Carbon 456 build

kieron_67

Well decided to change the kona scab into a carbon 456, Not the best of builds but it was done cheap, around £500 all in so the components arent the best. it was built from parts off my kona as well as a gt moto that i brought as a donor. I'm slowly now in the process of upgrading as parts come along, first up is a new rear mech and a 1x9 or 1x10 setup.

anyway heres a pic. (lights have been removed, that was for a night trip to work, oh and the saddle is now at the right angle, it was just thrown on for he picture)

Beardface

Looks very nice! Having had a Kona scab and a C456, I know how much difference it makes

How are you finding it so far? What size frame is yours, looks 20"?

kieron_67

loving it, getting more in to trial riding and starting to ride more of the aggressive stuff on the c456, it feels alot more planted than the scab, handles much better and it just overall better in all ways. the shocks are a little to soft for me with them being a coil version of the tora's so i'm looking at upgrades but cant decide on what to have.

I brought the frame knowing it was the one i wanted and threw the bits on off my old bike's with a few new bits, i was too impatient once the frame had arrived to wait for all the high end parts to put on it lol.

yea its a 20" i prefer a bigger frame

Beardface

Glad you're liking it! If it's any help, I had 140mm Dual Air Revelations.. on one have some good deals on forks at the moment, depending on budgets. Otherwise, some good sets of forks come up on the classifieds.

This is a link to my thread that I had, it may give you some ideas

Enjoy!

kieron_67

been buying a few parts to upgrade the 456 to change from 8 speed to 9speed

these included

sram x0 9 speed carbon rear mech





Sram x9 Shifters fitted to shimano brakes with matchmakers







Sram PG970 9 Speed Cassette





Sram 951 chain with power link



All fitted they look like this



havent had chance to try it out properly yet as ive only just finished setting them up, but all seems to be good and shifting seems alot better

Also fitted a neophrene protector to the forks

kieron_67

First ride out last night with the new xo derailleur setup and so glad ive spent the money to change over, shifts are now so much better and precise. Not really noticed any benfits yet from uping the gearing to 9 speed from 8 but to be honest it wasnt a big enough ride to select the gears properly and for long enough.

The X9 shifter to me feels miles ahead of the deore shifters i had before, although the front x9 shifter seems to have too much travel on it for me before it actually changes the gears.

kieron_67

ride out the other day took this along the canal

allthegearnoidea

does show how slack the head angle is in the picture! always been tempted by a carbon on one, but stuck with the soul for now,
your saddle still looks a bit nose up though fella,

kieron_67

yea ive been playing around with the saddle to get it right place for me moving it backwards and forwards, finally found the right position and it is pretty much level now.

currently having a lot of trouble with a creaking crank that i cant seem to find the answer too.

kieron_67

due to a few issues i had i sent the frame back to on-one, unfortunately they didn't have the satin frame in stock so instead i settled with the black and grey in an 18" (much better fit tbh). I think it looks alot nicer than the satin.





cranks have been changed since these pictures.

ive also just brought some DT Swiss EXM 130 forks so waiting for them to arrive.

lawman

Looks great! Really looking forward to giving mine its first proper run out tomorrow, feels spot on round the block, so should be ace on the trails!

Allthegearnoidea, you should see one fitted with a 150mm fork, thats seriously slack!

70\ʹspenguin

I think the new frame looks 100 times better! I like the carbon 456's but the original never looked right to me. Perhaps it was too large and that seat too low?

Anyhoo, its looking rather tasty now, albeit that seat still looks too low

kieron_67

Thanks guys

Yea the seat is low. I keep chabging it some days i have the seat up high and some i have it low it depends how i feel lol

The Rookie

Interesting swap to SRAM, the lad has X9 shifters and X7 rear mech on his Spesh, I have X0 shifter and X9 on my commuter while I have SRAM Rocket (X7 to all intents) on my MTB and an XT rear mech.....I 'think' I like the snappier shifts of the SRAM - I think that is mostly through reduced lateral play on the guide pulley where Shimano have a lot and SRAM almost none, but could be wrong, but will soon be trying to prove it with an alloy Jockey.....

Keep thinking a C456 will be the next when I reframe the Kraken.

kieron_67

I didnt know what to expect really when i fitted the sram stuff i was just going off the reviews and thought it was about time i updated my current setup.

The shifters are a million times better seem pretty much instant. The mech seems to shift the gears very well and i havent had to make any adjustments since i originally set them up. I was forever fiddling with the shimano stuff could never get it quite right.

