts precisely the same, loosen the dropout bolts a few turns, thread the axle through the wheel and snug it, tighten the non-drive dropout at the stop bolt, then use the wheel as leverage to manhandle the other dropout to the stop bolt and tighten the dropout bolts while under tension. Once that is done everything is fine. So, to remove the rear axle, I have to loosen the dropouts to get it aligned enough to unthread it, and the opposite with the leverage trick to reinstall it. That is gonna suck if I have to do it on the trail.

For a not-inexpensive frame from what is considered a boutique company, this is pretty disappointing and I expected better.

Shakedown trail ride tomorrow, will report back findings.


View attachment 1959030

Bummer it doesn't work great, at least it looks beautiful.

 

[BadgerOne]

Hey, @BadgerOne.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with that rear axle.

We haven't seen any alignment issues on the N9, but if that's the case, we need to address that for you. But we'd like to learn more and trouble shoot a bit first. Please email or call us!

Contact

Canfield Bikes616 E. Grand Ave.Fruita, CO 81521 (not a retail location - currently under construction) Visits by appointment only. Phone:(801) 548-2556Mon – Fri: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Time Email:Have a customer service question for our team? Drop us a line (info at canfieldbikes dot com) and...

canfieldbikes.com

Thank you, will do shortly.

 

[BadgerOne]

Did you loosen the clamping bolt on the non drive side drop out? I forgot to do this once and it made taking out and inserting the axle a challenge... then I remembered the bolt

Yep, I remembered In fact the pinch bolt was completely removed when I recognized the issue.

 

[BadgerOne]

Ride report:

OK, this bike is fun. I took it for a 4-hour shakedown today and got Arizona all over it. I had no issue with the seat angle, and with the long reach it worked out well for a great fit and kept me at a good natural balance point on the bike with the short rear end. Climbing was uneventful and a little numb compared to my Ti hardtail, but that is expected especially since the Ti is a little flexy in the rear. The seat angle is perfect for climbing though - I could plant my butt and it was in the perfect spot, whereas I always find myself riding the nose of the saddle on the Ti. I climbed a lot, much of it over scraggly rock, and it worked well and dind't fatigue me. The DT E1700 wheel and 2.6 tire combo was a little porky, but that is all on me.

Down...watch out. As speeds increase and things get rowdy, it totally wakes up with an evil grin and goads you into pushing things as hard as you dare. It rails hard with that beautiful steel feel in the front end. You steer it more with your feet than your hands and it is nimble indeed. It likes to be leaned hard and pushed hard into the corners. Best of all it loves air time and wants to pop off everything. This is a big change for me, as my Ti might be fly but it sure don't wanna fly, it wants to stay glued to the ground. A lot of that probably comes down to a 20mm shorter chain stays on the N9. Being able to launch it with abandon off the smallest features is just fun as hell. The geo just makes it so easy to get in the air.

Ride is very good. The rear end doesn't have the velvety springiness of the Ti, but it really shouldn't - the chain stays are much shorter and the rear wheel is much closer to being under your butt. It is by no means uncomfortable and still rides quite well. The front end is all the expected steel awesomeness, plenty rigid to rail but compliant in all the right ways.

All good. Can't wait to get it out again.

 

[BadgerOne]

Hey, @BadgerOne.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with that rear axle.

We haven't seen any alignment issues on the N9, but if that's the case, we need to address that for you. But we'd like to learn more and trouble shoot a bit first. Please email or call us!

Contact

Canfield Bikes616 E. Grand Ave.Fruita, CO 81521 (not a retail location - currently under construction) Visits by appointment only. Phone:(801) 548-2556Mon – Fri: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Time Email:Have a customer service question for our team? Drop us a line (info at canfieldbikes dot com) and...

canfieldbikes.com

@Canfield Bikes

Alright, I'm an idiot and I'm not afraid to say it. I started tearing down and reassembling the rear end to really identify the crux of the problem. It wound up being of all things a small burr in the start of the axle thread. As I would start to thread it, the burr would make the axle go verkakte and try to misalign the dropouts while threading itself in, all while adding a nasty feeling resistance to the whole operation. I chased the threads on the axle, and voila, everything is roses. The frame alignment is just fine. If anything, it goes to show how tight the tolerances of the rear end become when you start bolting things together.

