Carbonda fm936 Thoughts

[Vipassana]

Took the bike out for the first time today!
Holy shit!    Handles way better than I expected. It rips on the down hills, the 120mm at the front feels amazing with that slack head angle. I found the rear was really hugging the rooty hills whilst not sucking my power. I intend to use this bike in the National Points Series in Ireland this year so I'm buzzing for that. My build weighs 11kg so it's it's so throwable when things get steep.

Will post some pics from the trails tomorrow!

How did it climb?  Is the long wheelbase and low BB really noticeable?

[theirishrider]

How did it climb?  Is the long wheelbase and low BB really noticeable?

Long wheel base yes, but in a good way! Also mine is a L so if you want a shorter wheel base take M. I have a 44mm offset fork so I dont know how much of a difference that makes.

Low bb didnt notice at all with 170 cranks! I was going down deep railway sleeper stairs on the trail and didnt notice a too low feeling.
I'm going to a trail center tomorrow so will report more.

[casual_build]

I have the same shock on my Standard size L and I have 1cm clearance at full compression. I'll get a caliper and measure it with a pic and upload it.

What pressure are you running in the shock? I'm 70kg and at around 250 PSI.
Thanks

Reposting a comment I made earlier in the thread when asked about my shock setup, Please note with all my gear and water, I am closer to 80kg and my frame is a medium so  copying my settings is a bad idea. I put a picture of my gap below. Here is the comment from earlier:

I counted 10 clicks from full rebound toward softer, At just under 200psi. I bet the shock behaves differently on a larger frame.

For the newer people like me, when you pump up the rear shock make sure to equalize the chambers by compressing to 25% about 20 times. Then check the sag and PSI again. Also, this shock tune is: 2018, FLOAT DPS, P-S, A, 3pos, Trunnion Evol LV, Giant, Anthem 27.5 2, 165, 42.5, 0.8 Spacer, DCM, DRM, CML, YS 2272/YS 2272 Logo

That 0.8 spacer means bottoming out the rear shock is really tough. Thats why I go for such low rebound, with semi-high pressure. Of course, I dont really know what I am doing.

Long wheel base yes, but in a good way! Also mine is a L so if you want a shorter wheel base take M. I have a 44mm offset fork so I dont know how much of a difference that makes.

Low bb didnt notice at all with 170 cranks! I was going down deep railway sleeper stairs on the trail and didnt notice a too low feeling.
I'm going to a trail center tomorrow so will report more.

I also dont think the low BB is very noticeable. Not a big deal, has its advantages.

[Pharaohollie]

Low bb didnt notice at all with 170 cranks! I was going down deep railway sleeper stairs on the trail and didnt notice a too low feeling

I also don't think the low BB is very noticeable. Not a big deal, has its advantages.

The low BB is the thing that stands out the most to me out of the geometry of this frame. I guess it all depends on the type of trails you ride. On my home trails (natural desert trails, loads of rocks and off-camber technical singletrack...nothing is groomed), pedal strikes are far more than the two other bikes I ride most frequently (2017 Cannondale Scalpel and a Titus Fireline with a 120mm fork...neither is known for a particularly high BB) and that's with 170mm crank arms. Love this frame, but I dare not run the 936 with a 100mm fork where I ride seeing how low it is with 120mm.

[wfl3]

The low BB is the thing that stands out the most to me out of the geometry of this frame. I guess it all depends on the type of trails you ride. On my home trails (natural desert trails, loads of rocks and off-camber technical singletrack...nothing is groomed), pedal strikes are far more than the two other bikes I ride most frequently (2017 Cannondale Scalpel and a Titus Fireline with a 120mm fork...neither is known for a particularly high BB) and that's with 170mm crank arms. Love this frame, but I dare not run the 936 with a 100mm fork where I ride seeing how low it is with 120mm.

Agreed on the BB here.  I originally had a 100mm stepcast on mine and the BB was ridiculously low and I was having strikes every ride even with 170mm cranks - hard strikes.