I have alloy jockey wheels now on the x0 but tbh i didnt notice much difference

The Rookie

The SRAM guide pulleys have much less lateral play than te Shimano ones anyway, so you would be less likely to notice any change!

YorkshireLad

That frame is beautiful. On-one did you a favour with the change to black and grey!

mrmonkfinger

The Beginner wrote:

I 'think' I like the snappier shifts of the SRAM

Have you tried XT or Saint shifters?

I always thought they were an expensive bit of bling, and then I demo'd a bike with full XT on.

Next thing you know I'd gone and bought the shifters & mech. Wouldn't go back now, either.

The Rookie

Not yet.....upgrading the bike slowly, actually considering Shimano Dual control when I have my Shimano brakes on....

kieron_67

brought some DT Swiss EXM forks a while ago so decided to get them fitted

i brought them being told that the seals needed to be replaced but to be honest they are no where near as bad as i thought, they weap a little bit of oil after a ride, nothing that worries me too much. But i have ordered a new seal kit and some oil so they will be done shortly.

Team515

Nice, looks better than the other frame

The Rookie

Liking the black theme, looks nice, the graphics just do enough to offset it....sweet.

kieron_67

cheers guys, happy with the bike now so only upgrades from now will be when things break or if i find something too good to miss lol

paulneenan76

Yeah I think the replacement frame was better option. This is the frame I'm after black/grey decals 18" but missed last months price drop .

Forks look good and the SRAM 9spd upgrades look great - I'm sure they perform well too.

In perpetration for my upcoming c456 build, can I ask what headset you went for? And which front derailleur did you need? - I understand its 34.9 clamp and top pull but is it high / low clamp? Top pull bottom pull? Thanks.

Cracking C456. Hope mine turns out half as nice

Barrelmaker

paulneenan76 wrote:

Yeah I think the replacement frame was better option. This is the frame I'm after black/grey decals 18" but missed last months price drop .

Forks look good and the SRAM 9spd upgrades look great - I'm sure they perform well too.

In perpetration for my upcoming c456 build, can I ask what headset you went for? And which front derailleur did you need? - I understand its 34.9 clamp and top pull but is it high / low clamp? Top pull bottom pull? Thanks.

Cracking C456. Hope mine turns out half as nice

Just thought i would give my 2p worth regarding high/ low clamp. I have a low clamp on my bike and it picks up a lot of crap between it and the frame. My mate has a high clamp and that fares a lot better. When upgrade time comes i'll go for a high clamp.

kieron_67

paulneenan76 wrote:

Yeah I think the replacement frame was better option. This is the frame I'm after black/grey decals 18" but missed last months price drop .

Forks look good and the SRAM 9spd upgrades look great - I'm sure they perform well too.

In perpetration for my upcoming c456 build, can I ask what headset you went for? And which front derailleur did you need? - I understand its 34.9 clamp and top pull but is it high / low clamp? Top pull bottom pull? Thanks.

Cracking C456. Hope mine turns out half as nice

Thanks for the comments. I am using a high clamp derailleur just because i found it cheap at my lbs. Am sure both have there advantages and disadvantages. If i replace it though i think i would try a low mount just because i think they look cleaner as the mounts not as obvisous.

The Rookie

Barrelmaker wrote:

I have a low clamp on my bike and it picks up a lot of crap between it and the frame. My mate has a high clamp and that fares a lot better. When upgrade time comes i'll go for a high clamp.

I agree, but a dose of silicon spray before a ride goes a long way to keeping it clean! Besides I found a nice Deore double specific that weighs about 40g less than most other fronts so needs to pic up a fair bit of grot before it breaks even!

paulneenan76

Thanks for your thoughts on the clamp everyone.

leythervegas

very nice build that mate, i've got the same colour frame and i've been really happy with it. not seen many around the same. what weight did you get it down to?

i'm starting a thread just for carbon 456 owners to put their bikes on, stick a pic on there if you can pal.

kieron_67

leythervegas wrote:

very nice build that mate, i've got the same colour frame and i've been really happy with it. not seen many around the same. what weight did you get it down to?

i'm starting a thread just for carbon 456 owners to put their bikes on, stick a pic on there if you can pal.

Thanks mate. Its just over the 27lb mark so not incredibly light but good enough for me.

paulneenan76

Keiron_67 and other C456 owners posting here had any chainsuck problems?
Has a 3x9 set up caused any issues with this frame?
Have you used any frame protection? Heli tape or patches for cable rub etc?

Wanting to get set before the fun commences