Carbonda FM909

[Swolie74]

ooooh a 909 with the Mara... lmk how it goes. I have a Mara on my 936, I hope to get a 909 frameset eventually once I'm done abusing my 936 (If I ever finish assembling it, lol)

[RDY]

Thanks.  So I should get a RockShox 30x8x15 then ... since it looks like Manitou mounting hardware is either out of stock everywhere or out of production.

What are you running your Mara on?

[RDY]

ooooh a 909 with the Mara... lmk how it goes. I have a Mara on my 936, I hope to get a 909 frameset eventually once I'm done abusing my 936 (If I ever finish assembling it, lol)

Not sure how much useful data I'll be able to give in the near term.  Frame should be painted and on its way soon, but this is my first MTB since the 90s (ok I did have one fully rigid set up as a city bike).  I've ridden a few FS and hardtails in the last few years, but my knowledge of contemporary shock tuning is way behind. 

But I got the Mara and R7 Pro because both are generally suggested to be easy to service, have great damping performance out of the gate, and less reliant on super fine tuning to get decent performance (compared to say Fox or RS).  Also I've read enough reports about short travel RS and Fox shocks and forks that makes it sound like not much has changed in 15-20 years and they're still crashy pogo sticks.

[RDY]

Oh, and anybody with knowledge of the Mara / R7 Pro that wants to suggest a tune, I'd be very open to it.  I'm ~80kg - hoping to drop to about 76kg before the end of the year.  186cm on a size L FM909.  Trails I'll be riding are a lot of long, steep uphills, and corresponding downhills.  Surfaces are often loose and sandy or loose and rocky (small rocks) or gravelly, or hardpacked.  Not a lot of singletrack.  Very few drops.  Climbing and line-picking and braking for the corners are pretty technical (loose / washboard), but the corners themselves not really, few are super tight or twisty.  Quite a few 1000m climbs and descents will be ridden regularly.  Also some rolling hardpack gravel.  There is mega steep, droppy, bouldery singletrack, but I highly doubt I'll ride it - too crash averse.

Looking forward to the traction more than the comfort.  Some of the climbs are really difficult on my Revolt (set up as an all rounder with 38 GK SS), and braking downhill can be pretty sketchy.

[Swolie74]

Oh, and anybody with knowledge of the Mara / R7 Pro that wants to suggest a tune....
Looking forward to the traction more than the comfort. 

Ride it first and see what it's lacking. There is a setup guide for the forks as they can be a little harsh out of the box, they recommend that you open them up, lube the IRT and main air pistons with slickoleum and fill oil bath with 15-22cc's  of oil (iirc).

as for the shock, be sure to reset the negative pressure once installed (easiest) unless you have some kind of rig to compress your shock outside of the bike.

[d3xophen]

I already bought the frame and Wing said I need to buy bushings(mounting hardware) separately since they don't sell it. Please somebody tell me where can I buy it?

[RDY]

Forgot to ask.

Should I be using 180mm rear caliper, or is 160mm compatible (and enough)?  Will be using 180mm on the front, but seems like overkill on the rear.  I'll be running Shigura 4 pot on the front, 2 pot on the rear.

[multig]

I already bought the frame and Wing said I need to buy bushings(mounting hardware) separately since they don't sell it. Please somebody tell me where can I buy it?

bike-components, bike-discount, r2bike, bike24, enduroforkseals, aliexpress, may be nearest suspension dealer, good workshop to turn out the part on a lathe.

...or is 160mm compatible ...?

Compatible

[rehcarbon]

Hi everyone. Thanks for sharing all the insights on this frame. I am lining up a purchase soon as a result of all your positive stories.

I am deciding between the Carbonda FM909 and the ICAN S5, which is $300 cheaper and looks very similar, if not the same.

Am I missing something? Why would you choose Carbonda over ICAN?

[Swolie74]

Well we all know that these are open molds and just about anyone can order frames out of them. Looking at it quickly the advertised weights are almost a pound different for XL. Carbonda advertises the frame as the "super light" layup, so I would guess Ican has the normal layup.

I known that ICan has a warehouse in So Cal, I wonder if you could pick up a frame in person and forgo shipping.

We need someone with a couple grand to order both frames and do a side by side comparison lol

[d3xophen]

bike-components, bike-discount, r2bike, bike24, enduroforkseals, aliexpress, may be nearest suspension dealer, good workshop to turn out the part on a lathe. Compatible

I would prefer aliexpress. But I can't find any 8x30 . Do you have a link to buy at aliexpress?

[d3xophen]

I found this, If I cut it to 30mm, is it ok to use?

[RDY]

Search for 8mm bushing set on the german sites. Buy the ones you need.  On the off chance you need Manitou ones like me, they actually do have them ... but their search algorithms are screwed or they're tagged wrongly.  They don't show up if you search for Manitou. 

[Swolie74]

Search for 8mm bushing set on the german sites. Buy the ones you need.  On the off chance you need Manitou ones like me, they actually do have them ... but their search algorithms are screwed or they're tagged wrongly.  They don't show up if you search for Manitou.

You don't "NEED" manitou branded ones... I pressed out the stock bushing and used a Fox bushing kit but fox has greater tolerance variation in their bushing kit, so some people say it's not a super tight fit. Rockshox is supposed to be much better.

[St0mpB0x]

Hi everyone. Thanks for sharing all the insights on this frame. I am lining up a purchase soon as a result of all your positive stories.

I am deciding between the Carbonda FM909 and the ICAN S5, which is $300 cheaper and looks very similar, if not the same.

Am I missing something? Why would you choose Carbonda over ICAN?

I purchased the ICAN. It arrived cracked due to I believe a large wrinkle in the carbon layup. I was sloppy with inspection upon arrival so didn't notice until later. ICAN refuse to admit any fault and blame the shipping company so won't do anything. Unless the shipping company also did the layup its not their fault. They did offer to repair it if I shipped it back to them but that would cost a similar amount to a new frame so I'm likely to repair it myself.