This is Diamondback’s new Hardtail, the Sync’r Carbon.
It’ll be available later this year, but for now it’s just a frame with no parts
on it.
Diamondback hasn’t worked all that stuff out yet.
If you’ve ever built a bike from the frame up, you know it’s easy to forget parts and
tools.
I mean look at all this stuff!
It’s inevitable that you’ll forget a seat post clamp, grips, or any number of specialty
wrenches, and you’re sure to find out when it’s too late to do anything about it.
But today we’re seeing this through to the end.
This will not be a detailed tutorial, but rather a synopsis of this bike build.
Some of these parts are from my official channel sponsors, Diamondback Bikes, Box Components,
and Slime Sealant.
The balance of the parts were contributed by other friends of this channel.
To be transparent, thank these companies for their support, and reduce the number of “what
part was that?”
comments, I’ll go into detail as the build progresses.
With that said, prepare to geek out.
It’s new bike day, and this time we get to build it.
The first thing I like to do is set up the wheels.
These TR41 wheels were provided by Box Components.
Also provided by Box is this 50 tooth cassette.
As with any metal on metal interface, we’ll apply grease first.
From there the cassette just slides on and stays in place with a lock ring, torqued down
with a cassette tool and big wrench.
Now to install these 2.8” Havoc Pro tires provided by Kenda.
Because these rims and tires are tubeless ready I’m leaving a section open for the
sealant.
A lot of people ask if this is the same Slime available at auto parts stores, and the answer
is no!
This is their tubeless formula, available online and at bike shops.
It’s not always easy, but with a little gorilla action most tires can be installed
without a lever, reducing the risk of damaging the bead or rim tape.
With a blast of air the tires snap into place, and we’re ready to mount the brake rotors.
I’m using 180mm slotted rotors, provided by TRP.
But but but, you’re not supposed to use a drill because—I know.
I’m just screwing these in most of the way with the drill, and then torquing them down
manually.
Nothing’s gonna explode, it’ll be fine.
Next I’ll lightly clamp the frame into the stand so we can get to the good stuff.
Let’s start with the bottom bracket which was provided by Raceface.
Although this frame is carbon, the bottom bracket shell is machined from aluminum, so
we can apply grease and thread these bearings in like normal.
I’m using one spacer on the drive side to get the width right.
And of course I’m missing the proper wrench for this bottom bracket.
So I’ll just do what everyone else does.
Also provided by Raceface are these Next R carbon cranks and this 30 tooth narrow wide
chainring.
Paired with that 50 tooth cassette, I should be able to climb real slow.
From there, the crankset slides into the bottom bracket, and over the spindle with the turn
of this 8mm hex bolt.
Next up more bearings.
I bought a headset online but forgot to order races, so I robbed them off another bike to
make this build happen.
After applying some carbon paste and lining up the races with a mallet, I’ll use a press
to sink them into the frame.
In the absence of a crownrace tool, I’ll carefully tap it down on to the fork with
the plastic side of my mallet.
Let’s talk about this fork.
This bike was originally getting an MRP Ribbon coil, but it didn’t show up on time for
this build.
That was my fault.
So I glommed a Fox 36 off another bike, took it to my friends at Squatch, and had them
reduce the travel from 160mm to 140mm.
The fact that they had the parts in stock and were able to verify over the phone that
they’d fit, is a testament to how good of staff Squatch has.
The result was a great fork in the perfect configuration for this frame, but I’m still
hoping my Ribbon will arrive in time to travel with this bike.
Installing a fork and installing a headset are actually one in the same task.
The big bearing goes on the bottom, the small bearing on top, then the compression ring,
then the dust cover.
Finally the spacers, the stem, and the top cap.
Now we’re ready for these Box One downhill bars, but first we need to reduce their width
to 770.
For that, I’ll clamp them into the workstand, line up my hacksaw, and prepare to careful.
According to the safety enthusiasts in my comment section, carbon dust is like anthrax.
With the bars in place, we can get to the fun stuff.
I only received the derailleur hanger this morning, which luckily came with the right
bolts.
For shifting we’ll be using the Box Two 11 speed derailleur, a less costly version
of it’s Box One counterpart.
It works with that 50 tooth cassette, features an all new clutch, and signature box styling.
I’m excited to give this a long term test.
To string the drivetrain together, I’m installing this rose gold Box Hex Lab chain, which seems
to be the right size already for this gear combo.
Now we can set up the cockpit, starting with all the levers and these Box One grips.
First we’ll set up the dropper post which is internally routed.
I’m using a Raceface Turbine R 150mm post and thumb lever.
Thanks to this access port in the bottom of the frame, hooking it all up is pretty straightforward.
With a seat post installed, we don’t need to clamp the workstand on the frame anymore.
Now for some stopping power, courtesy of TRP.
These Slate G Spec 4 piston brakes have tons of modulation, use mineral oil, and come with
really really long hoses out of the box.
Of course, they also come with everything you need to shorten them up.
Just unscrew the hose, trim it to size, jam in a new insert, slide on the bolt, and then
the olive.
I’ll bleed these later since we most certainly introduced some air into the system.
On to the calipers which just bolt on to the frame and fork.
To align them, leave the bolts slightly loose to allow the caliper to move, hold down the
brake lever to center it up, and then while continuing to squeeze the lever, tighten the
bolts to hold the caliper in place.
Perfect.
While we’re working on the cockpit it’s time to dial the shifting.
Back at the derailleur, these limit screws determine how far up or down the cassette
you’re allowed to shift.
The b screw determines how close the upper pulley can get to the gears.
This bolt holds the cable in place, and this barrel adjuster at the shifter can make fine
adjustments to the tension.
Of course, it shifts like a dream.
And with that we’re down to fine details, like adjusting the angles of the levers, and
installing all the other stuff I forgot about.
There are also these pedals.
Raceface was clean out of stock on black Chesters, so yeah.
I haven’t even crashed this bike yet, and it’s already black and blue.
And look what just showed up.
My Ribbon coil fork.
Alright, let’s do this.
And with just a few hiccups, we have built a murderous hardtail.
If you could rank all the bikes in the world by beauty, I’m positive the top spot would
be taken by a hardtail.
They just look so freaking good.
But we can only stare at this bike for so long.
I would have done a real trail test for you guys, but it’s getting late and I need to
pack this thing up for a trip!
By the time this video airs, I’ll be pushing this hardtail to its limits in the Rocky Mountains.
Stay tuned next week for an all day ride on the longest day of the year.
Oh yeah, and let me know what you think of the blue pedals.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.