Balance Mountain Bikes?
 

Picked this up in nearly new condition, it's not real vintage, but it's definately not new either and this seems the right place to ask. Does anyone know anything about Balance bikes? This one is an AL-150 marked "USA Assembled Alcoa 7005 Heat treated alloy." From what I can find they also offered a full suspension mountian bike as well. Looks early to mid 90's era? Shimano Acera components and grip shift. Thank you

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=280661http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=280662

I've never owned one, but I've seen a few around and have read that they were decent quality MTBs. I've seen them discussed on the MTBR forum.

Balance made some decent bikes. I think the were around 89 or so. Champion BMX racer Harry Leary worked for them.

If it came stock with Acera components, it was probably their introductory model. I think that was usually the group on the lower, but serviceable LBS-quality bikes of that era.

Thanks very much for your info! Now to find a set of wheels and see how it rides!

Nice bikes. Here's my '95 AL550. Picked it up at yard sale last summer. It was in pieces, had a mis-mash of parts and an extra set of wheels. A little bit of work and some new brake levers and shifters and It's a pretty fine MTB.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/q...p/Photo267.jpg

If I remember right all the ALs used the same frame and the model number (150 - 750) was determined by what compents they were built up with.

Here's a thread with a '95 catalog scan and some discussion:http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro...ns-339251.html

Andycapp, I missed your post somehow, thanks for sharing, you've sure got a nice one there. Interesting, it does seem they only had the one frame and component options, in that line. Whatever happened to them it's too bad, they seem to have had some decent products.

I finally found a deal on a set of wheels for mine, but alas, it was the day after a snowstorm so my ability to test it was limited, though I like how it felt, luckily it is just my size.

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5dcd16c2.jpg

It looks like it had a warranty crank replacement sometime within the past couple years, That generation of acera cranks were recalled a and replaced with that there one you have on it now.

Huh, I thought that looked like a newer crank, I guess I got lucky there. I put a lot of miles on one of their recalled cranks a few years back before I knew any better.