My FM-057 Build Thread.

[Sitar_Ned]

Okay guys.. This is a work in progress so there won't be too much exciting going on here for a couple of weeks, but I thought I'd go ahead and get started anyways, just so I can list out all of my components and keep track of them a bit better than I have been in my scribbled notebook.

My main objective with this build was to be patient and shop around for great online deals, and get the absolute most bike that I could for 2k. I didn't go for the absolute lightest bike that I could build, and instead tried to find a sweet spot for strength, durability, weight, and price. I could have shaved grams in quite a few places but with a riding weight of 220 lbs I tried to choose wisely. The Haven carbon bars and post, for example, aren't the lightest parts and I actually could have saved some bucks AND had a lighter bike. But as I've never owned Carbon and being in the upper range of rider weights, it was more important to me to have as much confidence in the safety of the bike as possible. That said, I realize I may have over built it a bit. But if so.. not by much. Guess I'll find out when I throw it on the scale for the first time, but I'm hoping for 22 lbs.

Bike will be built up as a 1x10 and will be mostly black with a white fork and a few red accents (like most other bikes it seems)

Frame: FM-057
Fork: Manitou Tower Pro QR15 80mm (wanted the 100mm but it sold out and Manitou actually has a slightly higher than normal axle to crown measurement so it should be all good)
Headset: Cane Creek 40 series
Stem: Easton Haven 75mm
Handlebars: Carbon Easton Haven 711mm
Rear Shifter: XT SL-M780
Rear Derailleur: SLX shadow plus
Brakes: Shimano Deore M615 (Should have waited for the PricePoint deal on an XT set for $99. Meh, can't win em all, the M615s are supposed to be equally good and I dig the all black finish)
Rotors: SLX 160mm
Crankset and Bottom Bracket: Shimano M670 triple converted to single chain ring
Narrow Wide Chainring: Raceface 32t
Chain: KMC X10.93
Cassette: XT 11-36
Pedals: VP Vice (flats)
Wheels: Sun Ringle Charger Experts 15mm front, 142 x 12mm rear
Tires: Maxxis Ikon 2.35 tubeless ready, non-exo front - Ikon 2.35 tubeless ready, exo rear (decided to shave about 50 grams off of the front wheel by skipping the EXO)
Seatpost: Carbon Easton Haven
Seat: Fizik Gobi XM
Grips: ESL Extra chunky
Post clamp: Salsa Lip lock
Cables: Jagwire mountain Pro


Okay.. I think that's everything. I'll update with ride impressions, any build issues encountered, and pics and vids of the build in progress, and of course of the final product, soon.

[Andy]

Looks like a good solid build.  Can't wait to see it!  When is your frame scheduled for delivery from Peter?  I bet you're getting anxious. 

[Sitar_Ned]

On the EMS site it shows dispatched 2 days ago.. But when I try to track it on UPS it doesn't show at all so I assume that means it hasn't made it to the States yet. I'm hoping by Friday.

Yes.. anxious would accurately describe my emotional state 

Still have a few parts to order though so even when it arrives there will be some waiting left to do. But at least I'll finally have the frame to start putting some of these fancy components on, rather than having a pile of boxes in my closet. Not that I don't get some odd sense of satisfaction out of the pile of boxes in my closet.. bc I do.

So far, my favorite component is the Easton carbon bar. That thing is just sexy and it's going to look sweet with my UD black matte frame, and black Shimano levers.

Yes, I will be pretending to be batman as I fly through the woods. Don't judge me.

EDIT: Doh! ChainReaction sent me the brake levers with the silver covers. They look pretty nice.. so whatever.

[Carbon_Dude]

The package will be handed off to USPS, you can track it there once it gets to the US.

I know what you mean about the Easton Carbon, they make nice looking stuff.

[Bertzhong]

it will be a great bicycle ,man. 

[Sitar_Ned]

it will be a great bicycle ,man. 

Thanks, Bertzhong.. Welcome to the thread and the forum!

[Sitar_Ned]

Okay guys, full disclosure: I am in no way shape form or fashion a bike mechanic. I'm not even mechanical.

So.. I'll be asking lots of dumb questions along the way, but hopefully this will only help to serve as a better resource for those that are just like me and decided to do their first chiner builds regardless of their lack of mechanical skill.

Okay.. first dumb question:

The white things sticking out of the frame, are those the internal cable guides and I need to cut them to fit, or do those come out entirely?

[Sitar_Ned]

Also, I've read that the first thing I should do is check to make sure the drop out screws weren't loose, and that I may even want to put some loctite on the screws.

So that's my first step.

[Rigid_Bloke]

Pretty sure you pull those out but wait til someone confirms that.

I really like you build list and seeing as how I plan on building my own fairly soon... I'll def be following the thread and look forward to seeing the final product!

