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Canfield Lucky Review: Lots of words and pics

1K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  Nickle 
#1 ·
I figured now seems to be the time for out of production bike reviews that you can only get a hold of used (good work BMXConvert, you gave me an excuse to post this :D). Actually, I should qualify that, I think there might be 2-3 lucky's left. Also, this bike is NOT to be confused with the brother's new downhill flagship, the jedi.

Anyway, I'll post the bike porn at the start and specs, and that way you can bugger off if you don't care to read how it rides.





Canfield Lucky, size large
Wheels are outlaws, guide is LG1, x9 der, xt cassette. sunline v1 bars/stem and hayes stroker carbons, FSA Orbit Extreme r headset. I think you can probably see everything else, but if you have any questions about the spec let me know. Its tubed at the moment, and its sitting at 41 lbs. If I remember correctly, the frame was like 10.5 without shock, 11.5 or something with.

At this point the only changes are a thomson seatpost when I have the dough, and a new crankset (either atlas FR's are diety vendettas. Just depends on which I can get for less money. I might run some evolve DH's if I can't get ahold of the atlas FR's, we'll see how it turns out). I'll probably go back to tubeless minions come summer/northstar. and keep the high rollers on my spare wheelset. At some point way down the line, maybe a ti spring, but I don't really care about weight at this point and the springrate is ok, so the only reason I'd do it is to bump up to a 425lb spring instead of a 450 lb spring. (I'm at 400)

rough geometry specs, 23.5 effective TT (or somewhere in that range) 13.9inch BB, 17.1 CS, I think the HA is sitting at about 65 or 64.8 or something, I'll get a protractor and measure it sometime. 29.5 bars, 45mm stem (I think, somewhere in the 40-50mm range, thats what it feels like, whatever it is, it feels pretty good). Geometry is absolutely spot on right now. No changes to come there, only little weight saving/strength things left.

It has a bit of rearward travel at the start, goes to reasonably vertical, and then comes forward. Or at least, thats what it feels like, and thats what I'm told it is, but at this point things like that concern me less then they used to. As long as it rides well, I'm happy. Its fairly progressive, very in fact. I've also never ridden a bike getting exact springrate is so important. It wallows pretty bad if you're under sprung, and gets pretty harsh. Now that I have the correct springrate its pretty rad. I wont pretend it tracks as well or pedals as well as my old glory did, because it doesn't. But, its for the better I think, because it has alot more of the poppyness some bikes have (such as a DHR or Commencial, although I'm sure there are plenty of others). Its a pretty fine blend of poppyness and rock solid tracking. I'm happy where it is. I wouldn't describe it as a plow bike, but I also wouldn't describe it as a finess bike. You can point and shoot and come out pretty quick, but it lets you muscle your way through rocky sections pretty easily, so letting it move around works out pretty well.

Fast rebound on this sucker is a must, otherwise it packs up pretty hard due to the changing leverage. Unfortunately CCDB's fastest rebound is incredibly slow (by my standards) so I'm working on a solution to that. Its fine, I just notice it getting bogged down slightly and packing a little bit in rocky sections. Still though, its pretty easy to float over stuff on it and have it track perfectly without it getting stuck. It pedals fine (just went for a 6-7 mile XC with some uphill ride yesterday) although the geometry is not ideal for climbing :D. No worries pedaling, and it certainly doesn't have excessive bob, it just doesn't pedal as well as meastro (which pedals fantastically).

Its got a bit of brake squat. I know, most people dread this because specialized and trek tell them to, but brake squat isn't all bad, it helps maintain the proper pitch of the bike when braking. Its actually been my favorite part of switching from old glory to this bike. On the glory, the back end gets kind of a floating feeling as you go over bumps and you pitch forward pretty hard. On this bike, it sinks back a little more and maintains a pretty good travel equilibrium, so the bike is quite stable, which is super important when braking. Give me a slightly harsher ride and good geometry over slightly increased tracking but bad geometry any day. I definitely agree there is such a thing as too much, but there is also such a thing as "too little." Everybody has to find their own balance though, but if you like it when your bike does that (especially you single pivot guys out there) and want better tracking, the lucky is pretty ideal. The CCDB matched to this bike for this regard is pretty amazing. Its like you get the best of both worlds, your back end sinks and you get lower/slacker, but because the shock is so sensitive it keeps tracking perfectly and doesn't feel real harsh. Rad.