Original post updated, and much thanks for the quick offer of support.

 

[BadgerOne]

I'm enjoying this bike but working through a few issues. The steep STA is doing a couple of things I either need to adapt to or fix. On the good side of the house, the long reach feels good with the steep STA, and climbing while seated (I do a lot of that) puts me in a great spot to put the power down and maneuver. On the flip side, when I'm in flow-haul mode, it does put me further forward than I'd like. I tend to do long rides and I'm graying, so being seated is part of the game as I can't stand the entire time. The other effect is that combined with the high BB, I feel pretty high and 'on' the bike instead of 'in' the bike. All just stuff I need to get used to from my Ti bike with a more relaxed STA and a low BB.

I'm going to start with a riser bar (currently using an almost flat bar) and moving the saddle rearward as that may help. On the really steep stuff the front end does want to lift, hopefully a riser won't exacerbate that too much. The other side is that I may just have to resign to being an old man that isn't quite cut out for fully modern geo. Time will tell. I did measure the geo, and the published numbers are unsagged, so that 77 degree seat angle when 25% sagged is...well, it's pretty freakin' steep.

 

[stripes]

I'm enjoying this bike but working through a few issues. The steep STA is doing a couple of things I either need to adapt to or fix. On the good side of the house, the long reach feels good with the steep STA, and climbing while seated (I do a lot of that) puts me in a great spot to put the power down and maneuver. On the flip side, when I'm in flow-haul mode, it does put me further forward than I'd like. I tend to do long rides and I'm graying, so being seated is part of the game as I can't stand the entire time. The other effect is that combined with the high BB, I feel pretty high and 'on' the bike instead of 'in' the bike. All just stuff I need to get used to from my Ti bike with a more relaxed STA and a low BB.

I'm going to start with a riser bar (currently using an almost flat bar) and moving the saddle rearward as that may help. On the really steep stuff the front end does want to lift, hopefully a riser won't exacerbate that too much. The other side is that I may just have to resign to being an old man that isn't quite cut out for fully modern geo. Time will tell. I did measure the geo, and the published numbers are unsagged, so that 77 degree seat angle when 25% sagged is...well, it's pretty freakin' steep.

I'm running into similar things as you. I'm building mine up now, and I've had to do a few things to tweak things at the moment.
1. Put on a shorter seatpost. The 150mm makes it too tall for me on the medium, so I picked up a cheap 125mm post to see if that fixes things.
2. Raise the fork from 140mm to 160mm. This slackens the SA and HA a full degree, and I'm hoping that makes the SA far more tolerable. The HA is fine at anything from 150-160mm for me, but hip pain is un-fun.
3. I'm probably going to end up going to a 30mm riser bar on this bike. I have a 30mm riser bar on my Balance and it feels right, same with the Jedi. But I'm finding that having the bar slammed on a flat bar on the Canfields doesn't feel right at all for me.

If not, I'm going to look at getting one of the 9point8 posts with a setback. I can't ride anything too steep (hurts my hips, and it was a serious problem I ran into on the GG bikes), but the Balance seems on-point for it. As for a hardtail, I'm really hoping this one works out. I love the fact I can be back on short stays again, after being on bikes with long stays in the past.

 

[BadgerOne]

I'm running into similar things as you. I'm building mine up now, and I've had to do a few things to tweak things at the moment.
1. Put on a shorter seatpost. The 150mm makes it too tall for me on the medium, so I picked up a cheap 125mm post to see if that fixes things.
2. Raise the fork from 140mm to 160mm. This slackens the SA and HA a full degree, and I'm hoping that makes the SA far more tolerable. The HA is fine at anything from 150-160mm for me, but hip pain is un-fun.
3. I'm probably going to end up going to a 30mm riser bar on this bike. I have a 30mm riser bar on my Balance and it feels right, same with the Jedi. But I'm finding that having the bar slammed on a flat bar on the Canfields doesn't feel right at all for me.

If not, I'm going to look at getting one of the 9point8 posts with a setback. I can't ride anything too steep (hurts my hips, and it was a serious problem I ran into on the GG bikes), but the Balance seems on-point for it. As for a hardtail, I'm really hoping this one works out. I love the fact I can be back on short stays again, after being on bikes with long stays in the past.