[Sitar_Ned]

I've gotta say that my overall impressions of the frame are very positive. The head tube intersect is beefier than I thought would be. I also think the frame looks much better in person, mainly because the shape of the top tube is much more angular than it looked like in pics. In pics it jest seemed a bit more rounded than it actually is. Was relived to like the aesthetics of the frame in person because I was honestly unsure if I liked it or not having seen it only in pics. Was kinda digging the more straight lined carbon bikes if that makes sense.

[Izzy]

Not sure about that tubing but as for the drop out screws, what I do is put a tiny amount of grease around the base of the bolt to prevent any potential creaking, and use 242 blue loctite on the threads. Doesn't take much.

[Carbon_Dude]

Definitely don't need the tubing, I don't even remember if mine had any.  The cables feed right through and out the other end.  One thing you can do is feed your cable from back to front, for example, for the brake line you would not disconnect the caliper.  You would disconnect the lever, and feed the brake line from the chain stay up to the head tube.

While you are at it, you might as well shorten the cable so you can use the no bleed method of shortening the brake line which is basically these steps:

1)  Remove pads
2)  Squeeze the lever a few times to push the pistons inward about 5mm
3)  Disconnect the lever
4)  Route your rear brake line through the frame
5)  Mount your caliper
6)  Determine how much cable to cut
7)  Install new olive and insert
  Reconnect the brake line to the lever
9)  Push the caliper pistons back using a tire lever
10) Reinstall brake pads & Yellow block.

You should be good to go with no air in the brake line.

[Sitar_Ned]

Definitely don't need the tubing, I don't even remember if mine had any.  The cables feed right through and out the other end.  One thing you can do is feed your cable from back to front, for example, for the brake line you would not disconnect the caliper.  You would disconnect the lever, and feed the brake line from the chain stay up to the head tube.

While you are at it, you might as well shorten the cable so you can use the no bleed method of shortening the brake line which is basically these steps:

1)  Remove pads
2)  Squeeze the lever a few times to push the pistons inward about 5mm
3)  Disconnect the lever
4)  Route your rear brake line through the frame
5)  Mount your caliper
6)  Determine how much cable to cut
7)  Install new olive and insert
  Reconnect the brake line to the lever
9)  Push the caliper pistons back using a tire lever
10) Reinstall brake pads & Yellow block.

You should be good to go with no air in the brake line.

Thx CD..

I was up late last night messing with the rear brake actually.. From a bit of research, I'd found that some guys followed the steps you outlined above but skipped the removing the pads and pushing the pistons out. I was afraid of pushing them out too far, so I did it without even removing the pads.. was pretty easy but I haven't tried using them yet to know if I messed anything up, or got air in the line..

Here were my steps for Shimano rear brake installation:

Remember to keep the caliper lower than the open end of the hose throughout the entire process. Seems obvious but when you're doing it alone and are pushing the hose through the frame, it's easy to forget that part.

1) Unscrew the hose from the lever
2) Pull out the hose
3) Using wire cutters, cut just enough hose to remove old barb and olive
4) Apply small piece of tape over end of hose (too much and it makes it difficult to push through the frame)
5) Push hose through frame the rear (remember to remove the rubber cover and screw before doing this)
6) Attach caliper to frame and attach lever to handlebars
7) Measure and cut hose with a sharp box cutter to get a precise, clean cut. Use more of a sawing motion with a new, sharp blade for best results
8.) Install new insert and olive
9) Reconnect and hope all is well

We'll see.

Tubing removed. It obviously didn't need to be used for the brake internal routing but thought it might be used for the rear derailleur cable, guess not.

[Carbon_Dude]

Those steps sound about right, I didn't bother with covering the hose end, not much fluid was lost but either way is fine.  One of the tools that I bought was a hydraulic line cutter, it slices the brake line leaving a clean edge, I also used a pointy tool to make sure the line was nice and round after the cut.

I also bought a Park cable cutter to get clean cuts on the cables and cable housings.

One more thing I bought was cable lubricant to reduce friction and help prevent corrosion of the cable in the housing.

[Sitar_Ned]

Yeah.. You make a VERY good point. When you're figuring out your chiner budget, don't forget tools! They can initially seem like a bit of an afterthought at first. For example, I was just planning on borrowing some tools to complete the build but really... this isn't just about having a bike or I don't think most of us would go through all this trouble. If you're really going to get into mtb, it's just far more satisfying and fun when you're really in tune with the machine that your riding and putting a lot of faith into. Not to mention, that some of this tools are bike specific, so your normal go to tool friend my not have you covered.

Give thought to your component and frame selection.. and then build and learn about the bike. It will be far more rewarding, imo.

But you'll need some tools, and lube, and bike stand (cheap and easy to make one at home that works well enough)