The Shiny New AM831 Group Buy (A) Thread!

[Remedy 7]

The BXT version has all the mods including the fork clearance on the front triangle, I have not seen one its information I've gleaned from email and pictures
If I was buying again that's the one I would go fore

Tried emailing them, no response. Probably going to go Tantan.

[darius72]

I've a custom AM831 and I've totalized more than 300 km on it, including a couple of bike parks. So it's "only" 300 km but the bike has been well tested.
About the flex issue: the problem was there, even if in my frame probably the bearings weren't pushed out of the recesses so it wasn't that bad; after I made the JJJ brilliant fix the rear is much more stiff, still I don't know if a brand bike is more stiff; I think after the mod the bike is ok.
Generally I love the bike, I assembled it trying to keep it light, it's around 12.6 Kg, a record for a 160/150 mm dual suspension; it pedals uphill very well, also I found very useful the DT swiss rear shock that has three positions: open, pedal and locked; the middle position is fantastic to use uphill.
Downhill it's great, it's very fast on the flow, fiddly to jump as probably all of this modern geometry bikes, they are big like aircraft carriers  .
Problems: to me press fit bottom bracket is a very,very bad idea, especially on a carbon frame;said this the original bottom bracket was almost locked, bearing destroyed from water; anyway I managed to push it out and replace with a shimano XT. I also have quite a lot of pedal strikes this is my fault as I bought 175 mm cranks, 165 , max 170 would be ideal.
The biggest headache came from manitou mezzer fork that wasn't plush on small bumps, now it's 90% solved after I replaced the damper oil with the lightest I could find.
The bike is fun but I don't trust the frame 100%: all carbon parts (even brand ones) can fail, the knockoff probably have a higher failure rate; anybody that see any crack on the frame please report.
I don't have any squeaks from suspension so far.

[Stef Biggel]

...
Problems: to me press fit bottom bracket is a very,very bad idea, especially on a carbon frame;said this the original bottom bracket was almost locked, bearing destroyed from water; anyway I managed to push it out and replace with a shimano XT. ...

I have had imstalled this shell in all the PF Frames:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/33021799492.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_groupList.8148356.5.71fc4f0dXR655N&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21EUR%21%E2%82%AC%2038%2C95%21%E2%82%AC%2019%2C08%21%21%21%21%21%400b0a187916665974943816642ee814%2167185730081%21sh

before Installing replace the bearins into inox Enduro bearings 243775-2RSO1.

This works this year for a realy lot of km and much more than 50.000 meter down in rough terrain.

[promoto]

I have a Kacktus press fit installed with a little medium lock tight applied and its still going strong , I have the Zitto one for when the Kacktus bb fails but so far 600 plus miles and still going

[darius72]

This works this year for a realy lot of km and much more than 50.000 meter down in rough terrain.

Did you ride so much on 831? Any other problem to report?Do you have the JJJ mod?
For sure after shimano XT  I will go with ZTTO thread in bottom bracket.

[Stef Biggel]

Did you ride so much on 831? Any other problem to report?Do you have the JJJ mod?
For sure after shimano XT  I will go with ZTTO thread in bottom bracket.

I ride a FS830 (i think i'm one of a few, riding this frame), but its the same bottom braked. And i am Superhappy with the geo and the stability. But i mod the link bearings.

This ist my build up thread:
http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,3566.0.html

I'm not sure that Shimano fit's, because i ride a SRAM Crank dimension.

[Jotegr]

Next spring I'll be adding my girlfriend to the mix of AM831 riders. Hopefully with the JJJ fix and her ~55 kilo size it'll be "good enough". Not sure how it'll go when I eventually get to painting mine up - I'm north of 100 kilos and I ride hard and fast, so I assume the JJJ fix will not be enough.

For now, enjoy some preview shots of her bike now that it's in it's cure/bake phase in the paint room. I think this one came out OK, but I got a bit more orange peel in the clear than I wanted - I was pushing the temperatures when doing this as late in the season as it is. For heating/money reasons, my paint room is really only viable April-September, unfortunately. Fortunately my clear build is quite a bit thicker than standard so I can paint correct it without too much issue sometime over the winter once it's 100% cured. It also does have a few more specs in the paint job than I would normally like, but I just finished another paint project immediately prior to this one that I nailed almost perfectly, and did a sub-par job cleaning between the two. I have been assured the rider does not mind.

