Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[wfl3]

Wow, that looks pretty decent! And you'll end up very light. Would love to see the cost breakdown besides the weight.
Don't see much possibility to shave off weight when you want to go 120mm travel. Maybe lighter brakes. Why not get SRAM XX?

Cost breakdown... I hid that column from you guys, from myself, from my wife.  But right now it's going to be in the range of $6k.  Which I recognize is insane, but I spent $4100 on my current bike in 2014 and I'm still riding it today.  1900 miles this year alone.  So I tell myself it is money well spent if I use it as much.  My alternative consideration is an Epic EVO which would be basically $10k+ with similar spec... 

For the brakes, I went with what I know which is the XT.  The older set I have has been flawless.  But I heard the newer models have issues?  I spent years with AVIDs and had so many issues that it soured me.

Are the new SRAM offerings improved?

I think I spent about $4300 on mine, it is 21.4lbs ready to ride (125mm bikeyoke dropper), but only 100mm fork (Fox sc32).

I saved some $$$ and weight by using 11sp XTR shift/der and just by being a bit patient waiting on a few deals like $250 for some new take-off XX1 SL cranks.

[Colt__Seavers]

Wow, that looks pretty decent! And you'll end up very light. Would love to see the cost breakdown besides the weight.
Don't see much possibility to shave off weight when you want to go 120mm travel. Maybe lighter brakes. Why not get SRAM XX?

Cost breakdown... I hid that column from you guys, from myself, from my wife.  But right now it's going to be in the range of $6k.  Which I recognize is insane, but I spent $4100 on my current bike in 2014 and I'm still riding it today.  1900 miles this year alone.  So I tell myself it is money well spent if I use it as much.  My alternative consideration is an Epic EVO which would be basically $10k+ with similar spec... 

For the brakes, I went with what I know which is the XT.  The older set I have has been flawless.  But I heard the newer models have issues?  I spent years with AVIDs and had so many issues that it soured me.

Are the new SRAM offerings improved?

No not at all. Shimano is also my go to brake system, especially with mineral oil. But seeing your liking in hearing group I assumed you are into SRAM.
As shipping takes around 4 weeks you have enough time to shop in secondary market to shave off cost. I did the same and will post my breakdown ones bike is finished. Also my weight goal which I want to achieve.
6k is not really insane if you compare it to complete bikes like you did. You're saving a lot on the frame. A Scott Spark is around what? 5k only framekit?

[brex]

Magura brakes are my go to, Shimano second.
Sram brakes I will never use again.

[sync1]

Formula Cura for me, nothing else!
Shimano second.
I won't use Magura or SRAM ever again.

[adroitrider]

If I do go through with this build, I would like to go ultralight (were it makes sense to do so from a cost/robustness standpoint).  Here is my initial thoughts on a built list.  Any feedback is appreciated. (attached) 

(I know the BB is wrong, that's a carry over from my current ride)

I have a similar build going and all parts are in the house. Here are some comments:

Shock - the SidLuxe is lighter than 330, I will get a weight posted today
Wheels - I am not sure I would go that light if you are looking for a more aggressive downhill experience
Bottle cage - Only room for one, unless you plan to run an adapter to fit two

As someone else stated, I went with X01 11Spd and slightly used X01 Eagle crank. This was a huge money saver and weight is very competitive.

[Colt__Seavers]

If I do go through with this build, I would like to go ultralight (were it makes sense to do so from a cost/robustness standpoint).  Here is my initial thoughts on a built list.  Any feedback is appreciated. (attached) 

(I know the BB is wrong, that's a carry over from my current ride)

wouldn't it be nice to have a huge database with all available component options to choose from? with all weights? There must be something like that out there.
I always need hours of reserarch for finding all my preferred components and their weight. If there would be a database to choose components by catergory and click them together to a bike list and make an excel export, would make things so much easier.

[Pharaohollie]

Some of you have seen my issue with the slightly out-of-spec linkage upper shock mount. It's about half a mm too wide which leads to play using the 22.2mm hardware as per Carbonda's specs. I temporarily solved the issue by machining wider hardware, but I want to use the Enduro Bearings needle bearing kit I bought for the frame, so I asked for a new linkage, which I was promised several weeks ago.

So after weeks of Adam @ Carbonda promising to ship me a new linkage, I got a weird message form him today: he sends me this picture on Skype and says:

"as the linkage is hard to meet your requirement,so we will send some spacers to you come with it,okay??




What does he even mean by "the linkage is hard to meet your requirements.."? They're not MY requirements, they're Carbonda's quality control issues! The  upper mount span of the linkage I have is 22.7mm, not 22.2mm as it should be. No one else on this thread reported the same issue. They must be able to make their own linkage to spec, no?

I declined the spacer solution and we'll see what he says. Loving the frame but this seems a bit ridiculous.

