About Canfield Bikes

Lance Canfield, a mechanical engineer with hotrod experience and an adrenaline addiction, began racing downhill bikes in 1994. When he couldn’t find a bike that rode the way he wanted—capable of handling the big hits without sacrificing other areas of performance—he began drawing his own.

The earliest Canfield was on paper by 1996. Having never actually built a bike, he set it aside and raced others for several years. Then on a long drive home to Utah from a race in Big Bear, CA, with a broken radio, he had a lot of time to think. He knew he could build a better bike.

Upon returning to Utah, he went back to the drawing board.

Lance and brother Chris enlisted the help of a local welder and by 1999 the original Canfield Brothers bike, the Big Fat Fatty Fat, was born. Built around Lance’s high-pivot, parallel-link design inspired by the articulate performance of trophy truck suspension, the BF3 was a monster, featuring 12 inches of travel front and rear and a revolutionary rearward axle path that delivered uncompromising downhill performance and stability.

Lance went on to compete in the first four Red Bull Rampages on his designs, and Chris chased World Cups around the globe—perhaps some of the most comprehensive and hands on R&D imaginable.

Today, the legacy continues.

Lance has continually refined the principles of suspension design and frame geometry, making Canfield Bikes some of the most sought after high-performance bikes and components available.

From the legendary downhill pedigree of the venerable Jedi evolved from those first iconic bikes, to the category defying slack-and-low geo of hardtail 29ers like the Yelli Screamy and Nimble 9, to the new breed of all-mountain bikes built around patented Canfield Balance Formula suspension like the Tilt and Lithium, Canfield remains on the cutting edge of what is possible between two wheels.

Lance also designed the famous Crampon flat pedals, the thinnest on the market with a patented convex design and has been a proponent of shorter cranks for years, offering options all the way down to 150 millimeters.

Produced in limited quantities, backed by a commitment to personal customer service and a hands-on consumer direct approach, you won’t find anything quite like a Canfield.

Whether you’re ready to experience a Canfield bike for yourself, have questions or just want to share the stoke, contact us today.