Just a quick update.  Been about 3 months of rides so far.  At least once a week getting 2 gour ride. 

Other than break-in maintenance and dialing in shock settings this ride has been flawless.  segment times on my local trail are as fast as my PRs but with much less effort and fatigue.

Happy with all build choices except the seatpost.    Does not have much grip on the rails and allows the sest to slide backwards changing my position.  Have filed the annotation off the clamp.  Might have to swap the post. 

I changed the stem angle to raise the bars and moved the seat slightly forward to put more weight on front end.   That made a huge difference in weight balance and handling.

I really like this bike.   It's fast.   Climbs very well - much better than I expected. 

Certainly I would recommend to anyone looking for light weight XCO frame this should be on the list. 

Had first ride on new bike this morning.   Nothing broke or came loose.

Almost no suspension bob when pedaling hard.  Can feel bike absorb bumps without pedal kickback or other weird artifacts.  Climbing traction is amazing. 

I don't like the front end.  I am just not used to modern slack head angles.   Front wheel Feels so far in front.    Hoping I get used to the lead then follow feeling of the front wheel.  To me it is less direct, almost Slow and floppy in really slow (almost track stand) rock gardens and tech stuff

Fox shocks are way more supple than Rockshox.

On flowy trails it feels stiff and fast.    So.far I am really pleased with performance.     .

Well, 3 weeks of work travel and I have no ride report yet.   

The only update is related to rear brakes.   They squealed horribly and had no grip at all.   Possible that I may have gotten a little mineral oil in them when bleeding.   No amount of cleaning wpuld work.  So last night I baked out rotor and pads with a propane torch.   And then filed a chamfer in the leading edge of the pads.   Finally seem to be quiet.    Hopefully this weekend will be real Maiden voyage. 

New bike psyche.  It's finally on 2 wheels.. ride around the block went well.   Fit is good.   Bars too low.   Its Liigghhhtt.    Need to weigh.   Guessing 22lb range.   Will weigh at some point.   

Will get some ride and feedback this week.   

Quote from: maxpet on July 30, 2026, 02:22:09 PM
You installed the front adapter wrong no? Usually the arrow points up

Good catch.   Yes.    Pic was initial mock up.   Was inverted and fit.mich better. 

Moving along.    I managed to find feint and rear brake adapters that work.   The front is a +20 standard piston mount for the 160mm rotors.  I did have to trim down the front mounting bokts because they bottomed out on my fork.       The rear is FM to PM +20 adapter.   

This means I do not have to change the rear caliper nor pull another brake hose through the frame.   

Bottom bracket and crank install will be next.   

Hopefully will get Maiden voyage this weekend.   

Its finally starting to look like a real bike.   

I cant install the BB/cranks until I confirm if my brake adapter works.   If not I will have to pull a new hose through to swap calipers.    Why Shimano uses a 90 deg banjo fitting on PM calipers amd straight hose on FM calipers inwill never know.   

Thank you for the link.    I found a similar adapter.     I ordered another flat mount XT caliper as a backup.   Maybe one of these options will work.   

Just getting one step closer to pedaling this thing. 

Thank you.    Will have to source a FM caliper.   

First real snag.    Its been more than 10 years since I have completed a build.   There are now more "standards" in bike parts to match up.   

I bought a set of XT 8100 2 piston brakes in advance of the frame arrival.  It looks like I have the wrong  setup for this frame.  A few questions. 

1.   I think I have a post mount caliper.    Can someone confirm?
2.  I think I need a flat mount caliper.   Seems like these are road/gravel type.
3.   Looks like I need an XT 8110 caliper to mount to the frame
4.   Do I also need an adapter for 180mm rotors?  Or downgrade to 160mm? 


Thanks in advance.   

Here is thr CAD model and installed spacers on the rear shock. 

Thanks.   Yes, the build is coming along nicely.   I think it is going to turn out well.   I just hope I like the ride.   

A few other items.   

Rear shock mounting.   the two pivot bushings on my Fox shock did not match the frame.   The trunion side measured 22mm and the trunion was only 17mm opening.   I machined down the pivot to match.   The forward pivot side was 22mm and the opening on the frame was 30mm.   So I had to make some 16mm OD, 8mm ID x 4mm thick spacers.   I 3D printed them in P12-CF filament.   Since the shock load is handled by the pivot bolt in the frame the spacers are non-load bearing.  They just center the shock in the frame.   

My background is materials chemistry.   And my inner nerd came up with a decal scheme i call molecular camouflage.    I used a cricut decal maker to put 72 lactic acid structures all over the frame.   

As they say in racing...   feel the burn.

Trying to attach pics.