Sounds like a solid plan, let me know what you find. Another side effect of a steep STA and flat-ish bar for me is that it actually seems harder on the wrists, which is counterintuitive to my brain but seems to be the case.

 

[stripes]

Sounds like a solid plan, let me know what you find. Another side effect of a steep STA and flat-ish bar for me is that it actually seems harder on the wrists, which is counterintuitive to my brain but seems to be the case.

I feel it more in my spine than my wrists, but I get you. It doesn't feel right at all.

LBS says hopefully by this weekend (the last thing they need to do is raise the fork travel). Once I get it back, I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[LewisQC]

I'm running into similar things as you. I'm building mine up now, and I've had to do a few things to tweak things at the moment.
1. Put on a shorter seatpost. The 150mm makes it too tall for me on the medium, so I picked up a cheap 125mm post to see if that fixes things.
2. Raise the fork from 140mm to 160mm. This slackens the SA and HA a full degree, and I'm hoping that makes the SA far more tolerable. The HA is fine at anything from 150-160mm for me, but hip pain is un-fun.
3. I'm probably going to end up going to a 30mm riser bar on this bike. I have a 30mm riser bar on my Balance and it feels right, same with the Jedi. But I'm finding that having the bar slammed on a flat bar on the Canfields doesn't feel right at all for me.

If not, I'm going to look at getting one of the 9point8 posts with a setback. I can't ride anything too steep (hurts my hips, and it was a serious problem I ran into on the GG bikes), but the Balance seems on-point for it. As for a hardtail, I'm really hoping this one works out. I love the fact I can be back on short stays again, after being on bikes with long stays in the past.

Mine is setup this way... 210mm dropper on an XL frame, 160mm Lyrik Ultimate (stays high in travel with some LSC), Sqlabs 45mm riser bars with 16 degree backswept (feels more like 30mm rise). I would like to try the bike with the Lyrik down to 140mm and an angle set but I fear the STA would be too steep... Also the bike feels amazing with the actual setup so don't want to mess with it.

 

[stripes]

Mine is setup this way... 210mm dropper on an XL frame, 160mm Lyrik Ultimate (stays high in travel with some LSC), Sqlabs 45mm riser bars with 16 degree backswept (feels more like 30mm rise). I would like to try the bike with the Lyrik down to 140mm and an angle set but I fear the STA would be too steep... Also the bike feels amazing with the actual setup so don't want to mess with it. View attachment 1960598

Nice! You're definitely taller than me, as mine is a medium. Question for you. What are your chainstays set at? Mine are currently slammed as short as they can be.

 

[LewisQC]

Same for me. I might try longer. On my fatbike I much prefer the longer position… but it’s not the same kind of riding

 

[ugadawg]

I should be getting mine from the bike shop soon. I can’t wait to try it. I don’t have steep terrain on my local trails so I might be dealing with the same type of steep seat angle issues.

 

[OldSchoolMBer]

Nice! You're definitely taller than me, as mine is a medium. Question for you. What are your chainstays set at? Mine are currently slammed as short as they can be.

Not Lewis but on a large I'm at 420mm. Kept it slammed since June but recently moved it back 5mil and like it a little better. Still short but keeps the front wheel down a bit more on seated climbs.

 

[BadgerOne]

Not Lewis but on a large I'm at 420mm. Kept it slammed since June but recently moved it back 5mil and like it a little better. Still short but keeps the front wheel down a bit more on seated climbs.

420mm is the sweet spot for me so far also. Keeps things tucked in and playful but keeps the uphill steeps manageable. If I'm gassed or not paying as close attention as I should be with body English, the wheel will still try to pop up on me on a torquey climb but it is easy enough to keep it dropped.

 

[stripes]

420mm is the sweet spot for me so far also. Keeps things tucked in and playful but keeps the uphill steeps manageable. If I'm gassed or not paying as close attention as I should be with body English, the wheel will still try to pop up on me on a torquey climb but it is easy enough to keep it dropped.

Cool. Maybe I’ll start there. That’s the same length as my Balance.