[Colt__Seavers]

Some of you have seen my issue with the slightly out-of-spec linkage upper shock mount. It's about half a mm too wide which leads to play using the 22.2mm hardware as per Carbonda's specs. I temporarily solved the issue by machining wider hardware, but I want to use the Enduro Bearings needle bearing kit I bought for the frame, so I asked for a new linkage, which I was promised several weeks ago.

So after weeks of Adam @ Carbonda promising to ship me a new linkage, I got a weird message form him today: he sends me this picture on Skype and says:

"as the linkage is hard to meet your requirement,so we will send some spacers to you come with it,okay??




What does he even mean by "the linkage is hard to meet your requirements.."? They're not MY requirements, they're Carbonda's quality control issues! The  upper mount span of the linkage I have is 22.7mm, not 22.2mm as it should be. No one else on this thread reported the same issue. They must be able to make their own linkage to spec, no?

I declined the spacer solution and we'll see what he says. Loving the frame but this seems a bit ridiculous.

Could you post a picture of the assembly and show the play? I want to figure something out.

[Pharaohollie]

Some of you have seen my issue with the slightly out-of-spec linkage upper shock mount. It's about half a mm too wide which leads to play using the 22.2mm hardware as per Carbonda's specs. I temporarily solved the issue by machining wider hardware, but I want to use the Enduro Bearings needle bearing kit I bought for the frame, so I asked for a new linkage, which I was promised several weeks ago.

So after weeks of Adam @ Carbonda promising to ship me a new linkage, I got a weird message form him today: he sends me this picture on Skype and says:

"as the linkage is hard to meet your requirement,so we will send some spacers to you come with it,okay??


What does he even mean by "the linkage is hard to meet your requirements.."? They're not MY requirements, they're Carbonda's quality control issues! The  upper mount span of the linkage I have is 22.7mm, not 22.2mm as it should be. No one else on this thread reported the same issue. They must be able to make their own linkage to spec, no?

I declined the spacer solution and we'll see what he says. Loving the frame but this seems a bit ridiculous.

Could you post a picture of the assembly and show the play? I want to figure something out.

The play won't show on video. It's only noticable if you grab the bike by the top tube or the linkage area and lift or rock it gently. I posted a picture several weeks ago in this thread here http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,2079.375.html

[Vipassana]

Magura brakes are my go to, Shimano second.
Sram brakes I will never use again.

I have kind of forgotten about Magura; I've not owned a set since their hydraulic rim brakes about 20 years ago.  Remember those?!  I was a celebrity at school when I got my set.

Formula Cura for me, nothing else!
Shimano second.
I won't use Magura or SRAM ever again.

I don't know anything about Formula.  They are lighter.  I'll read some reviews.

I have a similar build going and all parts are in the house. Here are some comments:

Shock - the SidLuxe is lighter than 330, I will get a weight posted today
Wheels - I am not sure I would go that light if you are looking for a more aggressive downhill experience
Bottle cage - Only room for one, unless you plan to run an adapter to fit two

As someone else stated, I went with X01 11Spd and slightly used X01 Eagle crank. This was a huge money saver and weight is very competitive.

Good feedback.  Thank you.  For the wheels, you have a point.  I think my current set is ~1590g (30mm outer width, hookless, 28spoke, Novatec hubs) and has been very robust; only recently did the rear hub fail.  I was hoping to save weight with nicer hubs this time (maybe 240s).  I think I can get lighter than 1590 pretty easily, but maybe shouldn't shoot for something too extremely light.  Do you have any recommendations for what makes a robust wheel?

2nd bottle cage was left over from my HT build.  Knowing I will likely only have a single bottle cage on most new suspension frames, I have made a point to ride with only a single bottle this year to see if it is a problem.  I think it will be OK for about 90% of my rides.  For the rest, I'll carry a second in my jersey pocket or pack.

You and others make a good point with the 11spd stuff.  I just wanted the 'new' hotness I guess.  I ride 11spd now (10-46) with 32T and I would appreciate more of a climbing gear.  I guess I could look at a 10-50 cassette for 11 spd; there are some options available. 

wouldn't it be nice to have a huge database with all available component options to choose from? with all weights? There must be something like that out there.
I always need hours of reserarch for finding all my preferred components and their weight. If there would be a database to choose components by catergory and click them together to a bike list and make an excel export, would make things so much easier.

That would be sweet.  And not very hard to setup really.  The issue would be maintaining the database.  Is anyone working on this at all?

[Colt__Seavers]

Magura brakes are my go to, Shimano second.
Sram brakes I will never use again.

I have kind of forgotten about Magura; I've not owned a set since their hydraulic rim brakes about 20 years ago.  Remember those?!  I was a celebrity at school when I got my set.

Formula Cura for me, nothing else!
Shimano second.
I won't use Magura or SRAM ever again.

I don't know anything about Formula.  They are lighter.  I'll read some reviews.

I have a similar build going and all parts are in the house. Here are some comments:

Shock - the SidLuxe is lighter than 330, I will get a weight posted today
Wheels - I am not sure I would go that light if you are looking for a more aggressive downhill experience
Bottle cage - Only room for one, unless you plan to run an adapter to fit two

As someone else stated, I went with X01 11Spd and slightly used X01 Eagle crank. This was a huge money saver and weight is very competitive.

