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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
So, I have a few rides on the bike and I think it's time to share some thoughts: Frame build quality: I ordered a medium superlight version in medium, UD matte. - Weight for the medium "superlight" version was over what I expected. Not by much, but just slightly over their "+/- 50g" claim. - Frame construction is very good. The inside is a little rough in places, but nothing I haven't seen on many brand name frames I own/have owned. - Linkage came with the upper shock mounting spacing 0.5mm wider than spec (see my previous posts). Hairline crack in the paint on the linkage's left side after the first ride. I highly doubt it's anything but paint, but I am going to sand down the paint to verify. - BB pressed in very smoothly without issues (Wheels MFG). I was actually worried the ease of which it pressed in might cause creaks, but so far so good. Crank axle went in nice and easy which means well-aligned BB shell holes. Time will tell...too early to judge any longevity issues. - Internal cable routing was fairly straightforward. The holes in the port covers appear be just slightly undersized for hydraulic lines, but they closed nice and flush with some persuasion. - Frame hardware came dry from the factory and not torqued to spec. I disassembled, lubed everything up and torqued everything to spec. The bearings used aren't fantastic quality, but they're fine for now (weren't notch or loose in the bores, etc). Current build spec: - 2018 Fox Float DPS 165x42.5, LV EVOL (more on that later) - SR Suntour Aion 35 (lowered to 120mm, 331 A2C). - XT M8000 Drivetrain with a ZTTO SLR2 11-46 cassette., KMC chain, SRAM XO shifter (yes, works great with an XT 11-speed rear derailleur) and XT M8000 pedals. - Crank Brothers Cobalt 3 wheels. Goodyear Escape rear, WTB TrailBoss 2.25 Front. - Crank Brothers Highline 150mm dropper*, WTB SL8 Team wide saddle. - ZTTO 35x50mm stem with Race Face Next R 35mmx800mm handlebar (which I plan on trimming down to 780mm). 12.7kg inc pedals with the current build spec. With a lighter fork (SID 120) I can bring it down to around 12.1kg. Carbon wheels will easily make it sub 11kg without even trying to go lighter with XTR parts, etc. Ride:  - The suspension is very efficient but also rather active. It rides somewhat similar to my Cannondale Scalpel Si 3 (a flex stay design as well) but feels much plusher on the descents (no surprise as it is a 120mm rear vs the 100mm Scalpel...and large volume shock air can on the Carbonda) - This is a relatively high leverage frame (2.8:1) and with the Fox Float EVOL LV shock on it, I found that I needed about 240psi in the shock to get 25% sag (I am 75-76kg geared up). NS specs the LV shocks on the Synonym TR, but we don't know the shock tune. I am not unhappy with the shock but I have a preference towards shocks sitting higher up in the travel. It's fairly active (not in a bad way) and I miss the lockouts I have on my Scalpel for sprinting. I am going to put an air volume spacer and see how it feels with this. - Climbing: Despite its radical geometry, the frame does indeed have an XC pedigree. My position on the bike on steep climbs feels very centered, and I ascribe that to the steep ST angle. If anything, with the extra travel and much slacker head angle, it climbs as well as my Scalpel on pretty much everything other than smooth double track where the lockouts play a big role in out-of-the saddle hammering. One thing where it falls short is technical climbs with rocky step-ups or ledges: the bottom bracket is super low and you need to work on your crank ratchet game if you don't want to keep bashing pedals (read more on the BB height below). - Descending: It's much plusher than I expected. Really tracks the ground and feels like a bigger bike. The low stack and very slack (for its class) head angle make for a really fun (and controllable at speed) ride. A regular 32mm tubed fork is totally fine for most purposes, but a 34mm or 35mm stanchioned fork really stiffens things up on the front end and enables you to get the most out of that geometry if you live somewhere with rough descents. (that's why I think a SID 120 35mm is the perfect fork for this frame: stiff enough, very light and can come with a lockout). - At 326mm with a 120mm fork, the bottom bracket height is among the lowest I have ever ridden on a full-suspension bike. It's really LOW. It's a good bit lower than bikes in the same class: YT Izzo is 334, Nukeproof Reactor 290 C is 336mm, Mondraker Dune DC RR is 337mm, Yeti SB130 is 337. Granted: most of these bikes spec a 130mm fork with a taller A2C length, but even a Yeti SB100 has a 336mm high BB. I am running 170mm cranks and still bashing pedals more than any of my other bikes (on familiar trails). The bike is really planted in corners, but the very low BB height is something to keep in mind if you ride rocky/rooty/technical trails. The other bikes I ride don't have particularly tall BB heights, but with this one there will certainly be some getting used to period. Other issues: - S3/E-Type for a light top-only chain guide mounts would have been a nice option! I haven't lost the chain yet going down some fairly rough descents, though. - Chainline is great with my non-boost XT M8000 crank, but my beloved 34T oval doesn't clear the chainstay. I am going to find a boost crank to run an oval chainring as I do on all my bikes, but will chainlink be worse? I don't know yet. *Yes, I know the dropper cable is too long and rear brake line is too short: waiting on some other parts to trim everything to length and tidy up the cabling with heat-shrink tubing  Edited for spelling. May 18, 2020, 01:18:59 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