Swapped the fork to a 120mm stepcast just because of the strikes and that cleared up 90% of those for me.  As an added bonus I feel like the bike actually steers and handles better now as well.  As info: 100mm was 44 offset and the 120mm is 51 offset.

[Denis]

Low BB has some benefits in flat corners  )

[JvanJ]

Yes, here is my medium frame with 165x37.5mm fitted:

the stroke of its rod can be upgraded to 165 * 42.5

[theirishrider]

Hi All,

Long awaited is my completed build photo. I took the bike out yesterday for the first time on proper trails. It rides like a dream. The suspenion is very efficient on the climbs and supple on the small stuff without bob. It feels like a magic carpet ride. My 2 friends said they've never ridden anything like it before - in as good way. I was hitting 500m long rock gardens, 20cm deep mud dh tracks, flowy jumps no problem.

The Rockshox SID Select 120mm 44mm is fantastic. It eats up the chatter and roots but gets very progressive towards the end of the stoke never bottoming out. 
Shimano XT 12s is fantastic, cant fault it, shifts under power so so well.  XT brakes are fantastic and cannot fault them.  The BTLOS wheels are a dream, carbon wheels are like riding on train tracks, not a jot of flex. 11kg helps the climbing performance no doubt!

You can see my excel for the build in my previous comments! The only thing you need is a external lockring for the front disc due to the 15mm axle.

for 3.5k euro I think to replicate the Geo and spec of my build, the only things on the market are the NS or specialized epic Evo. For a similar spec both are 5.5k-6.5k euro.

Basically, you can replace the frame and the whole drive train OR buy a second set of carbon wheels, and still be less than the Specialized Epic Evo. In my opinion that's better than any warranty!!! 

[tbgallant]

Hey folks, while I patiently wait for some response to my request for quote from Carbonda.. can somebody confirm what type of BB the FM936 is?  Says BB92, but is this pressfit or BSA/threaded? 

Is there an option for either?

Thanks,

[theirishrider]

Hey folks, while I patiently wait for some response to my request for quote from Carbonda.. can somebody confirm what type of BB the FM936 is?  Says BB92, but is this pressfit or BSA/threaded? 

Is there an option for either?

Thanks,

some people have been able to get threaded, most have not. I got pressfit BB92 and a ZTTO thread together bb and its working well.

[carbonazza]

...can somebody confirm what type of BB the FM936 is?  Says BB92, but is this pressfit or BSA/threaded? 

BB92 is pressfit.
BSA(73mm) is threaded.

You can request one or the other when ordering.
I did order a SL BSA in July, not common, and still waiting  Hopefully I should get it in December.
Wing told that they are slowly moving to provide BSA as a default, instead of BB92.

Seeing all these happy people here makes me quite impatient.
Yes you... TheIrishRider

[ilyamaksimov]

BB92 is pressfit.
BSA(73mm) is threaded.

You can request one or the other when ordering.
I did order a SL BSA in July, not common, and still waiting  Hopefully I should get it in December.
Wing told that they are slowly moving to provide BSA as a default, instead of BB92.

Seeing all these happy people here makes me quite impatient.
Yes you... TheIrishRider

I ordered BSA and they sent me BB92 )

[theirishrider]

Seeing all these happy people here makes me quite impatient.
Yes you... TheIrishRider

I'll be thinking of you

[plumser]

After a lost package and a bunch of delivery delays I've finally been able to start building While pulling through the rear brake hose and derailleur housing I had a look at the NS bike and noticed that they guide their housing below the rear shock lower bolt like in the red line in the picture. Ive think most of fm936 builds guide the housing above the mounting bolt (like the green line) but would there be any issues doing it like on the NS? it looks like it would be more protected but at the same time more rubbing against the frame.

[carbonazza]

I would try the red line, it ends neater.
If you insure the hose does not touch the frame, there shouldn't be any rubbing, or maybe put some tape if needed.