Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[carbonazza]

Which size are you guys ordering, just your regular size, or one size smaller due to the length of the bike?

I'm between two sizes in general, riding a 041 L for the moment, but will probably go for M this time( I'm 178cm/5'10" but with a 89cm/35" inseam ).
If you measure the horizontal and vertical distance between the rear of the saddle and the bar of your current bike, it should give you a good hint on the size to choose.
The stack and reach of the two bikes could help comfort the choice.

First impression, weight check to come...

If that helps I share your impatience

[numberzero]

Frame is finally at home.

This is a medium size, normal version with matte finish.
I checked an approximate 2kg as claimed in description.

First impressions :
The matte finish is really minimalist, you can see sometimes the carbon sheet trough the varnish.
Overall quality is really good, better than the pictures on website, even the inside of the frame is excellent, a step further from my LCFS902.

Some screw are torx, better to know.
All the cables are internal, there are no guides inside so you can put them as you want. Thus for the rear derailleur you must use full lenght housing. No need to mention this is single chainring only.

Compared to my bike, when you move the suspension without shock you can really feel the rebond from the pivotless rear triangle, something to think about when tuning the shock.
Shock mount is trunnion and 22,2mm upper side.

[carbonazza]

Frame is finally at home.

Woohoo !

...you can see sometimes the carbon sheet trough the varnish... even the inside of the frame is excellent...

Seeing carbon sheets is normal.
I'm glad to read that Carbonda continues to make frames that looks good inside too !

[Corneliz]

Congrats numberzero, great news!

Which components are you planning to use for your build?
I'm also planning to use a similar Fox rear shock, are you planning to install a remote? Do you know if that is even possible?

Looking forward to build pics!

[numberzero]

Congrats numberzero, great news!

Which components are you planning to use for your build?
I'm also planning to use a similar Fox rear shock, are you planning to install a remote? Do you know if that is even possible?

Looking forward to build pics!

It's an evol 165x45 with the 3 positions found on ebay us at a decent price. This shock exist with a 2 position remote, check the link on the stevens jura 2020 posted before but i don't know if you can convert one version into the other one? EDIT : 165x42,5 is the maximum the frame can handle

For the build description, first ride, stay tuned...

[carbonazza]

For the build description, first ride, stay tuned...

Sure... you have a captivated audience here !

[numberzero]

I could not resist to do a check ride

[emu26]

I could not resist to do a check ride

well, what do you think?  We can all see it looks great but we want to know how it feels.

[carbonazza]

well, what do you think?  We can all see it looks great but we want to know how it feels.

That was a quick build, nice !
It looks numberzero wants to keep it for himself for now

[numberzero]

Back from a weekend on the gravel bike.
So the fm936 is assembled, i putted my parts from the old to the new bike, no problem so far to signal.
The cables routing is a good idea. Compared to routing under the bottom bracket, cables are shorter and there are less interaction when suspension compresses, they don't eat the carbon under your cranckset and you don't have to worry about extra lenght needed.
The only problem is potentially rubbing on the shock.

About my build, i use a 165x45 fox evol shock meant to provide 120mm travel EDIT : 165x42,5 is the maximum the frame can handle and in front a reba setted to 120mm. With a 50x17° stem i have the same position than my lcfs902 which was in 100mm front with a 80x17° stem, so i feel at home to compare the effect on this «long slack » geometry. By the way https://www.bikegeocalc.com/ is good to compare 2 bikes. The idea is to test a XC+ or a light trail.

At the moment i just did a promising 25km test (not exhaustive enough terrain) under heatwave (not the best legs ever).
More to come...

[numberzero]

I will try to sum up my first impressions.

First thing is to adapt to the front wheel being far away and then you feel the smooth handling, stability, it gives you huge confidence, this thing is fast. In the same time on climbs you put power down and the bike goes, balance between rear and front, weight distribution is nice, you fight less against unintentional wheelies or rear wheel sliding like on 90' geometries. For sure if you ride mainly at slow speed turning tight around trees or so, you'd better go with a shorter wheelbase and a more lively steep HTA.

About suspension I use a sag in the 25-30% range (not easy to check, it's a matter of 2mm) and it works very well without eating the full travel for nothing.
The open position of the fox is very sensitive. Switching to medium mode is enough to reduce the pedal bob to insigifiant, probably the best for smooth terrain, gravel etc... I didn't test firm mode.
If you're an XCO racer the a remote on bar is a better option because lever on shock is not the easiest to access in action.
For information main pivot is at the height of a 32 chainring.

I will end with the overall feeling. The frame to me is greatly designed, stiffness/rigidity is well balanced and you don't feel a difference between an overstiff front and flexy rear triangle for instance.

This fm936 is a great mix between a trail inspired geometry and the DNA of an Xco whippet with modern geometry, efficient suspension, low price and excellent quality!

[Corneliz]

Sounds good! How is the handling compared to the LCFS902 frame? Is this frame the next level?

[lRaphl]

Thank you numberzero for your first impressions. Please keep us informed on how things turn out after a few weeks of use.

[emu26]

I'm sorry if I missed this in an earlier post but what size wheels  / tyres are you running and what is the bb height?

[numberzero]

Sounds good! How is the handling compared to the LCFS902 frame? Is this frame the next level?

It's different, more stable, smoother handling, i can't say more at the moment. Moreover this one is 120mm, while i runned 100mm on the LCFS902 which is a really good bike by the way.

Thank you numberzero for your first impressions. Please keep us informed on how things turn out after a few weeks of use.

After the holidays, in september i will probably have a good opinion on it.

I'm sorry if I missed this in an earlier post but what size wheels  / tyres are you running and what is the bb height?

29"x2,2, with a 120 fork i have 330/335mm bb height. From the geometry chart bbdrop is 45mm with a 100mm fork so the bb height will be around 10mm less.