It corners pretty well, it can really hold a line and feels rock solid through them. I really dig how progressive it is because it pops out pretty well, I'd prefer slightly faster rebound and a nicer engagement hub for coming out of the corners, but you can't have everything in life (although I'm gonna do my damn best to try! anybody wanna give me a hadly or king or i9 rear hub? :D)

Its very stiff. I have different tires now, but it holds a line on off camber loose stuff so much better now, even with tires that don't grip as well. I actually can't think of any downhill bike I've ever ridden thats as stiff as it. I'm sure some exist, but I've ridden alot of bikes at this point and nothing as been as stiff in my experience. The back end just doesn't, like, flex. At first I was a little peaved, because I felt like off camber cornering was alot harder, and then I realized I was going about twice as fast through them, sometimes faster, and pushing myself way harder through them. I get alot of confidence from this bike.

Jumping is fun on this bike, but its pretty big and super stable, and I'm waiting till summer when I get to hit some bigger jumps at northstar (or when I finally make it out to pacifica) before I make a final verdict. Little jumps and such become alot more boring, but I guess thats their nature. Doing them on a 5x6 inch bike is exciting. Doing them on an 8x8 inch DH bike is "meh....I guess that was a jump" All I'll say on jumping for now is that it pops up pretty easily, its easy to move it around in the air, and its very stable coming off lips. We'll see how it goes when I get a chance to hit bigger jumps then the little ones on the local trails

So it corners well, it tracks well, it doesn't bottom out easily, it pops pretty well, its very stable, it gets the perfect amount of brake squat (doesn't feel like the back end is locking out by any means!), pedals reasonably well (not as well as some, but better then most, especially given a lack of platform and 35% sag). I was gonna try and find some negative here, but thinking about it theres nothing really evident to me that needs to be improved on. Yes, it'd be sweet if it pedaled better then any other bike out there, but I'd have to give something up for that, and I'm ok with where its at right now.

I rode on my friends BLT2 at the local "DH" trails and realized how much better a short travel bike is for them. I could rocket up the hills, where this bike its more of a slog, and the 8 foot gap type airs felt HUUGE on it, rather then "did I just leave the ground?" I was on the verge of selling it to get a little bike. Then I rode it again and realized how much fun it is even for small stuff I should have a smaller bike for, and that for the trails I live for such as those in SB, or at northstar, its everything I want and more. I decided I'd keep it. One hundred percent stoked on this bike, its absolutely rad. Its a joy dealing with the bro's as well, I've gotten a hold of Chris at like 8 AM his time, thinking I'd get a message and he'd call me back, and I've gotten a hold of him at like 9:30pm his time, again, totally cheerful to talk. I felt bad both times, expecting to get a message machine, but hey, can't really complain about great CS! He's called me from the middle of a DH sesh, and we've talked about riding moab for about an hour. Pretty cool that I get to do that with one of the dude's who designed and built my bike.

I have no idea of their availability. Last I heard, they had like 2 larges left and 2 smalls. No idea if they're still around, but they're pretty inexpensive since they're closing them out for the move to the Jedi. I think they're doing 1500 for frame+DHX5.0. Worth calling them if you're thinking about a new frame, very helpful with questions and never pressuring.

Also, I always hate not knowing who's doing the reviewing, so a little about my riding. I'm moderate to good sport class, I could probably enter expert and do mid to back of the pack if I pushed myself, but I don't really care enough about racing to do that. I just like riding, and don't like waiting in lines to do runs down the same hill over and over. Here are some pics.

hucking:



Vertical roller:


Jumping:



Cornering:



 
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11
#5 ·
kipdrunner said:
I'm just about to order one (finally, as you can see I'm super indecisive).
Any final notes (from either of you)? I can see that the susp. is great for freeride, but you say it's not a plow bike- Vin, did you like it for killington style DH trails?
You can plow on it just fine, if you decide to point and shoot it will hold a line, it just seems to hold speed slightly better if you pick a general direction and let it move around a little. Not necessarily getting super loose, but if you let it bounce a bit you'll be pleased I think.

I expect it'll be great for east coast rocky gnar. I ride for three weeks on the east coast on a local gnar DH trail and I can't wait to ride this on it, I have a trail in Santa Barbara that is a bit similar that its great for.
 
#8 ·
SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:
I would like to see that huck to flat on video....man that looks harsh...calling BS on those pics without vid.....sorry just want to see it to believe it.....your landing pic shows no suspension use
hahahaha I knew I should have redone it, the friend who took the picture was like "I donno if I got it" but then decided he was sure of it after I asked him about it. Turned out he was wrong (or right, the first time) and he didn't get it. If you look closely, my rear wheel is just touching down and my front hasn't touched down yet. Also, you don't drop off the very top, you roll about half way down it and then it spits you forward. Harsh and sketchy, but not half as harsh as just dropping from the top.

