I used the generic ride wrap kit that was ok with a bit of cutting, later I replaced the top tube piece with some Armor Up which is just a roll of protection tape that you cut to size. 

Nice, building bikes is fun.  Yours probably won't fall apart but some things will come loose, almost certainly the headset, retorque after the first ride.

Quote from: Neb on August 31, 2021, 11:49:10 AM
I'm really interested in an FM1001, it seems that lots of people have experience of this frame and I've a couple of questions before I buy...

- What type of headset is needed?
- The spec says the derailleur hanger is universal. Is that the new universal hanger spec, or a carbonda universal hanger?
- How much rear tyre clearance is there? (I often ride in mud!)
- Is the pivot hardware good? Anything required to improve?

Any other build tips??

Thanks

I can sorta poorly answer a couple of your questions-
I ordered my frame a few weeks ago, it is expected to ship at the end of Sep, so I can't look at it for you but as far as the headset and derailleur hanger go, they can both be provided by Carbonda.  The headset was $15 and a spare hanger was $5. I figure if the headset is good I will run it and if not I can at least use it for measurements and comparison.  Not that you asked but Carbonda was a joy to deal with.  I emailed back and forth with Katie, sometimes I would get a response the same day, sometimes the next morning, and aside from some translation issues she seemed to actually read and respond appropriately to questions.  Hope some of this helps.

Painting it myself is why I was asking.  In the interest of budgeting my time I'd rather buy a painted frame unless the paint is truly bad and problematic.  They also estimated $70-$150 to paint it, l would likely have more than that in it.  If I do it myself I would of course like the frame unpainted.   

I am very close to buying one of these (fm1001), I started a conversation with Carbonda and received some prices one of which was a quote for paint.  I was given a link to a RAL color chart as my options for paint color.  I have read that the paint on some Chinese frames, not Carbonda in particular, is delicate and not well done.  Does anyone have experience with this? I also read on a thread about another bike, ordered in the matte finish, that the owner thought that it was not raw carbon but a matte paint, has this been the experience of others?

Thanks, I couldn't figure out why the chart had a wide range at various points, I understood the 30t vs32t but I forgot about the other end.  I understand now.  I think you are correct that the Carbonda might be the better choice. I'm a bit afraid of the unknown as the only really slack bike I have ridden was an older free ride/all mountain/enduro bike that I didn't care for, plus I'm pretty tall, and there is some mention of the 1001 feeling small so the extra 5mm of reach looks good on the screen at least, of course filling the shock through a window on the fs958 looks like an annoyance. Then there is the p1...

I appreciate the replies.  Forgive me for being simple but I don't quite understand the charts and would love a bit of explanation on what is going on at a given point.

I'm trying to decide on a 130mmish trailbike frame.  I currently ride an old Jamis with a single pivot and no lockout that will bob and bounce if I don't pedal smoothly, so one of my desires on my next bike is for it to pedal well.  Currently I'm thinking FM 1001, LCFS958, or maybe a P1. The numbers keep pulling me back to the 958 but the single pivot pushes me away.   Are there advantages to the single pivot besides simplicity, and am I wrong in thinking that a horst link or similar will pedal better while remaining plusher on the way back down, or am I asking too much and should rely on lockout to take care of my issue?

Hello all,
I've been lurking around here for a couple of months researching frames and figured I should join the forum.