I've been riding a 42.5 mm stroke shock on my size L frame since March. Plenty of clearance with the shock bottomed out, never had any contact between the seat stay brace and seat tube. Not even any semblance of worry that it might happen, because it won't. Same here. While I don't have a ton of mileage on the bike yet I've been riding this bike hard with a 42.5mm shock. Natural, non-groomed terrain. I took a good size drop on my ride this morning and there is not a hint of contact between the seat stay brace and the seat tube. There are several people in this long thread using 42.5 with zero issues. If someone is actually having seat stay brace and seat tube contact at bottom out with this size shock then that's an anomaly. Still, official spec from Carbonda DOES list 165x40mm. July 24, 2020, 12:44:03 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
My frame arrived! Great color! I didn't go with paint but next time I am going with something LOUD 
August 04, 2020, 03:55:49 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
Looking at used forks for the frame I just ordered (medium). How long has everyone been cutting their steerer tube? Obviously this will vary with frame size and riser preference. On my medium frame, I cut my steerer tube to 180mm. I am running an Ultimate USE 40mm stem which has a 45mm stack height I believe. Currenty I have two 10mm spacers below the stem with the topcap flush with the stem. August 18, 2020, 09:53:03 AM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
Talking abouit BBs, has anyone got an suggestions for BB protection? Beyond mastik tape. Also anyone have any suggestions about how to make a little piece of alu or steel for the chain ring protection on the chainstay next to the chain ring since mine was missing? I made a downtube protector out of a Kydex sheet that I molded with a heat gun and used double-sided tape to affix it. You could do the same by cutting Kydex to shape for chainstay protection at the BB. September 14, 2020, 08:35:09 AM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
Got the replacement linkage from Carbonda (recall my issue was shock mount span 0.5mm too wide and hairline crack on the linkage). Tolerances are better, but not by much (thick paint immediately flaked off the inside of the shock mount points as I pushed the shock hardware in, resulting in a looser interface, but not as bad as the old linkage. Old linkage on the left (shinier because I have resprayed it after sanding to inspect crack), new on the right.  Interestingly, the new linkage does not have retaining circlips on the bearings.  Fitted my needle bearing hardware kit  Everything seems good without play after torquing everything up. We'll see how it fares after a few rides. October 20, 2020, 02:36:02 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
Quote Low bb didnt notice at all with 170 cranks! I was going down deep railway sleeper stairs on the trail and didnt notice a too low feeling Quote I also don't think the low BB is very noticeable. Not a big deal, has its advantages. The low BB is the thing that stands out the most to me out of the geometry of this frame. I guess it all depends on the type of trails you ride. On my home trails (natural desert trails, loads of rocks and off-camber technical singletrack...nothing is groomed), pedal strikes are far more than the two other bikes I ride most frequently (2017 Cannondale Scalpel and a Titus Fireline with a 120mm fork...neither is known for a particularly high BB) and that's with 170mm crank arms. Love this frame, but I dare not run the 936 with a 100mm fork where I ride seeing how low it is with 120mm. October 20, 2020, 05:40:14 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
I have to say I do like the lines of this frame. The ride is fantastic, too. 
October 23, 2020, 11:32:58 AM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
Quote Looks great dude! I love it too. Where are you riding though? The moon? Mars? Egypt . This is a hilly limestone desert just outside Cairo. Our terrain looks a bit like an alien landscape.
October 23, 2020, 02:03:20 PM |
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Re: Carbonda fm936 Thoughts
A question for those who've built up the bike with SID 35 Ultimate/Select: any issues with knocking due to loose bushings or damper leaking oil? I am about to pull the trigger on one but reports of bad QC are scaring me a little.
November 19, 2020, 01:46:26 AM |
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