Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[carbonazza]

And my last try... using Sketchup and all zilcho's measurements(sorry I didn't see your previous picture with the bike)



Not that far from adbl estimates.

[adroitrider]

Frame arrives Monday.

Order was place on 22 June. Took two weeks to get shipped, XL SL. I wonder if the SL process is some dude sanding the bike down for a couple of hours...

For build, ended up going with the Sram X0 Dub crank and BB. Haven't ordered the dropper, will add that upgrade after a few rides with a standard post.

Need to get the rear wheel swapped out to boost, dished, and XD driver. (American Classic 225)..and the fork rebuilt/converted to 120mm (2012 Sid RCT3, 46 offset).

[zilcho]

Frame arrives Monday.

Order was place on 22 June. Took two weeks to get shipped, XL SL. I wonder if the SL process is some dude sanding the bike down for a couple of hours...

For build, ended up going with the Sram X0 Dub crank and BB. Haven't ordered the dropper, will add that upgrade after a few rides with a standard post.

Need to get the rear wheel swapped out to boost, dished, and XD driver. (American Classic 225)..and the fork rebuilt/converted to 120mm (2012 Sid RCT3, 46 offset).

I would recommend at least running the cable housing for a dropper before installing the BB.  It was difficult to make that bend and get around the chain stay pivot even with access through the open BB shell.

[zilcho]

And my last try... using Sketchup and all zilcho's measurements(sorry I didn't see your previous picture with the bike)



Not that far from adbl estimates.

Interesting.  Maybe the NS rear triangle has more than just visual changes, or they modified the linkage too.

[wfl3]

Frame arrives Monday.

Order was place on 22 June. Took two weeks to get shipped, XL SL. I wonder if the SL process is some dude sanding the bike down for a couple of hours...

For build, ended up going with the Sram X0 Dub crank and BB. Haven't ordered the dropper, will add that upgrade after a few rides with a standard post.

Need to get the rear wheel swapped out to boost, dished, and XD driver. (American Classic 225)..and the fork rebuilt/converted to 120mm (2012 Sid RCT3, 46 offset).

I would recommend at least running the cable housing for a dropper before installing the BB.  It was difficult to make that bend and get around the chain stay pivot even with access through the open BB shell.

I second this suggestion.  That was the hardest housing to get thru the frame for me.  Can't imagine doing it with the BB installed.

[adroitrider]

I would recommend at least running the cable housing for a dropper before installing the BB.  It was difficult to make that bend and get around the chain stay pivot even with access through the open BB shell.

I second this suggestion.  That was the hardest housing to get thru the frame for me.  Can't imagine doing it with the BB installed.
[/quote]

Thanks for the advice, just ordered the one up, wolftooth lever, jagwire cable kit and left matchmaker.

[carbonazza]

... I wonder if the SL process is some dude sanding the bike down for a couple of hours...

A bit more than sanding 
Normal : is a mix of T700 & T800
SL : is 60T and different layer permutations

Since we are 3 of us building it together all in size M, with mostly same forks/shocks/wheels.
We will test the difference: dry weight and feel/stiffness when riding.

[wfl3]

So far mine as been super fun and trouble-free - only 110 miles tho because of a wheel rebuild issue.

The only thing I could complain about at all up to this point is the small amount of cable noise in the frame, I really hate any noise.  In hindsight I would have put those neoprene tubes over the housing in the downtube (like specialized used on the older epics), but I wasn't about to pull it all apart to make that happen.  The hack I ended up doing was to cut a wedge from a pool noodle about 18" long and then pulled the fork off and shoved that down the downtube under the cables thru the headtube.  So far that's done the trick on the cable noise.   

[adbl]

I have a hard time of trusting any of the Chiner geometry drawings. Not because they are trying to deceive or are just getting it wrong. These open mold frames go through so many iterations that the one we see posted might not be the final iteration or at least the drawing is not updated to the most current geo numbers.

Having said that, you need to at least have a starting point to begin with. Without having a frame here in front of me to measure I have no choice but to reference the drawing. If I were to assume the drawing as listed on their site is accurate at 100mm travel, then according to my calculations shock travels would be as follows:

40mm shock = 101mm travel
42.5mm shock = 105mm travel
45mm shock = 112mm travel

My calculations come from a CAD program that has been used in Motorsports for years to model suspension kinematics and is dead nuts on!

Could you model the NS frame dimensions as well?  Curious how it stacks up b/c the rear triangle measurements look the same to me, just visually different.

I've modeled the NS frame. Their rear triangle is different than the 936. You can tell straight away from looking at the interface at the seatstay rocker link. The results are as follows:

37.5mm = 100mm travel
42.5mm = 112mm travel
45mm = 120mm travel

The frame has an average leverage ration of 2.66, a little higher than the 936. That accounts some for the travel differences. I feel the 936 has a more progressive ratio, should work well with this style of frame.

[Colt__Seavers]

Thank a lot @adbl

But how to know if 165x42.5 is still save to use?

[Pharaohollie]

So far mine as been super fun and trouble-free - only 110 miles tho because of a wheel rebuild issue.

The only thing I could complain about at all up to this point is the small amount of cable noise in the frame, I really hate any noise.  In hindsight I would have put those neoprene tubes over the housing in the downtube (like specialized used on the older epics), but I wasn't about to pull it all apart to make that happen.  The hack I ended up doing was to cut a wedge from a pool noodle about 18" long and then pulled the fork off and shoved that down the downtube under the cables thru the headtube.  So far that's done the trick on the cable noise.   

I have close to 600km on mine now, and I also really like the frame aside from the linkage issues I detailed earlier in this thread (tl;dr: upper shock mount is about 0.5 mm wider than it should be. I machined custom hardware to fit, and Carbonda promised to send a new linkage but Adam hasn't been replying to my messages for a couple of weeks now)

Same with cable noise. Similar solution to yours as well as some small wedges in the cable ports on the rear triangle took care of the cable rattle.

[Pharaohollie]

Thank a lot @adbl

But how to know if 165x42.5 is still save to use?

I am using 42.5mm (as are many in this thread who bought this frame) and there are no issues. There is enough clearance at full compression. Just don't use a 45mm stroke shock.

[Colt__Seavers]

I am using 42.5mm (as are many in this thread who bought this frame) and there are no issues. There is enough clearance at full compression.

Thanks mate

[zilcho]

Same with cable noise. Similar solution to yours as well as some small wedges in the cable ports on the rear triangle took care of the cable rattle.

I rode some pretty rough trails this weekend and also noticed some cable noise.  I'm worried about being able to retrieve the pool noodle after installation so I'll be trying to install the slim, self adhesive plumbing insulation with the cables in the frame.

[adroitrider]

Chain Reaction has the neoprene jackets for $3.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/lifeline-internal-routing-anti-vibration-foam/rp-prod185571

In the US, Jagwire sells a similar product in bike shop quantities for $30.

https://www.treefortbikes.com/Jagwire-Housing-Damping-Foam-For-Internally-Routed-Frames

I bet most shops will sell you a section for a few dollars...

For my build, frame was scheduled to arrive today...shock ships Wednesday...fork was sent for rebuild and convert to 120mm today.