REVIEW: The Canfield Nimble 9 Steel Hardtail - Gen V (2020)

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0:00 - Intro
0:30 - Initial thoughts
3:05 - The parts I changed and why
4:26 - Climbing
8:49 - Climbing the black diamond
11:03 - Descending a black diamond
11:58 - Head angle discussion
16:32 - The trails it's meant for
23:35 - Summary

#steelisreal #singlespeed #hardtail #canfield #nimble9

[spathkm]

I highly recommend the bike consultation service! After combing through all of Steve's reviews and doing my own independent research, I landed on a frame/fork combo. I then became a patron to get Steve's advice on building it up. He did not disappoint in the slightest! It was the first bike build I have ever attempted and he helped me avoid a major blunder, which saved me a lot of money! He responds quickly. He seems to really care about matching the right bike and specs to meet the needs of the rider. I'm loving my bike on the trails! A huge thanks to Steve for offering the service! Take advantage of the opportunity and support great work!

[bensieber]

Sounds like a perfect all-rounder trail bike. Guess there's a reason the Nimble 9 has been around so long, they got it right.

[paulbutlertv]

"It's called the nimble nine!.. not the shredder nine or the send it nine." Elegant and light, springy, fun, nimble. Thanks Man!

[czechnolike]

This is one of the only long form reviews of the Canfield out there. Great job, and great to see!

[hardtailparty]

A few more things...

Since this bike can run a longer fork, you could slacken the head angle out a bit by running a longer fork than I did. I still feel like 130mm is the ideal travel range, and i still don't think it wouldn't be slack enough for super steep stuff. For reference, my banshee paradox v3 had a 150mm fork. Now it has a 130mm fork and it doesn't feel noticeably steeper since the head angle is so similar at sag.

The sun your fork uses a spring for it's negative air pressure. I think my issue was that I needed a different spring for my air pressure. Their newer models have been incorporating an air negative chamber, which really would have helped. I hope this fork gets that upgrade because it could really be a great option if the negative air spring were better matched to the positive.

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[tylerc]

I'm very impressed by your ability to give composed commentary while sending it down the trail. Thanks Steve!

[bernieml]

Mine is arriving tomorrow all the way from Colorado to Melbourne Australia! Have been on the hunt for ages and pulled the trigger after the first look video - Thanks Steve!! Customer service from Jeff and the team at Canfield has been fantastic. Thanks all, very excited!

[stevencole]

Tires play such a big role in how a bike rides . You seem to be enjoying the single speed experience . Follows a pattern of simplifying the bike experience and making it less complicated . Even a steel frame creates the potential for less problems as its a stronger material and dents cracks and dings are not as much of a problem as with carbon and aluminum . Thats why I put more pressure in my front fork. More than most as my HTA is 69 and going down those steps my fork doesnt dive as much and makes a huge difference not getting stuck on a step and maybe going over the bars . Your wife gave me the idea watching her going down steps on a rigid front fork . With the correct reverb adjustment you still get the benefit of subduing the small bumps at speed . My bike is a plower . Well done Steve . I like the budget mentality and simplifying the mountain bike experience

[JimLodico]

Can’t say enough about Steve’s bike consulting service. I was coming off an old XC bike and was not familiar with modern bikes. Steve really helped confirm my thinking on the DV9 and advised on the used bikes I found.

One of the biggest things was that after completing his initial survey, he responded with a video of someone killing it on some of our local trails. From that he knew exactly what type of trails I ride.

For some reason our local bike shops carry very few if any hard tails. Everyone rides full sus and the LBS all try to talk you into full suspension. Made it very hard to test or even look at a bike in person.

4-5 months later and 300-400 miles I’m loving the DV9. Its a great fit for the steep climbs and flowy descents of our trails and is a blast on everything I throw at it. Rock gardens, roots, flow, so much fun. Highly recommend Steve’s help for anyone looking for a bike.

