Chinese Open Mold Gravel / CX Bikes

[Dinomac]

I have had my Carbonda CFR696 out on some rides, I have it setup as a flat bar gravel touring bike, I have mtb shifters on it Sram front shifter x7 with a Sram Force 2x front derailleur it seems to be shifting really good up front but the rear shifter and derailleur are from my Trek Stache 5 a Shamino Deor 10 sod. I had read something some place that some people were have shifting problems because of the orange plastic tubing the shifting cables are routed through, I read that some people are removing the orange plastic tubing after they run the cables, my derailleur and shifter were working fine on my Trek but I'm having too bubble click for one gear of three times to go down one one and after having the bike in the stand and getting the shifting right on going up the cog it would be sticky coming back down the cog, my biggest problem with all this is if I remove the orange shifter tubing how hard will it be to run new cables again and I'm wanting to get lighter shift cables & housing.

The bike rides great, this is my first carbon bike so I haven't anything to compare it too. I know once I get the shifting all sorted out I'll be up on that pink cloud of total bliss with this bike, I'm using a Raceface affects 24 or 25mm rim with Bindex hubs and the more expensive CX spokes I think their called the wheels weigh 1509 grams, I'm on 42mm Continental Speed pro tires, the frame is a 56cm I have plenty of room for getting my water bottle in & out while on the bike. More will be revealed.

[emotive]

I have had my Carbonda CFR696 out on some rides...

...I had read something some place that some people were have shifting problems because of the orange plastic tubing the shifting cables are routed through...

I have 10,000km on my CFR696, and it's great. I had my LBS build mine, so I am unsure if they removed the Orange tubing, but my Ultegra 8000 shifts as well as it does on my road bike. I do break rear gear cables regularly, about every 4000km, they fray near the shifter, on the Carbonda and my Giant Defy. Not sure how I do that, butthe cable is not expensive, and nor is the labour, so I'm thinking it is not difficult for the LBS to replace the rear gear cable on the CFR696.

[JCVelo]

Unexpected update! The frame from Carbonda shipped extremely quick, just arrived today, less than a week from when it was shipped! Was packed descently, if a little loose, but everything was thoroughly wrapped up and no damage to the box or parts contained.

The paintwork is very nice overall, no real imperfections anywhere! Also the bottom bracket shell is very clean, shouldnt be any issues installing my BB tonight.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Here's some pictures of the frame in person!

[Dinomac]

[quote=Dinomac post_id=1509074 time=1564715412

I have 10,000km on my CFR696, and it's great. I had my LBS build mine, so I am unsure if they removed the Orange tubing, but my Ultegra 8000 shifts as well as it does on my road bike. I do break rear gear cables regularly, about every 4000km, they fray near the shifter, on the Carbonda and my Giant Defy. Not sure how I do that, butthe cable is not expensive, and nor is the labour, so I'm thinking it is not difficult for the LBS to replace the rear gear cable on the CFR696.

I was getting ready to change the shift cables and I noticed the rear cable housing was binding the cable, that's a short housing run from the exit of the chain stay to the derailleur so shortened that housing up a bit and now it shifts good in the bike stand.

The funny thing about the plastic tubing cable guides is I still haven't removed them, I just left well enough alone and took the new shifter cables & housing back to the shop and I exchanged them for new housing and cables because the housing I had for my brakes was a color I really didn't want, however I am going to replace the shifting cables with a better set later.

[Dinomac]

Unexpected update! The frame from Carbonda shipped extremely quick, just arrived today, less than a week from when it was shipped! Was packed descently, if a little loose, but everything was thoroughly wrapped up and no damage to the box or parts contained.

The paintwork is very nice overall, no real imperfections anywhere! Also the bottom bracket shell is very clean, shouldnt be any issues installing my BB tonight.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Here's some pictures of the frame in person!

That's good, really good, l got their fork I think it's the cfo606 the one with the cage mounts on it, it was on backorder so I had to wait on getting the paint till they had the fork, that was a month then I'm in the U.S.A. when my frame did ship it was stuck in customs for another month.

I have a photobucket account but not the paid one, I'm having problems with them and then I was reading that people who have a paid photobucket account are having problems so they are a washout, I tried to sign up for a Flickr account but that didn't go well either.
I need to find a app for my phone that will play nice, I didn't have the option of running down to the local Version store because there isn't one locally.

[yinya]

This is the axles that came with the updated Carbonda 505.

Do they represent any standard? This whole thru axle standards business is utterly confusing to me. I was searching bike24 and could find a back up for the front only (Extralite) but not for the rear.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jever98]

You can find well priced axles on ebay, using those specs.

When you say updated 505 - what had been changed?

[emotive]

This is the axles that came with the updated Carbonda 505.

Do they represent any standard? This whole thru axle standards business is utterly confusing to me...

I have the Carbonda CFR696, purchased mid 2018, it uses the e-thru axle standard. I believe the thru axles supplied are lighter now, mine were heavy, so I upgraded to Hardlite Thru axles. 171mm on the rear and 125mm on the front fit perfectly. Front is 25g, rear is 32g.

Search for 'Hardlite e-thru 171mm rear ' and 'Hardlite e-thru 125mm front' on ebay.

[Metaluna]

This is the axles that came with the updated Carbonda 505.

Do they represent any standard? This whole thru axle standards business is utterly confusing to me. I was searching bike24 and could find a back up for the front only (Extralite) but not for the rear.

Those look similar to Shimano E-Thru axle standard. The lengths don't have to match precisely to the mm (except for thread pitch, i.e. the P1.5) but you do need to make sure the overall length is long enough to get adequate thread engagement in the frame (preferably all threads should be engaged, but good luck figuring out if you can go a thread or two less if the axle's a little short), and that the threaded section is long enough that the threads don't bottom out before you've tightened the axle enough to clamp the wheel in the frame securely. This article has some good info. I was able to find a replacement rear axle for my Workswell 146 from this place (a KCNC). It's about one thread short but otherwise works okay.

http://blog.fairwheelbikes.com/reviews- ... hru-axles/

[yinya]

I will take a look on eBay.

They changed the BB at least - it’s BB386 now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[redbicycle]

Unexpected update! The frame from Carbonda shipped extremely quick, just arrived today, less than a week from when it was shipped! Was packed descently, if a little loose, but everything was thoroughly wrapped up and no damage to the box or parts contained.

The paintwork is very nice overall, no real imperfections anywhere! Also the bottom bracket shell is very clean, shouldnt be any issues installing my BB tonight.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Here's some pictures of the frame in person!

Did you take any measurements off the headtube? Carbonda's website does not provide enough information to properly purchase a headset. Have you fit a headset yet, or did you use the one they can provide? Pics of the headset they provide if that is the route you took?

[kroem]

My Velobuild gravel. Some issues still needs to be sorted, disc rub and howling, play in the cranks... new cranks etc...

Its my first build so a learning journey...

[ms6073]

This is the axles that came with the updated Carbonda 505.
Do they represent any standard?

Late to the party, but M12 means 12mm diameter thru-axle with 1.5 mm thread pitch and the L is approximate length.
How to Measure a Bicycle Thru-Axle

[calleking]

Nice!

How much for the frame+fork+other parts and shipping?

[ms6073]

Not sure I would want that bling of a paint job for a gravel bike. I have a strip of Gorilla Tape on the downtube of our bikes, but those are matt black on the underside so does look that much worse for the wear.