Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[lukwy]

Hi @volan,
time is not the problem for me now, cause I've just broke my collarbone together with scapula...winter training, heh ... 2 months of wasting time. Nevermind.
You can shorten DT shocks travel (I think model doesn't matter) by inserting the plastic round washer(s) with radius cut (like 'C' letter, but without making a gap). I can't find good example now on internet, but it surly is somewhere. It is so simple like air chamber service.

[volan]

Hi @volan,
time is not the problem for me now, cause I've just broke my collarbone together with scapula...winter training, heh ... 2 months of wasting time. Nevermind.
You can shorten DT shocks travel (I think model doesn't matter) by inserting the plastic round washer(s) with radius cut (like 'C' letter, but without making a gap). I can't find good example now on internet, but it surly is somewhere. It is so simple like air chamber service.

Sorry to hear bout your injury. Hope you recover soon. Thanks for the info about washer. So you made one yourself or you bought it?

[lukwy]

I couldn't find spacer at proper dimensions, so i did it by myself.

[volan]

My fm936 is on the way 

I am thinking now between 2 forks for it: Sid Ultimate and Charger RL. Obvious difference is 100+ grams in favour of ultimate, but the other thing is the lockout. I got used and fell in love with hard lockout I had on my old cheap Markhor fork, and Raceday damper on my SL fork is stiff as well.

So my question is for anyone that has Charger RL Sid 35 fork: is the lockout "rock solid" as the Rockshox claims or it still has some play when you grind the pedals out of the saddle?

[thehawdis]

Hey guys I made it thru all 153 pages.  So thankful for all the information here.  I just heard from Adam that my 120mm medium with FSA BB is done and about to ship.  It took a little over a month because I caught the end of Chinese new year.  I have all my parts ready.   Full XT build with SID ultimate 120 and SIDluxe rear.  If all goes well I should be under 23 pounds.  If anyone is interested in my spec sheet I can attach.
 

[Eneen]

What's Skype contact to Adam? Haven't heard from him since February, 6th, despite kind reminders...

[thehawdis]

carbonda-adam on skype

But I found he was actually more responsive over email.   That's a relative term it was sometimes a week or two before getting a response.

[Arno Knell]

This little part (Reverse Angle Spacer) makes a 'big" different
for me, in combination  with the new 120mm linkage.

[endo.alley]

This little part (Reverse Angle Spacer) makes a 'big" different
for me, in combination  with the new 120mm linkage.

What is a Reverse Angle Spacer? Where do you get one? Is it a slackening of head angle headset?

[Arno Knell]

What is a Reverse Angle Spacer? Where do you get one? Is it a slackening of head angle headset?

Reverse Angle Spacer slackening head angle and seat tube angle by -0,5  angular degree.
I ordered this one by Rose Bikes in Germany.
https://www.reverse-components.com/de/produkte/05%C2%B0-angle-spacer-f%C3%BCr-tapered-gabeln

[hadato]

Hello everyone

I made it through the full topic, and find the Carbonda frame very tempting. It would offer a better fit to my needs than my current Intense Sniper XC. I really like the 120/120 mm option, longer reach and the potential fit of two bottles in the front triangle. My only concern is that the HA would be too steep in the 120/120 mm configuration.

Did anyone try to slacken the HA using the 9point8 Slack-R? Would it fit the frame or will the cables entering the frame block the cups? Over-forking is not an option as it would serve as a marathon/bike-packing race bike and so I need to keep the weight low.

[brex]

If you want 120 out of your sniper, just change the shock for a 45mm stroke and replace the fork.
The sniper's vpp suspension is much better than the 936.
I built a 936, it's a great frame and great bike. But after building my sniper, my 936 was given to my son-in-law. Riding them back to back made it very evident which was the better frame.

[hadato]

My Sniper is not set up as 120/120mm bike. However, there are quite some annoying things I don't like about it and I experienced quite some failures too.
1) The upper rocker bearings got loose several time in the carbon - I am rather tired of replacing the ling or gluing the bearings in.
2) The spacing of the lower rocker link is bigger than the width of the frame and resulted in a failure of the aluminum bolts. I used a spacer which probably resolved the problem.
3) The carbon link with even with the cross brace is not stiff enough - this results into side forces on the shock - my DPS failed last year (the inner axle snapped in halve).
4) The reach is a bit on the short side with the 120 mm fork and the head angle is not slack enough.
5) The frame does not fit too bottles - the additional bottle on the bottom of the front triangle is a very bad solution.
6) The derailleur hanger is not easily replaceable without tools which is a big problem for long bike packing races. 

All these things make me to think Carbonda can be a better and safer fit. Could you please elaborate on the setup you got on both bikes? Was the suspension the same (shock/fork)? How about the wheels and cockpit? What was the main difference you noticed?

[brex]

Setting the sniper up for 120 is as simple as a shock and fork.
I haven't had any of those issues. My bike is a large and fits two bottles easily in the front triangle. The 936 has one bottle mount. Sure, you need a wrench to replace the hangar. You need one for the 936 as well, but a small allen wrench rather than a larger open end wrench.
Sounds like you're simply wanting a change, so go for it. Mine is a T, so it has the extra brace on the rear triangle. Other than that the frames are identical from XC to T.
As for setup, I used the same components on both bike builds. Fork, wheels, drivetrain, cockpit, dropper, saddle.
Only thing different was the shock. Well, headset and bottom bracket too. I built the 936 with a fox DPS factory that I sent to Fox and had changed to 42.5 travel. I used a fox DPS performance elite on the sniper so I didn't have to see that annoying gold color. Functionally the exact same shock without the gold.
I built mine a couple years back, when the frame with shipping to my door was under $800.
At that price I might do it again. But really waiting for something else, and for prices to be back where they belong.
The sniper climbs and descends better. Noticeably. If you don't like whatever flex you are feeling with the sniper, I doubt you'll like the 936.

But get the frame. It's what you want to do, so go for it.

[hadato]

Thank you Brex for the extensive reply! My auto-correct stepped in. My Sniper is now 120/120 after the summer (Formula 33/DPS), but honestly, I don't feel much of a difference from the 120/100 mm. Unfortunately, I am on the medium size so I cannot easily fit two bottles in. The Carbonda can potentially fit two with a special bottle holder.

I might have been unlucky with the problems or just abuse the bike too much (tough I am below 65 kg). I have not seen many people with the same type of problems on the Sniper...

Could you also please describe a bit more what feels worse on the Carbonda bike? Does the bike go through the travel too quick and/or is not supple enough. Does it wobbles too much on the climbs, has worse traction? Any subjective or objective inputs are very welcome.

To what I can see from the sparse pictures of the rear end, the hanger looks like it is attached by a small bolt, but I it mostly guessing. Could you please (or someone else) comment on that?

And my first question still holds: Does someone knows if the Slack-R would fit in the frame?

I really appreciate your help! Tomas