Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[federic000]

If Funn brand guard (amazon) mounted to it. Hope this helps you a bit.

Very well protected frame! Thanks Dan

[p4R4d0x]

I just picked up a Vitus Rapide FS, that I understand uses this frame (at least it sounded like it did according to the research I did before buying). I was very surprised/pleased that it showed up with a UDH, though! I wonder if Vitus had a mid model rear triangle refresh or something? Everything I found before purchasing pointed to being stuck with no UDH and I was concerned about sourcing replacements in the future due to CRC/Wiggle stopping shipments to the US. Anyone know anything?

Unfortunately I might have gotten too much bike for me, though. I’m 5’ 6” and 30.5” inseam without shoes. This puts my height at the top of Small, bottom of Medium, inseam out of Small and into Medium. There were no Smalls in stock so I grabbed a medium thinking I’d be fine (especially once shoes were added). I got the bike yesterday though and it seems large! It comes with a huge seat post that feels too tall even lowered all the way (dropper already on the way, so maybe a non issue) but the front end feels really long. I’m hoping it’s just due to the (unnecessarily?) long stem and narrow bars, but curious what others think about sizing. Would a stem and bars wake this up, or am I overbiked? I can’t really ride it for several months anyway (slushy nasty winter here) so can’t really figure this out on my own til far past the return window.

[federic000]

The bottecchia Gardena  also has udh and modern cable routing from the headset
https://www.bottecchia.com/products/gardena-29-squadra

[carbonazza]

Sofiane Sehili, who's a star of the ultra endurance seems to ride on Vitus gravel and MTB(same as the 936)
As seen in the picture of his IG https://www.instagram.com/sofianeshl/

[dan_cx]

Very well protected frame! Thanks Dan

I try to protect my investments.  . To circle back to my initial post about the Absolute Black brand guard https://absoluteblack.cc/taco-bashguard/, I used that one in particular because the bash thingy bolts on flush with the mount, so it was less likely to rub on the chain. It's a little expensive, but it's cheaper than replacing a frame.

[Mrbobbob]

How does the bash guard protect the frame? Doesn’t the chainring do that already?

[dan_cx]

How does the bash guard protect the frame? Doesn’t the chainring do that already?

The guard protects the chainring as well as the frame, as it protrudes just farther than the diameter of the ring, allowing you to slide over/across any obstacle that would normally strike the rings. While it won’t protect from an object kicked up by the front wheel from striking the frame, it’s intended as protection from smashing the cranks/bottom bracket area in more technical terrain - rock gardens, ledges, etc.

Also, relying on your chainring to act as a bash guard means that one day you will have a very long and frustrating walk home.

[Markross]

So I've just bought the Vitus Rapide FS (CRX version with UDH) from Wiggle. Given Wiggle aren't likely to be around much longer should I stock up on frame parts? Or are they definitely the same as the ones supplied by Carbonda? Will I be fine to source them in the future from Carbonda?

[adroitrider]

Starting my fourth season on the 936 and during the process of upgrading the bottom bracket I noticed some rust on the old cups. The bearings never got contaminated and still spin great.

As part of this BB swap I am going to drill a 1/7” drain hole. I don’t ride in the mud except for two races over the last two years. I rarely need to wash my bike, outside of the two races I maybe hose down the frame once per year. I’ll probably start to cover all the cable entry points with rags or tape when I wash going forward.

[carbonazza]

...upgrading the bottom bracket...

Lucky you 
What BB is this ? And what will you put now ?

I gave up to my BB92/DUB combo and ordered a new triangle with BSA.
Unlike you, I ride half of the year in the mud, and the BB's do not last.

[adroitrider]

That is a stock Sram Dub bottom bracket. The drive side bearings are a little crunchy.

I installed one of the Walgun ceramic BBs from Ali that is anodized. I doubt it will last as the seals seem to be less robust than the Sram.

The trails near Chicago are clay based soil, no fun when wet.

[bsonart]

I can confirm that two bottles fit quite well in a large FM936 frame!  Also got a couple other 3D printed bits, the Manitou Mara remote lockout exits on the top (or bottom in the case of this mounting) but there's no room in the frame, so I printed a little sleeve for the aircan with a mount for the cable housing, so it now exits out the non-drive-side.  I just swapped from an LCFS911 to this and carried most of the parts over, but still going to build a new wheelset and get new handlebar/stem.  Once it's all done I'm thinking it'll come in right under 25 lbs.  The trails will be wet until mid March or so, so it'll be a while until a ride report.  So far the geo feels a lot like my Guerrilla Gravity, except it's fast in a straight line like my 911 was.

Sorry to bring up such an old post. I was curious if you had any more info on how you got the Mara to work with a remote lockout on your frame. I have a Vitus Rapide FS with a Mara and absolutely love it. I do wish I could run a remote to firm up the platform on the fly though. I tried to PM you, but I don't have any posts so it may not have went through.

Thanks,
Jake

[acedeuce802]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jgIC8LmFYuV43yIum-TtCDojybTVs7mq/view?usp=sharing

Here's the 3d STL file to 3d print.  I only used it for a couple hundred miles so I can't comment on the durability.  Not that I didn't like the lockout, just been testing out a few different shocks.  The only thing additional needed is a square nut and bolt (either m4 or #10 screw).  I also used a Shimano RS900 shift housing for the first foot, since it's a lot more flexible than traditional housing, and it's a tight bend to make sure it doesn't stick too far out towards the pedals.

[dan_cx]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jgIC8LmFYuV43yIum-TtCDojybTVs7mq/view?usp=sharing

Here's the 3d STL file to 3d print.  I only used it for a couple hundred miles so I can't comment on the durability.  Not that I didn't like the lockout, just been testing out a few different shocks.  The only thing additional needed is a square nut and bolt (either m4 or #10 screw).  I also used a Shimano RS900 shift housing for the first foot, since it's a lot more flexible than traditional housing, and it's a tight bend to make sure it doesn't stick too far out towards the pedals.

Do you have an stl file for that bottle mount? I’d love to run a 2nd bottle on my L frame.

[bsonart]

Do you have an stl file for that bottle mount? I’d love to run a 2nd bottle on my L frame.

Thanks a bunch!

Jake