I donno If I'm gonna do it again, it was a bit rough and very very sketchy, and that I did it and know I did it is enough for me, I'm not gonna do it again to prove something - but that said, every time I ride by it I eye it up again and think "hummmmmmm" so you never know what will happen :)

We'll see though, maybe I'll grow the balls to hit it again sometime.
 
#9 ·
William42 said:
hahahaha I knew I should have redone it, the friend who took the picture was like "I donno if I got it" but then decided he was sure of it after I asked him about it. Turned out he was wrong (or right, the first time) and he didn't get it. If you look closely, my rear wheel is just touching down and my front hasn't touched down yet. Also, you don't drop off the very top, you roll about half way down it and then it spits you forward. Harsh and sketchy, but not half as harsh as just dropping from the top.

I donno If I'm gonna do it again, it was a bit rough and very very sketchy, and that I did it and know I did it is enough for me, I'm not gonna do it again to prove something - but that said, every time I ride by it I eye it up again and think "hummmmmmm" so you never know what will happen :)

We'll see though, maybe I'll grow the balls to hit it again sometime.
fair enough for me.....I will take your word......u should clean it up a little
 
#10 ·
SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:
fair enough for me.....I will take your word......u should clean it up a little
Its loose kitty litter on top of rock, theres enough of it that its not really worth trying to clean it up. A sketchy natural "huck" at its finest, especially since there is an angled drop to flat at the bottom that you HAVE to hit (which hits just as hard as the main drop, its just alot less sketchy).

I think I'll probably end up hitting it again some time, it was a pretty big adrenalin rush. I'll get better pictures then, I promise :D
 
#11 ·
William42 said:
Its loose kitty litter on top of rock, theres enough of it that its not really worth trying to clean it up. A sketchy natural "huck" at its finest, especially since there is an angled drop to flat at the bottom that you HAVE to hit (which hits just as hard as the main drop, its just alot less sketchy).

I think I'll probably end up hitting it again some time, it was a pretty big adrenalin rush. I'll get better pictures then, I promise :D
video it.....



bkmkl;m
 
#12 ·
SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:
video it.....



bkmkl;m
Hahah, I'll do better then that, I'll extend a PERSONAL invitation to you to come up and ride in norcal and you can hit it with me in person :D Never been much for video's, seems like an unnecessary hassle when I can be riding. A good picture is alot better then a crappy video IMO.

Anyway, I guess, uh, yah, its a sweet bike, and stuff.

EDIT: PS: As always, I enjoy riding pretty much every bike out there, so if you see me around, feel free to introduce yourself and ask to take it for a spin. As long as you have a bike that isn't so haggered its unsafe that I can ride with you, you're almost certainly going to be welcome to take it for a run to try it out.
 
#13 ·
Hey William, have you gotten a chance to try an air shock on that yet? My friend had the coil on his Balance and we never could get it to feel right (tried several different springs). I have the DHXair and it doesn't even feel like the same bike, much more progressive without the harsh ramp up that his had. It's kinda weird, the only bike I've had where air felt better than a coil. Of course you have a nicer shock on yours...
 
#14 ·
kenbentit said:
Hey William, have you gotten a chance to try an air shock on that yet? My friend had the coil on his Balance and we never could get it to feel right (tried several different springs). I have the DHXair and it doesn't even feel like the same bike, much more progressive without the harsh ramp up that his had. It's kinda weird, the only bike I've had where air felt better than a coil. Of course you have a nicer shock on yours...
Yah I've run my evolver on it, it works fine, it gets a little funky at the end of the travel because it has such an intense ramp up and while the evolver is very linear, its still slightly progressive as air shocks are, and the less bottom out resistance of the CCDB is pretty cool. It goes over rocks better, I can hold speed better through them, but its because it doesn't track as well and isn't moving the wheel up and down quite as much as the CCDB allows, its more skipping across the top. I'm kinda back and forth between them, but the CCDB is definitely taking the "main" duties at the moment.

edit: however, I would be very happy with the bike if the evolver was all I had, and will absolutely be keeping it around not just as a spare tbut to throw on there from time to time when the mood hits me.
 
#18 ·
Haha, sorry, I guess I wasn't clear on where I live... My parents live down in Santa Barbara. I grew up there, I visit them and vacation there frequently. I ride tunnel a lot when I'm down south.

I go to college up in Davis, ride in auburn alot, some in rockville, and some in santa cruz. northstar in the summer.

Also, Uncle Cliffy, thats the first time anybody has ever told me I had anything resembling style! thanks! Its not true of course, but thanks all the same.
 
#20 ·
giantsaam said:
I am so stoked to be getting this bike is there anything else I should know about it?
Yes, there is. When you get it, you have to come down and ride in these parts. We'll trade Balance for Lucky on a ride so see we can see how the same generation siblings behave together. :thumbsup:
 
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