[dhones]

I bought one of the last medium frames for 2020 based on this review. I hadn't ridden a hardtail in years, but I did it anyway. Once all the parts arrived I had my fun building it, and a few days ago got to ride it hard on some familiar trail. This bike ROCK'S! Thanks for informative review Steve! Mine is built 27.5+ with the DVO fork @150mm and there's not room here to describe how good it really is.

[petercroce]

Chiming in here as a very happy Nimble 9 v5 owner + Hardtail Party patron

There's no doubt in my mind that Steve is a far more composed rider than I am, but I found my Nimble 9 with a 150mm Yari to handle brutal black diamond descents surprisingly well. It's my only bike, meaning it gets taken on every big trip I go on, so when I took it to Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan I was looking forward to trying it on their notorious black diamonds. Look up Red Trail and Pauls Plunge on YouTube-- not particularly "shelfy" but very rocky and steep (388' descent over 1.6 miles + 185' descent over .9 miles). I definitely had some "oh sh!t" moments (mostly related to my skill level) but in general I thought it handled it like a boss.

Like I said I don't have any other mountain bikes, but this certainly seems like a great quiver killer for a lot of us. Especially if you get a wide range of tires for different riding. PS: I used my "bike consultation tier" on HTP's Patreon and Steve was super helpful with suggesting tires.

Ride on, riders.

[SentMKG]

Ha I really want to see you do more Bike to Animal comparisons!

[WhitelightningOG]

Highly Recommend the bike consultation! Steve broke down the pros and cons like everyone else, but he individualized the recommendation for my size and the geometry comparison from someone who has actually ridden the bikes is extremely beneficial. Not to mention his extensive knowledge or different bikes on different terrain and what would suit me and my riding location best too. 10/10.

[adallegretti]

Enjoying the reviews of the budget builds! I can't afford the really high end components, so I love to see what you think about the more wallet friendly parts :)

[CasperRc]

Dude I miss my 90’ and 94’ gt Mach one. And my 99’ 24” gt pro series cruiser with gt triple butted threadless forks with gt piston stem and I think I had big fish 3 peace cranks after casing a huge double and forming my gt 3peace crank into
A banana. something like that.all were chrome and that chrome frame is soothing to look at. Nothing better then washing your 4130 crmo frame and polishing the the smudges to a twinkling sheen. Great show bud.

[TheBoonie]

Based on Steve's reviews and my riding style, the banshee was leading the way, but being an ex-BMX-er, I wanted to give steel a try. I jumped on the Black Friday deal for the chrome N9 frame and now I have until April 2021 to select the components. I'll probably become a patreon patron of Steve's to properly spec the bike. Love your commentary, your style and your candor about the bikes you ride. I thought I had the best riding available living in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I'm jealous of your trails! Hopefully, you'll be able to do reviews like this for years to come!

[shaunroach]

What a great review!!! Your a single speed monster it’s great to see!!! Another gold video Steve, great explanation on the bike and what trails it was meant for!! Awesome job!!! 👍👍👍👍🤘🤘🤘🤘💪💪

[ericwelsch]

I pre ordered a nimble 9 on the first batch of frames. I was on a Canfield epo. The nimble 9 is better in every way, And I loved the epo. I live in central Washington. The nimble 9 picks through tech single track and carves turns. I absolutely love it.

[dkessler]

Great review! I built up a Gen V N9 back in August and I purposely avoided watching this review until now because I wanted plenty of time to form my own opinion. You really hit the nail on the head - this bike will get you completely addicted to spending hours on fun singletrack. The bad thing about it is my other bikes are now collecting dust. I like the N9 so much that as soon as Canfield announced they were bringing back chrome frames, I pre-ordered another one to build up as a dedicated SS.

[brianyates]

I recently became a patron to gain advice on my new build and support this channel. Steve always answers back in timely manner. Steve has taught me more about modern hardtails than I could have ever found on my own. Both through watching his videos and consulting with him. He was so excited about the Banshee Paradox V3, I have had one on order a while, due next month. In the wait time I have spent a lot of time selecting components for my first frame up build. I learned things from Steve like matching the width of the rim to the width of the tire. Could have easily got this wrong on my own. Thank you Steve.