Price: $3,999

Weight: 4kg (frame)

Components: XTR, Blackspire, Hayes disc brakes

Frame & Fork: 6061-T6 aluminum mainframe, 4130

cromoly rear swingarm, Fox Vanilla RC, RockShox Boxxer

Geometry: 69º head tube, 72º seat tube, 22.5″ top tube

Sizes: Regular (tested), long

Comments: “2step, 2bikes, 2much, and 2fun.”
www.balfacycles.com

Canadian Pride: All Balfa bicycles are completely made in Canada and
proudly feature a “Made in Canada” sticker.

A small success story from Quebec, Balfa has made a habit of producing
high-quality, high-performance bikes for cross-country, downhill, and
slalom. The new 2-Step is a freeriding middle-ground bike between its
full-blown downhill racer and its cross-country-friendly suspension rig.
Under the right pilot, it could be raced successfully on many downhill-race
courses, but its relatively reasonable frame weight and front-derailleur
mount provide the basics for pedaling up the hill first, if you are into
that sort of thing.

The bike’s nine-pound frame isn’t light, however, for a frame with 130mm of
rear travel, a meaty aluminum mainframe, and a burly, confidence-inspiring
cromoly rear swingarm, I still consider it acceptable for those who need a
ride-everywhere bike with the fortitude to take a serious pummeling. The
2-Step came equipped with a RockShox Boxxer fork, dual Hayes hydraulic disc
brakes, and a single chainring set-up with a chain guide-definitely spec’d
for downhill racing. But I wasn’t about to let that stop me from taking
this beast deep into the rolling hills of the local woods. A single crown
fork and three front chainrings (or two and a bash guard) would have made a
huge difference to the flatland and climbing that I did, but this only
exemplifies the meaning behind its name: two identities. Downhill or
freeride, take your pick.

As a freeride bike, the geometry is dialed for high-speed stability, and
it’s by no means a quick, nimble singletrack bike-instead, it prefers to
wheelie-drop off metre-high edges without a blink and to suck through berms
like feathers through a vacuum hose. The long 45.25″ wheelbase and
stretched 17″ chainstays contributed to the stability, and the seemingly
endless amounts of suspension travel made short work of some admittedly
scary sections of trail. Pedaling uphill was tough but manageable, hindered
mostly by the combination of a long fork and slack head-tube angles (ok, a
granny gear would have helped too, but my ego said I didn’t really need
it).

Standing up and sprinting resulted in some expected suspension movement,
but the collection of pivots and linkage hidden behind the bottom bracket
may have been the culprit, causing the bike to sprint better than I
expected. For a bike with 130mm of travel, it still had some pep off the
line. Despite the increase in pivots and overall complexity, throughout the
test, I felt nothing but completely reassuring rigidity from the rear
swingarm and found no reason to suspect its reliability or durability. All
said, the 2-step was a reasonably capable bike that was a lot of fun to
ride, and with a single crown fork and granny ring, I know it’d only get
better.

As a downhill bike, the 2-step simply ripped. My test bike was equipped to
shine in this arena, so I put it to good use, gearing up and letting fly on
the hardest, most extreme trails that I could get my head around riding.
The bike was never the limiting factor-I was. With a few runs and some
intimate brushes with situations that should have put me in traction, I
started to gain confidence and really push the bike. Still, the bike
grinned back and called me a name I can’t repeat here. The RockShox Boxxer
was smooth and absolutely rigid, and the massive Maxxis High Roller tires
put more rubber on the ground than my Vans. The slack geometry, which
hindered climbing earlier, was now, instantly, worth any aggravation I had
endured, and it let me blur down descents that I’d have trouble walking
down. All this travel, traction, and braking power amounted to a stunning
amount of control and high-speed capability.

What didn’t I like about the 2-step? Well, not 2much. It proved to be as
formidable as many bikes dedicated to downhill that I’ve ridden in the
past. And yet, it still managed to deliver what the freeriding crowd wants
in a bike that can be pedaled up the hill. Between the two identities, I
can’t even say for sure which one it’s better at, since I’d need to somehow
ascertain the limits of the bike-something my own mortality kept me from
doing. Maybe you’ll have better luck. If you find out, have your
next-of-kin let me know.