davidd, yeah.... when I clicked "Post", a doubt flashed but it was too late

No problem, anyone from a country that pioneered chips with mayo and cyclocross can get away with anything..

Heres a picture of the sticker inside the headtube.  I just thought it might be of interest to those with a more indepth knowledge/interest in chinese frames.

Look what arrived today!  Seven days from China to Ireland; 6 days for 250 miles here!
Well packaged and undamaged


Neatly packed inside too..


And inside the bubble wrap..


Very neatly finished around the bottom bracket..


..and around the dropouts.


The headset cups look like they've had a lick of paint but isn't a problem.


The claimed weight is 1080g for a 17".  This came in at 1125g for a 19".


Can you spot the booboo?


The frame is sold as having all internal routing, it does and very neatly fitted with guide tubing inside, even for the full size brake hose.  BUT someone obviously thought tacking on a set of external cable guides would be a bright idea...  It's a pity, I'd rather they weren't there but in the general scheme of things not a disaster.


I have to say I cannot fault anything on the frame, for now, hopefully the BB is threaded properly and brake tabs are fine.  But colour, finish, carbon work.... No complaints.  The communication was first class and shipping fast and as claimed. 

So far, well done Carbonal and Jason. I have made them aware of the thread here so maybe they'll have a look. I also made them aware of the cable guide issue but am not expecting much on that front.

I also ordered a headset (generic, cheap ?, but will do for now), spare dropouts and a rear axle.  A set of flat bars and a seatpost, both are unremarkable for good or bad and time will tell how good they are.

So now the most enjoyable bit will start   Not an ideal weekend for it as I have visitors but I'll do my best!!

Wheels arrived today, Frame still in customs.

About the wheels;

Originally I was planning to get carbon rims with my order and build them up on DT350 hubs myself.  However putting all my eggs in a relatively unknown basket and time available to me for the build before racing began again led me to decide against that plan.

Based on a weight/value judgement I ended up getting a set of Stans Crests built up on DT350s (not straight pull) with DT Comp spokes.  Incl delivery these were less than €400.  Including tubeless rim tape they weighed in at 1650g on my Chinese scales!

My only whinge is this;  I got Centerlock hubs, I like centrelock.  BUT you cannot use a normal lockring with a 15mm axle DT hub you need a different Shimano lockring that uses a bottom bracket tool to tighten it.  Wouldn't it seem reasonable to provide such a lockring with the hub?  Apparently not so that will delay proceedings a little.

I fitted the XT cassette and Oneup 42 and 16 tooth cogs. 

My choice of tyres has always been Schwalbe NN up front and  R Ralph or NN out back depending on the level of mud, all in 2.1.  I also always buy the Snakeskin version as I find the normal sidewalls way to delicate.  Anyway Schwalbe do not make the NN in 2.1 for 650b and the advised tyre size for the frame is 2.1 so I got two Rocket Rons Snakeskin.  The tread looks more similar to a RaRa than a Nic so I think I'll get a NN 2.25 for the front.

Anyway the RoRo went onto the Crest without any effort, no soap, no compressor, a pleasant surprise considering what I had read about them.

Re: the 1x10 setup.  I had the same concerns over having a wide enough gear range but spent a lot of the time crunching the numbers and observing what gears I used.  I went with a 2x10 xt crank so if needed it is easy to switch over.  It's very hard to beat the XT crank for value/weight.  Without rings it is only slightly heavier than XTR and the BB is usually included.

Watch my build over the next week or so, I will be using the full OneUp conversion of RadR cage, 42 tooth cog and 34 tooth Ring. It looks like I will have the frame sometime this week and everything else is ready to go.  I'll certainly post my thoughts on the setup over the next few weeks as the spring racing resumes in two weeks. 

Co.Clare , Ireland

Hi Arraider,

Sorry about your predicament.

Can you find a bike shop nearby that has a post-mount disk brake facing tool?  Without actually interfering with the bike it should be able to indicate whether the face of the mounts are "wrong" or not.

It seems to me that if the mount "surfaces" were truly perpendicular to the rotor, even if the bolt thread were slightly out of alignment, the whole brake would pull itself into position as the bolts were tightened.  It may just be that the tabs need facing?

I think you really need a seriously good mechanic to have a look and IME, they are few and far between.

If it is accepted as a warranty issue suggest cutting out the offending part of the rear triangle - cheaper to post, may solve customs their end, reassures them that you're not "scamming" a frame .  This was acceptable in some non-china warranty issues I knew of.

Hope you get sorted.

Awww yeah Airborne! My backup road bike is an Airborne Zeppelin. Always loved that bike, came close to getting one of their MTBs way back when.

I got one of the first ones; no disc brake mounts and the serial number was on a sticker; long gone.  Now its the ultimate low maintenance everyday bike.  Note original Syncros Cattleprod stem!