Carbonda FM936

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
In 2020 I replaced my half stolen Scott Spark with a Scott Genius hoping it would be a good upgrade for riding more difficult trails but I never ended up riding anything that needed this much travel and started wishing I had gotten another Spark.

I've always wanted to try building a Chinese carbon frame up so after seeing Beeb’s post and reading the chinertown thread I figured now was the time. I was still quite hesitant about getting a Chinese carbon frame so waited until I had all the other parts lined up then ordered the frame.

Frame - Carbonda FM 936 Medium normal BSA
Rear Shock - RockShox Deluxe Nude 165x40
Fork - Fox 34 Float Performance 120mm
Remote - Scott Twinloc with dropper
Handlebars - Nukeproof Horizon Carbon
Stem - FUNN Equalizer 42mm
Headset - Carbonda
Grips - SRAM Locking Foam Grips
Saddle - Selle Italia X-LR
Seatpost - PNW loam 170mm
Front Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Rear Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Cranks - Shimano MT900 32t XT M8000 36t
Chain - Shimano SLX
Pedals - One Up Composite
Rear derailleur - M9100
Rear shifter - M9100
Cassette - M9100 10-51
Front hub - XT M8110 - DT Swiss 350
Rear hub - XT M8110 - DT Swiss 350
Front rim - Crest Mk3 - DT Swiss M1700 Spline 2
Rear rim - Crest Mk3 - DT Swiss M1700 Spline 2
Spokes - Sapim Race - DT Swiss straight pull
Nipples - DT Swiss Alloy
Tyres - Mitas Scylla 29 x 2.25

Total weight - TBA once bike is built

384418


Right now it is just a pile of parts in the bedroom hopefully I’ll have time to build it up by mid-Jan but until then I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on the following:
  1. Rotor size - Rear 160 or 180 - Front 180 or 203?
  2. Brakes - Magura MT4, Shimano M8100 XT race, or Shigura?
  3. Shock hardware - Rockshox, Fox, or needle bearing?
 
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frenchman

Eats cheese. Sells crack.
Big rotors for the extra 15% powahhhh

I run Shimano brakes but I fuckin hate them. I’ve killed so many levers with leaky master cylinders and wandering bite point but they are at least dirt cheap to replace.

Needle bearings are good if you can keep them clean but I’m not one to want another set of bearings to try and maintain.

how much landed was the frame?
 

Ben-e

Captain Critter!
Big rotors for the extra 15% powahhhh

I run Shimano brakes but I fuckin hate them. I’ve killed so many levers with leaky master cylinders and wandering bite point but they are at least dirt cheap to replace.

Needle bearings are good if you can keep them clean but I’m not one to want another set of bearings to try and maintain.

how much landed was the frame?
Shimano brakes have become so shit, it's incomprehensible.

I run Ultegra's on the gravel bike and Magura MT2s on the mountain bike, the difference is mid boggling.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

yuley95

soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
In 2020 I replaced my half stolen Scott Spark with a Scott Genius hoping it would be a good upgrade for riding more difficult trails but I never ended up riding anything that needed this much travel and started wishing I had gotten another Spark.

I've always wanted to try building a Chinese carbon frame up so after seeing Beeb’s post and reading the chinertown thread I figured now was the time. I was still quite hesitant about getting a Chinese carbon frame so waited until I had all the other parts lined up then ordered the frame.

Frame - Carbonda FM 936 Medium normal BSA
Rear Shock - RockShox Deluxe Nude 165x40
Fork - Fox 34 Float Performance 120mm
Remote - Scott Twinloc with dropper
Handlebars - Nukeproof Horizon Carbon
Stem - FUNN Equalizer 42mm
Headset - Carbonda
Grips - SRAM Locking Foam Grips
Saddle - Selle Italia X-LR
Seatpost - PNW loam 170mm
Front Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Rear Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Cranks - Shimano MT900 32t
Chain - Shimano SLX
Pedals - One Up Composite
Rear derailleur - M9100
Rear shifter - M9100
Cassette - M9100 10-51
Front hub - XT M8110
Rear hub - XT M8110
Front rim - Crest Mk3
Rear rim - Crest Mk3
Spokes - Sapim Race
Nipples - DT Swiss Alloy
Tyres - Mitas Scylla 29 x 2.25

Total weight - TBA once bike is built

View attachment 384418

Right now it is just a pile of parts in the bedroom hopefully I’ll have time to build it up by mid-Jan but until then I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on the following:
  1. Rotor size - Rear 160 or 180 - Front 180 or 203?
  2. Brakes - Magura MT4, Shimano M8100 XT race, or Shigura?
  3. Shock hardware - Rockshox, Fox, or needle bearing?
I feel like 180mm front and back is fine. I’m running shigura with 4pot callipers up front and 2 pot out back. Love them.
That said, the stock magura levers were fine. There is just a little bit more flex and a bit more deadstroke. I would say just start with the Mt4s and see how they feel. If you want a more solid feel then pick up some deore or similar level levers down the track and swap them over. It’s easy to do.
Looks like a great build. Have fun!
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Haha, the medium still looks like a large!

Keen to hear how you find this, still have zero regrets about buying mine.

I see you also didn't order spare headset bearings... I need to order some (spare) replacements for mine at some point. Going strong currently, but might be a bit hard to find quickly if they do shit themselves down the track.
 

k3n!f

leaking out the other end
Any chance you could get a weight on the frame before you build it up?

I'm super tempted by these....
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
In 2020 I replaced my half stolen Scott Spark with a Scott Genius hoping it would be a good upgrade for riding more difficult trails but I never ended up riding anything that needed this much travel and started wishing I had gotten another Spark.

