I have a XFusion Trace 100mm on my -057 and it handles great! I was coming from a Giant 26er FS and was worried about the turning radius as most of my riding is on twisty single track, but i have to say it turns and handles better than my 26er ever did! The 51mm offset seems to handle steep and gnarly descents well. Might be a function of extending the wheelbase a little bit and also getting the large contact patch of the 29er wheel out in front of the frame. I have not yet felt like i'd be going over the handlebars.

FS27 has a 165*38mm and the Miracle a 165*40mm rear shock. Can that be the difference in HTA's?

From what i understand the 165x40 shock is a standard that was specifically designed for Enduro bikes. It gives a little more rear wheel travel with the same 165mm mounting and is not all that common of a shock. The geometry specs between the two frames listed seem to be quite different so i would suggest doing more research to find out exactly what the specs are. Peter has been a reliable source to this date and i have not heard any stories of him misrepresenting geometry specs of his frames.

Peter's is listed as 130mm fork/120mm rear travel where as the Miracle is listed as 100mm fork/100.2 rear travel. 100.2 rear travel with a 165x40mm shock seems off to me.

I built my 057 one year ago and have beating the crap out of it ever since!!! This is my first hardtail. I've always ridden full squish bikes so i was concerned about the harsh ride as you are. I am 53 years old, 210 lbs, strong and ride 2-3 times a week. Here in North Carolina we ride a lot of single track that tends to be very rooty so if there's any terrain that will  test your teeth chattering theory it's here. I ride on Maxxis Ikons front and rear 2.25 so not the widest tires. The bike complete weighs in at 22lbs. It is wicked fast!!! I'm sure there are lighter frames out there and i know my bike could drop a pound/pound and a half but the bike feels light, fast and more maneuverable than anything else i've ridden. I love the bike!!! There is not a nick, scratch or crack on it. The design has been proven over the years and the carbon layup schedule has not been changed because they don't want to screw with the reliability. If you search you won't find many posts about failures.

The frame is very stiff! So stiff i change the bottom bracket twice a year. I'm now going to invest in a RWC BB with ceramic bearings and see if it last longer and pedals smoother. When you get out of the saddle and hammer on the crank it takes all the power you can give!!!. The only thing to think about is power transfer to the rear wheel is so direct you need to put thought into what tire you are going to use to get the most traction you can. When i stand up it's so easy to break loose my Ikons....lol! I'm considering switching to the Maxxis Ardent Race to gain a bit more traction without killing the rolling resistance.

All in all it's a great bike and would recommend it to anyone considering a hardtail. It's that good!!!

Quote from: carbonazza on February 21, 2017, 03:17:40 AM

I do not buy expensive headsets anymore, it is waste of money, they all rust in the end( I tried Cane creek for instance ).

Instead I buy cheap ones on aliexpress for about $12-15, which are the same more or less we get with our new frames.
And change them when they do not work well anymore( often the bottom bearing fails first ).

Exactly what I do. The expensive one maybe last a little bit longer, but not that much to justify the price difference.

Recently I bought a couple of these ones for $10/each: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Road-Bike-Headset-1-1-8-1-1-2-Top-Cap-MTB-Tapered-Headset-Spacer-Integrated/32758312564.html
I recommend this shop, very good communications with Tang Zhilin.

These are the ones i use as well. They fit just about every tapered head tube. I have this same headset on my road and mountain bike only they are stamped Neco. Just an unbranded Neco headset. I also prefer the swedge fit on the top bolt instead of the pressed in retaining nut. It's reusable and doesn't chew up the inside of the carbon fork (if so equipped).

When I look at the map of Xiamen it looks like they are all within a 5 miles radius. Makes me wonder if they all use the same manufacturing facility. Anyone know anything about this?

That is what happens a lot in China as in any parts supply business. A lot of sellers but only a couple of "manufacturers". I remember reading posts in MTBR Forums a year or so ago where members actually were in China on business and took the time to visit some of the bike manufacturers. If my memory serves me correct, they were impressed to see a real factory with real people producing real bike frames and parts. Can't remember which companies though. I'm sure if you search the forums you can find some info.

We would all feel more comfortable dealing with the actual manufacturer but in all reality, as long as you get good communication and good service and a willingness to stand behind what they sell, you can't get any better than that!

I bought the large which is 19". I am 6 feet tall with a 32" inseam. I feel the bike fits me well. The only change in setup i've done is shortened the stem from  90mm to 60mm. I felt like i was laying all over the handle bars and the shorter stem seemed to fix that issue. My bars were 745mm but i cut them down to 725mm when i built the bike. I ride a lot of single track in the woods and the wider bars felt cumbersome and i was afraid i'd hook them too often. I would say i subscribe to the newer theory that the wider the bars the shorter the stem. The bike handles better than it did with the 90mm stem although there was nothing wrong with the handling before.

I built mine about a year ago and love it! It is extremely fast and handles well. I have no issues with descents although i can say i'm not truly downhill descending. I was concerned at first about technical trails as i was coming from a fs 26er but it actually handles better and turns tighter than my 26er. I went with a 1x10 setup with a 36t first gear. My crank gear is 30t and i'm glad i went with a smaller crank gear. A 1x11 would be a better choice i believe because you then get a 42t or 44t first gear which would help in my area. But the 36t isn't too bad.

I am thinking about putting wider wheels and tires on hopefully making it more trailable. Currently i'm running Maxxix Ikons 2.2 on front and rear. For XC i feel it is a great setup!!!

Trails in the Atlanta area are similar to the trails at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte- lots of short steep climbs, some tight and twisty routes, some trails have lots of rocks and roots while some are quite smooth.  Several also have the 'chopped up' feel from trying to cram in as much trail as possible.  The benefit is that you don't have to walk as far back to the parking lot if something goes wrong .  FATS seems a bit like the North GA or Western NC trails with less vertical- you actually feel like you are going somewhere.

Patrick C. seems like you know the trails here well! Good information thanks  . I will probably put wheels and tires on my 057 and leave it alone. If i decide to do something different it will be a new build. Currently my wheels are Easton EA90 XC with a 19mm inside width. I'll most likely go to carbon wheels at a 30mm or 35mm internal width and 2.35-2.40 tire and see what that does to make the bike more "trailable".