Good feedback.  Thank you.  For the wheels, you have a point.  I think my current set is ~1590g (30mm outer width, hookless, 28spoke, Novatec hubs) and has been very robust; only recently did the rear hub fail.  I was hoping to save weight with nicer hubs this time (maybe 240s).  I think I can get lighter than 1590 pretty easily, but maybe shouldn't shoot for something too extremely light.  Do you have any recommendations for what makes a robust wheel?

2nd bottle cage was left over from my HT build.  Knowing I will likely only have a single bottle cage on most new suspension frames, I have made a point to ride with only a single bottle this year to see if it is a problem.  I think it will be OK for about 90% of my rides.  For the rest, I'll carry a second in my jersey pocket or pack.

You and others make a good point with the 11spd stuff.  I just wanted the 'new' hotness I guess.  I ride 11spd now (10-46) with 32T and I would appreciate more of a climbing gear.  I guess I could look at a 10-50 cassette for 11 spd; there are some options available. 

wouldn't it be nice to have a huge database with all available component options to choose from? with all weights? There must be something like that out there.
I always need hours of reserarch for finding all my preferred components and their weight. If there would be a database to choose components by catergory and click them together to a bike list and make an excel export, would make things so much easier.

That would be sweet.  And not very hard to setup really.  The issue would be maintaining the database.  Is anyone working on this at all?

Oh yeah, the good old HS33 times... Still running those on my city bitch.

The Formula R1 Race is one of the lightest available brakes.

I got DT240 hubs in my last wheelset. Won't spent that much money on those ever again. The DT350 are only a few dozen grams heavier, but are a bargain, especially when using the 54T ratchet they are awesome.

If you don't run a dropper, there might be space for a second bottle. Or maybe it's possible to strap to the fork?

Yeah 11 speed is very affordable these days. Especially Shimano. But I like to go 12s also as I had 11s running on the bikes.

[adroitrider]

Good feedback.  Thank you.  For the wheels, you have a point.  I think my current set is ~1590g (30mm outer width, hookless, 28spoke, Novatec hubs) and has been very robust; only recently did the rear hub fail.  I was hoping to save weight with nicer hubs this time (maybe 240s).  I think I can get lighter than 1590 pretty easily, but maybe shouldn't shoot for something too extremely light.  Do you have any recommendations for what makes a robust wheel?

I would definitely go with a hub that can be serviced and has readily available bearings, freewheels, etc. I have a set of light bicycle 32h rims laced to American Classic (went out of business) 350 disc hubs that I just converted to boost and XD driver. I am concerned with finding XD drivers going forward...but the bearings are readily available in low and high quality.

My wheelset is eight years old. A key build decision was going with brass nipples and stouter drive side rear spokes. I haven't had to true or replace a spoke and re-dish for the boost spacing was painless.

[Colt__Seavers]

+1 on brass nippels when using carbon rims!
Why? Electrochemical corrosion!

[Vipassana]

I would definitely go with a hub that can be serviced and has readily available bearings, freewheels, etc. I have a set of light bicycle 32h rims laced to American Classic (went out of business) 350 disc hubs that I just converted to boost and XD driver. I am concerned with finding XD drivers going forward...but the bearings are readily available in low and high quality.

My wheelset is eight years old. A key build decision was going with brass nipples and stouter drive side rear spokes. I haven't had to true or replace a spoke and re-dish for the boost spacing was painless.

+1 on brass nippels when using carbon rims!
Why? Electrochemical corrosion!

I learned the lesson about brass nipples the hard way. Stan's fluid is apparently caustic (due to ammonia in it) and ate the tops off all the aluminum nipples.  I had to cut several spokes to get the wheel apart to swap the hub.  Nothing like cutting $3.50 Sapim bladed spokes with wire cutters... 

I am rebuilding the wheel with brass.  I'll take the 12g penalty!

[Colt__Seavers]

I would definitely go with a hub that can be serviced and has readily available bearings, freewheels, etc. I have a set of light bicycle 32h rims laced to American Classic (went out of business) 350 disc hubs that I just converted to boost and XD driver. I am concerned with finding XD drivers going forward...but the bearings are readily available in low and high quality.

My wheelset is eight years old. A key build decision was going with brass nipples and stouter drive side rear spokes. I haven't had to true or replace a spoke and re-dish for the boost spacing was painless.

+1 on brass nippels when using carbon rims!
Why? Electrochemical corrosion!

I learned the lesson about brass nipples the hard way. Stan's fluid is apparently caustic (due to ammonia in it) and ate the tops off all the aluminum nipples.  I had to cut several spokes to get the wheel apart to swap the hub.  Nothing like cutting $3.50 Sapim bladed spokes with wire cutters... 

I am rebuilding the wheel with brass.  I'll take the 12g penalty!

Carbon or Aluminium rims?