I've always wanted to try building a Chinese carbon frame up so after seeing Beeb’s post and reading the chinertown thread I figured now was the time. I was still quite hesitant about getting a Chinese carbon frame so waited until I had all the other parts lined up then ordered the frame.

Frame - Carbonda FM 936 Medium normal BSA
Rear Shock - RockShox Deluxe Nude 165x40
Fork - Fox 34 Float Performance 120mm
Remote - Scott Twinloc with dropper
Handlebars - Nukeproof Horizon Carbon
Stem - FUNN Equalizer 42mm
Headset - Carbonda
Grips - SRAM Locking Foam Grips
Saddle - Selle Italia X-LR
Seatpost - PNW loam 170mm
Front Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Rear Brake - Magura MT4 or Shimano XT M8100 race
Cranks - Shimano MT900 32t
Chain - Shimano SLX
Pedals - One Up Composite
Rear derailleur - M9100
Rear shifter - M9100
Cassette - M9100 10-51
Front hub - XT M8110
Rear hub - XT M8110
Front rim - Crest Mk3
Rear rim - Crest Mk3
Spokes - Sapim Race
Nipples - DT Swiss Alloy
Tyres - Mitas Scylla 29 x 2.25

Total weight - TBA once bike is built

View attachment 384418

Right now it is just a pile of parts in the bedroom hopefully I’ll have time to build it up by mid-Jan but until then I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on the following:
  1. Rotor size - Rear 160 or 180 - Front 180 or 203?
  2. Brakes - Magura MT4, Shimano M8100 XT race, or Shigura?
  3. Shock hardware - Rockshox, Fox, or needle bearing?
How tall are you and why medium, if you don't mind me asking.......
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
I see you also didn't order spare headset bearings... I need to order some (spare) replacements for mine at some point. Going strong currently, but might be a bit hard to find quickly if they do shit themselves down the track.
I'm hoping the bearings are a generic size, I'll try and measure them before I install. I'm lazy with headset bearings so once they start grinding I'll probably just clean and grease them.
How tall are you and why medium, if you don't mind me asking.......
I'm 178cm, and went with a medium based on what I read on the chinertown thread, I'm normally between sizes (my Scott Spark was large but my Genius is medium) but they say this frame is sized a bit large.
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
I need to order some (spare) replacements for mine at some point. Going strong currently, but might be a bit hard to find quickly if they do shit themselves down the track.
I've taken a look at the bearings and they look to be a very common size.
Lower bearing is 52mm x 7mm x 45 degrees
Upper bearing is 41.8mm x 6.5mm x 45 degrees

Had a close look at the frame and found 2 issues, minor mark in the paint / epoxy in the downturn and the linkage was too small where the shock bolt goes resulting in some marking.
Sent to Carbonda and a few days later they replied that they aren't structural issues and offered a $50us refund.
384614

384612

Also mocked up the rear shock and not sure how I'm going to get the remote cable installed, not much room so would need a really tight bend in the cable to get it working.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I've taken a look at the bearings and they look to be a very common size.
Lower bearing is 52mm x 7mm x 45 degrees
Upper bearing is 41.8mm x 6.5mm x 45 degrees
Awesome, thank you!

Also mocked up the rear shock and not sure how I'm going to get the remote cable installed, not much room so would need a really tight bend in the cable to get it working.
Can confirm, the bend is super tight. I put some heli-tape on the frame underneath the shock as the cable will rub on the frame otherwise. I ended up fully attaching the cable to the shock before installing the shock into the frame - that way the inner cable supports the outer sheath to prevent it kinking during install (which happened on my first attempt). The bend is super tight but it works without issue once setup, and actuation through the remote still feels fine. Thought I mentioned that in the wall of words in my PYR, but possibly forgot.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
PS: I also routed the cable towards the driveside of the shock 'pocket' to open the radius of the curve as much as possible, as the cable guide is slightly offset to the non-drive side:
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
Weather has been pretty average in Sydney so started the build.
Ended up using the XT brakes as the Magura came with all the hoses attached and I didn't want to mess around with doing a full bleed.
Decided to use an older M8000 crankset I had with a bigger chainring, if it's too much then I can swap it out later.
Then had issues with the tubeless tape on the Crest rims so went with another wheelset I had.

Going to postpone the remote shock install for now as I'm still waiting on the needle bearing to arrive, in the meantime I've set it up with a normal bushing.
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
All built up, no time to take it off road yet but seemed okay pedalling around on the balcony.

385050


Somehow I managed to scratch the dropper stanchion, so going to try sandpaper and autosol to smooth it out.
385051


When I measured for the dropper I did BB to seat clamp without accounting for the lower profile seat I would be using so could have gone with a longer dropper post. Hopefully I remember this for my next build.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
First thing I noticed: The mudguards.
Second thing I noticed: Strewth - that's a big chainring! o_O

I take it you got the remote lockout cable sorted in the end?

Hope you enjoy it anyway - I'm still loving mine.
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
Yep given the weather lately I think I'll be needing the mudguards, if I have trouble up hills I'll change to my other cranks which have a smaller chainring.

I've got a needle bearing on the way so didn't want to do the cabling then have to pull out the shock to install the needle bearing. Once it arrives I'll do it all at once.
 

Alexxx

Likes Dirt
First ride and it feels really nice. I thought it would feel harsh with 30mm less travel than my Genius but it actually felt really good especially for small bump sensitivity but I'm wondering if that has something to do with the foam grips.
Before the next ride I'm going to put more air in the shock and hopefully install the needle bearing and lockout.

Not sure if the mudguards did anything given the weather.

385305


385306
 
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