Chinese Santa Cruz/AM831

[freeride1]

About shocks, i bought a Sr Sountour Triair 3CR for 280eur on a bike shop, june 2019. They are still around that price, in shops. And i am quite sure that this shock has at least equal quality and performance of a RS.

That shock is a "copy" of mine DVO Topaz T3, a great shock imho; online is around 290€ and I can suggest it on a budget bike build without loosing performance an tuneability.

,
I think it's actually the opposite, the Topaz is a "copy" of the Triair but with a bladder instead IFP.
I will use a McLeod or a Triair (210x50 to get about 130mm rear travel), I'm still thinking about it.

Suntour Triair was released later on 2019, DVO Topaz is on the market from 3 or 4 years! Haven't had a chance to put hands on a Triair
You're right about internal differences, Suntour work on a IFP

[freeride1]

I haven't seen a fork offset in any of the info though the Hightower is based on a 42 or 44 mm offset.

Anyone think there would be much problem with a 51mm offset? I can't imagine it would change things all that much? So far I'm finding mainly 51 and 4X seems pretty rare though I'm looking at 2019 forks that are on sale.

Also, I assume they chose one set of dimensions and there won't be any type of flip chip or different linkages available.  It looks like the dimensions are based on the high setting? I haven't ridden the Hightower but suspect that's what I would probably use anyways.

Wonder if there will be the little fender to help protect shock and linkage? Probably not,  but I hope they at least include an integrated down tube protector.

Has anyone tried replacing the bearings in these frames with something high quality like the enduro bearings? Did you notice a difference?

And I probably should ask this somewhere else...but does the matte carbon hold up ok?  Or does a gloss finish do better?

frame should have a flip chip on lower linkage, but I'm waiting a confirm from Eddy too.
About frame protections: asked Eddy, he told me to wait until first frames will be ready...but usually chinese frames doesn't have them.
I've ordered a chainstay+ seatstay guard and rear shock fender from a Santa Cruz dealer; they're pretty cheap. As soon I'll have my frame, I'll mold a downtube protector from a sheet of Kydex and double tape it to the frame.
As a new geo frame, it's designed around 44mm forks rake: I'll run mine on a 160mm Ohlins sporting a 46mm.
Going with a classic 51mm rake should slow  a bit in turns and directions change, probably a little more stable on straight riding.

[FlaMtnBkr]

Thanks for the reply.

I've seen some with downtube protection and some without. Any suggestions on using kydex? I have a little experience with it making knife sheaths but used a homemade press to mold it around the knife.

I've been looking at a '19 RS Yari RC which is 51mm offset. I'm trying to stay on the cheaper side but will keep looking if 44mm will be noticeably better.

That will be great if it has a flip chip but it probably won't affect my decision, just a nice surprise.

Need to also find a rear shock but hoping they will be able to offer a RS to purchase with frame.

[freeride1]

frame finish: unpainted carbon is always covered with a matt or gloss clear coat to protect it.
I'll go with a raw (non clear coated) one because I'll paint it DIY with 2K spray paints.
As for fork choice, I had experience with Pike, Lyrik, DVO Diamond and XFusion. If I were you I would look for some discount next months: 2021 models will come soon and due to international crisis some big shop has just started with big deals.
By the way I would stay in the 44mm rake.

Kydex
I've never used it yet, just arrived in my hand and will try to make a fork fender out of it, to make some practice.
Downtube protector will be molded direct onto the frame before I'll paint it.
Will shape it in the right size with cutter/Dremel, heat as per instructions and place on downtube.
I think mine will be longer than Santa Cruz one.
If someone won't go for Kydex or drill and rivet the frame to fit the originalprotector, RockGuardz have a carbon skid at 40£.

[YEEPYEEP]

The tri air is a solid option for the price though it's only available in 210x50 as I was looking to buy one for my Ican p9. I can recommend the sr suntour durolux fork and those do go on sale often. For the price, they're an awesome fork. The kydex is really simple to work on. Just oven the piece for a few minutes, mould it on the bb/downtube then ziptie to hold.

[Jotegr]

IMO the yari is a great budget fork. I wouldn't worry too much about the Fork offset if its a decent price jump. I'm sure I'll keep running my factory 36 in 51 offset.


For down tube protectors there's lots of options out there... You can do custom ones or just find a brand that's pretty close. I find the Rocky Mountain ones stick pretty nice to most bikes. If not, the off the shelf "carbon protector" kits are pretty darn good these days anyway.

The problem with my last chinese bike wasn't the bearings, it was the frame hardware. It was made of butter metal. You can certainly replace all the bearings with enduro bearings and some lighter riders will almost certainly appreciate the difference long term, but finding the hardware will probably be something more of us will need to do. Time will tell.

[freeride1]

The tri air is a solid option for the price though it's only available in 210x50 as I was looking to buy one for my Ican p9. I can recommend the sr suntour durolux fork and those do go on sale often. For the price, they're an awesome fork. The kydex is really simple to work on. Just oven the piece for a few minutes, mould it on the bb/downtube then ziptie to hold.

Sr Suntour list the Triair also in 210x55 on their official website

[freeride1]

@Jotegr

you're right about hardware concern, but from my experience they improved this with last model released. I'd love to swap all hardware with titanium.
We have to put hands on this frame to check for it, but could be possible that original Hightower hardware fit

[chetosmachine]

The triair 210x50 and 55mm are the same shock, there's a 5mm white block that limits the travel. I understand Sr Sountour is the manufacturer of DVO products.
Here you can see several pictures of the shock, including the travel limiter:
https://www.foromtb.com/threads/amortiguadores-sr-suntour-unair-duair-triair.1320391/page-10

[freeride1]

thanks for sharing that link! Only difference seem to be the pressure range in the piggyback: 170/200psi DVO and 190/240 Suntour.
Sr Suntour manufacture for DVO and many other brands, as the biggest company in the market.

[chetosmachine]

Well, the system in the piggyback is also different, with a bladder on the DVO and an IFP on the triair, which could explain the different pressure ranges for both.

[freeride1]

Well, the system in the piggyback is also different, with a bladder on the DVO and an IFP on the triair, which could explain the different pressure ranges for both.

sure, as told before! Bladder should deliver a slightly better transition than a floating piston and reduce cavitation

[eminius]

Any real sample pictures?

[freeride1]

Any real sample pictures?

Not yet! It should be matter of days, stay tuned

[scourge]

I wish the Marzzocchi Bomber Z2 would work for this frame. That's what I'd like to use, but it only goes up to 140mm. That stinks.