# Balance FS mountain bike



## tom4 (Jan 18, 2007)

Hello

In my early mountain biking year, I spent a few summer in the USA.
Of course, I was reading MTBA at this time, and I saw some add for a mountain bike with "two" front shox.
I recently saw (and missed) one on ebay.
did anybody ride these bike?
I think the brand was Balance, but i'm also pretty sure I saw some under the "manitou" name.
if anyone as any information on these really cool looking vintage bike, please help.
is it any good to ride? easy to find?

thanks a lot
tom4


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## nutallabrot (Jul 12, 2005)

Balance doesn't have anything to do with Manitou. They show up on ebay.de once in a while bur not very often. Nicely welded but I don't know how they ride.


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## tom4 (Jan 18, 2007)

thanks a lot

is it a US brand or german one?
I searched ebay.com, no success

tom4


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Balance was american, and several companies have offered that style of suspension frame, some decades before Manitou ever existed. Its a simple way to do rear suspension on a frame (bicycle or motorcycle). Balance offered two versions of the rear suspension, the lower models got RST supplied shocks and the upper models used ProForx supplied shock assemblies. Essentially the shocks were a modified suspension fork, with shorter sliders designed to fit the dropout pivots on the frames. The one pictured above looks like the proforx version but it'd be easier to tell if it wasn't a side shot. The Proforx version had a nicer machined brace assembly as a major recognition feature (different decals too but those were often worn off/removed after they became scratched).


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## UMMADUMMA (Oct 11, 2006)

my bro had one of those!

that thing weighs a ton......if not two!!!!!1


ud


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

no info , but more pics of that frame and another .........


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## Sideknob (Jul 14, 2005)

I used to have one of their hardtails, circa '95 - stolen!

I have seen those in one of my LBS back in the mid 90's.


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## stan4bikes (May 24, 2006)

I don't know how to highlight other threads but this one "Balance or Living X bikes? anyone?" has a little info and a picture of one that I have. I've yet to build it so I don't know how it rides. Sorry..oops, just figured it out I think...http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=236787


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Slimboy's pics are all of the RST shock version.


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

you know the manitou 

marin did these ....


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## uphiller (Jan 13, 2004)

*You know what the raddest thing ever would be...*

...finding a Westpine front brake for a Manitou fork, and bolting it on to the rear end of one of those bikes. And of course adding an aftermarket damper from White Brothers and a set of coil springs for the rear as well!


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## tom4 (Jan 18, 2007)

wow, thanks for all these answers guys.
next step now, find one and buy it

tom4


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

slimboy... we KNOW... there are other threads on the manitou, marin, and balance bikes already. Hell, some of us OWNED them (my manitou is now hanging over my tv in the living room, and I sold my balance about 5 years ago). 

uphiller... even though the leverage ratio on the manitou frames is quite low, there's not much point in using coils on it since they used the same elastomers as the forks, which really aren't up to the challenge of 80% of your bodyweight all the time. I had to run the firm elastomer stack in mine with maximum preload just to get the sag right. Englund never made total air cartridges for the manitou rear suspensions either (at the time the frames were being made, Englund was still doing their oil-damper cartridge kits for Manitou 3/4 forks, and their long travel kits for Mag-20s. They didn't develop the total air cartridges until 1996, and Manitou switched to their linkage frames that year, so not much point to make air cartridges for the older frames.

As to the westpines, never got around to ordering one for my frame as I already was running an Adventure components brace to have better clearance and stiffness over the stock manitou brace.


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

slimboy... we KNOW... there are other threads on the manitou, marin, and balance bikes already. Hell, some of us OWNED them (my manitou is now hanging over my tv in the living room, and I sold my balance about 5 years ago). 

sorry , just trying to HELP


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## tom4 (Jan 18, 2007)

could anybody give me the name of the marin ?
I'll be looking for one on the bay from, uhm, now

tom4, if anyone has one for sale (marin, manitou ou balance) et is ok to send it to france, let me know


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

they were called the FRS , 4 versions 

PINE MOUNTAIN FRS = STEEL

TEAM FRS = ALUMINIUM ( the one above , mine )

TI FRS = TITANIUM

NAIL TRAIL FRS = ALUMINIUM


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## tom4 (Jan 18, 2007)

thanks so much

tom4, my next bike might be there


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