So it's been a number of weeks since I've updated this thread, but I did finish my build about a month ago. I got back from vacation and immediately went to the post office to pick up my carbon wheels I had Peter build up for me. They looked really great and were extremely light. I opted to go with the FHR930C rim without spoke holes to make going tubeless easier. I mounted my brake rotors and valve stems and put the tire on. It was easy to get the bead set with an air compressor, and the trucker co tire sealant seemed to seal them right up. Overall getting both wheels tubeless was probably under an hour. I mounted the wheels and they looked to be true right from the factory. I spent the rest of the day messing with brakes and shifting until I was satisfied. It took about 2 rides to get everything shifting and braking the way I wanted.

Ride impressions: Wow. This bike is quick! Climbing, cornering and descending are way fast. After a few rides locally, I took the bike for the real test up to Copper Harbor Michigan. It's some of the best mountain biking in the midwest and is a silver rated trail system by IMBA. I rode the bike on a huge variety of trails when I was up there. Rocky, flowing, steep and even some smaller jumps. The bike performed flawlessly. Except for one mistake I made.

I forgot to check my air pressure before I started riding and on my first trail I heard a loud pop from the rear tire. Instantly I knew something had broken. I checked the rear wheel and found this.



Pretty frustrating, but I decided I would take it easy and keep riding since the tire was holding air and staying true. I got it down, pumped them up to 30 PSI and kept riding. At first I was really worried that the whole wheel would just explode underneath me, but the more I rode, the more confident I was in the rim. In all I rode the damaged rim for 2 more days and just as hard as a rim in good condition. I figured that If I was going to replace it anyways I might as well get the life out of it I could. That happened about 2 weeks ago and now I have a new rim that should be arriving to my house this weekend. I'll lace the wheel and take it to a local shop for tightening and truing.

In the meantime I purchased the 54T hub upgrade for my DT Swiss 350's. It's probably one of the best upgrades you can have in addition to a dropper seatpost. Having my engagement angle changed to 6.6 degrees makes a huge difference when I'm in technical terrain. It's expensive at $100, but if you ride aggressively it needs to be on your list. Swapping out the ratchet was simple and I didn't even remove my cassette. It's a fair bit louder, but not nearly as loud as some of the other hubs I heard when I was biking in copper harbor.
 
Needless to say, everything I bought from Peter has exceeded my expectations. I'll continue to buy Chinese parts until I find a very compelling reason to stop. This weekend I'll post photos of the rim once I take it apart. I'm curious to see just how far this crack extends.

Looks really good so far. I'm glad you decided to go with the carbon wheels. Yesterday my dad and I were loading bikes into the car and he picked up one of my wheels and it blew his mind. I'm convinced and very happy with mine. Your build looks really slick. Do you have your cranks yet? Will it be a 1x11? Where will you mount batteries for this build?

Yep! That should be fine. It's exactly what I did.

No problem! Just know you'll be best off buying the GXP installation tool which can be about $20-$25. It makes installation a breeze and is well worth it.

Most of us would suggest a BSA style BB. This of course drives what cranks you use, but if you look for GXP compatibility you'll find a very wide variety of SRAM cranks and components. SRAM's BSA BB is called the GXP.

https://www.sram.com/truvativ/products/gxp-bottom-bracket

For those of you with front derailleurs or any experience with direct mounts: The 036 mounting bolts for the front derailleur come with 3 washers. One bolt has two on it and the other only has one. Where do these belong? Under the bolt head? Below the actual front derailleur mount? Not at all? I'll mess with it to see what gets me the best chain line, but some input would be nice.

I just joined yesterday as well. Not riding much until I'm done with my 036 build. I haven't used Strava before, but it looks like some of you guys put on some serious miles!!

Awesome choice with the Bluto. I haven't heard anything bad yet. You might want to check out this thread http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,756.30.html. The frame didn't have enough clearance for the fork, so he had to get this crown race / spacer combo machined. It sounds like it was affordable and works well! Honestly, reading through all these forums and talking with people around the trails I'd say go carbon on the wheel set if your budget permits. A lot of people make good claims that carbon is actually stronger and better. I'm waiting on my set to arrive from Peter this week, but I've heard nothing but good things.