DCB F165 Park Bike Build

[ichrisbot]

I've finished my build of the DIY Carbon Bikes F165, this is their 'Santa Cruz Megatower' style frame. This wasn't my first Chinese carbon frame build, I previously built an ICAN P9 enduro, and one of the reasons I chose the F165 is because it was designed for a 210x55 rear shock just like the P9.
https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/products/dcb-f165-santa-cruz-megatower-style-carbon-full-suspension-frame-29er

I was pretty happy with the ICAN frame, but was a little tired of developing creaks and having to service the linkage bearings and headset pretty frequently (I do weigh close to 200 Lbs. in riding gear). I also wanted more rear travel, the new build has 165mm in the back which I paired with a 170mm Zeb fork.

I opted for a mullet setup, but otherwise I was mostly transferring parts off my old frame but ran into a couple surprises (more on that later). The frame was around $950 shipped with a red paintjob.



Overall I'm really happy with the bike, but here are the cons and what I learned during the build:

• The specs on the website are not accurate, I ordered some parts ahead of time based on the listed specs and was disappointed when the frame arrived.
• Rear disc rotor is listed as 160mm, which is incorrect. The frame is designed for a 180mm rear rotor.
• The shock hardware is listed as 22x8 mm for top and bottom, this is also wrong. The spacing as measured was 24.4x8 mm.
• Description said it would come with headset, it did not.
• Lastly, there was no mention of shock compatibility, but I was very disappointed to find that the frame design severely limits which shocks you can run

My main disappointment was that I could not run either my existing Fox DHX2 coil shock or my Fox X2 shock. The 'tunnel' where the shock runs through the frame is too narrow for coil springs, unlike the legit Santa Crus Megatower which can easily fit these. The X2 didn't fit because of the piggy back being on the stanchion end of the shock. You need to either run an inline shock or a shock with a piggyback on the air can side of the shock, if that makes sense. Fortunately I found a DVO Topaz shock for a great price and I'm stoked with the way if performs, but this was an additional cost I had to eat for the build.

I also thought the paintjob would be more of a matte red, but it was actually a shiny, slightly sparkly red. I still think it looks great, but a little different than what I envisioned. I did find a couple spots around the linkage bearings where there is no paint, which just looks like a sloppy masking job by the painter.

Other than that, I've been out for a few rides, including a day out at Trestle for some downhill, and I'm very happy with the way the bike rides and handles everything downhill. My intention was to build a park bike, and I think this fits well. Climbing isn't great, I'll say that.

Some video of my first test ride here:
https://youtu.be/uDYTuYva9VU?si=Fg9YASlgOCqcO5nv

[filipes]

165mm of travel out from 55mm shock stroke looks like very high average leverage ratio.
geo looks outdated, 65.5 HA is for mellow trail bike and not "megatower style".
Park may ne, I would personally avoid this as enduro bike.

[ichrisbot]

165mm of travel out from 55mm shock stroke looks like very high average leverage ratio.
geo looks outdated, 65.5 HA is for mellow trail bike and not "megatower style".
Park may ne, I would personally avoid this as enduro bike.

I'm pretty dubious of the 165mm of travel. DCB markets this bike as a 'Megatower style' frame, but it's actually much more similar to the SC Hightower which is spec'd for 150mm rear travel.

There are more similarities as I'm researching the frame more, it's listed on ali express as the BXT AM 117. On the details there, it's also spec'd for 150mm rear stroke length, might be able to squeeze out more with a 210x60mm shock stroke and a 27.5 rear wheel. The SC Hightower also appears to only have enough room for smaller shocks, and in general the 2022 SA Hightower looks like a close match.

In the mullet configuration and with the 170mm fork, the HA feels good for going downhill. It certainly doesn't feel overly raked out in this configuration.