Naming your knockoff bike after another brand or something? Nah. Naming your knockoff brand after your cat? Indeed.

Please note, the font on the down tube and cat prints on the top tube were rider's choice.






For myself, I'm thinking of doing a candy blue to candy green fade (this means you could see the carbon underneath) with metallic silver writing - with a different font, of course.

[cybrsrce]

I'm north of 100 kilos and I ride hard and fast, so I assume the JJJ fix will not be enough.

I can confirm, it will not be enough.  The only fix is the updated rear triangle.

[Jotegr]

It'll be wall art then, I'm not putting any more money into the frame at this point. Lesson learned.

[darius72]

I am 83 Kg, ok not a fast rider, but the frame after the mod looks stiff enough; about possible future instant catastrophic failures I don't know of course. Anyway the rear triangle is stressed in a "dangerous" way only when sliding side-ward or riding on a berm, quite rare situation, in fact even a big jump or drop should produce an axial and quite symmetric force.
Said that after all what has been written here and the not so cheap rear triangle fix from haideli (300$) and the not so great support if I need to buy a frame today I would avoid this one.

[cybrsrce]

I am 83 Kg, ok not a fast rider, but the frame after the mod looks stiff enough; about possible future instant catastrophic failures I don't know of course. Anyway the rear triangle is stressed in a "dangerous" way only when sliding side-ward or riding on a berm, quite rare situation, in fact even a big jump or drop should produce an axial and quite symmetric force.
Said that after all what has been written here and the not so cheap rear triangle fix from haideli (300$) and the not so great support if I need to buy a frame today I would avoid this one.

New frames come with the upgraded triangle so that isn't an issue.  As early adopters we had to pay for the upgrade after it came out which wasn't ideal but whatever, still cheaper than a replacement frame and thankfully it worked out.

I'm 95kg kitted up and the original config was sketchy and disorienting but I don't think it would fail.  I would fail by having it stand the bike straight up in a high berm   Shims or the JJJ fix made it much more predictable but just isn't enough if you ride rough terrain and push hard as a heavier rider.

With the new triangle it actually works exactly the way you would expect.  It feels really similar to a megatower, not as poppy as a hightower, but it may have just been my burlier components.  I liked it a lot on local flow trails but not so much on rough terrain. 

I would also skip the AM831, but not because it isn't a good frame it is because it isn't a good frame for me.  Something like the geometry of a Yeti SB-130 or 150, less bb drop and generally better balance.

[darius72]

The flex issue has been discussed a lot, in your build thread too; just to synthesize: the original (non modded) frame flexed a lot due to bearings moving out of their recesses, creating a dangerous situation; the JJJ modded frame flexes only due to the real flex of rear triangle. The updated haideli rear triangle keeps the bearings in place with a solution very similar to JJJ's, but is also beefier (and heavier) then more stiff.
The original frame was defective and dangerous; the modded frame has its own flex , if this is too much for the rider weight and riding style is a personal evaluation.
The AM831 (and even the original santa cruz version) aren't anyway heavy duty enduro frames.

[promoto]

When I first rode my 831 I found the rear suspension to have a bit of a dead or sluggish feeling , It would blow through the initial travel and just work in the mid and end stroke, I tried raising the air pressure which helped but it was harsh and I wasn't getting full travel , Looking on the Santa Cruz forums It seems they were having the same problems , Im running the same shock the Rock Shox super delux with a mid tune, A lot of them were having good results by fitting the Rock Shox Meg Neg so I fitted one to my shock and what a difference It now has a lively feeling , great mid range support, holds up well in high speed berms and g outs , popy and playfull , It takes a bit of time to set up and its not really suitable for heavy riders because of the increase in air pressure needed , Well worth doing if your running the delux or super delux shocks   

[Remedy 7]

I tried looking but can these fit a coil. Found a great deal on a Super Deluxe coil.

[FullCarbonAlchemist]

I tried looking but can these fit a coil. Found a great deal on a Super Deluxe coil.

IIRC, no. The shock tunnel is too tight. Some piggyback shocks may also not fit if they are typical length (though sideways piggybacks like the DVO Topaz Gen 3 should fit fine).