Did you use a gun or rattle cans? If a gun what kind and what nozzle size.

Thanks. What brand frame did you go with? I actually own 3 as well. I have video footage of the other ones - maybe I’ll do another 2 or 3 videos on them.

Glad you enjoyed it

I just finished an FM10 build 2 weeks ago. I will probably do a “post-build” vIdeo on that one. I took a complete opposite approach to components. I have 2 more builds coming up. Awaiting delivery now. I really enjoy the process particularly the painting and stencil creation. The assembly is pretty easy for me since I have all the tools and have more experience there.

I 100% agree. It’s way more fulfilling when it’s “of your own creation”.

@@jeromep4148 How is your FM10 holding up? I have an FM10 as well and I've had pivot bolts fall out multiple times, leading me to walk the bike for miles out of trail networks. I've also had the suspension bolts snap in half 3 times.

@@KnicksFanPatrol I used loctitle blue on all fasteners and installed with torque wrench - check periodically. For me , so far so good.

Are you jumping ?- I am trail riding only? My son in law has the xl frame - he is a big guy at 230 lbs - so far so good for his as well - again he is trail riding ( not jumping)

What frame are you looking at?

Buy extra hardware. I lot a suspension swing arm fastener and it shipped fromCN 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t received it yet. Manuf doesn’t ship fedex so I am waiting on Pitney Bowes logistics .... terribly slow domestic service.

Great to hear! Have you finished build or are you just starting?

@@jeromep4148 I finished my build in may. My build is: Fox rythym 34 130mm fork Fox rp23 adaptative logic kashima cost. Full transmission XT Brakes full xt Wheels dtswiiss x1900 Seat post tranzx 150mm Handlebar bmc 01 carbon Minion 2.30 dhf front Minion 2.30 dhr rear I tried to build with fm038 a bike for xc and trail or light enduro. I'm Happy with It. It has good rigidity and in technical descents his behavior is excellent. For 500 dollars I think that IS a good frame. Now we have to see, how many time hold without crashes o breaks on frame. Best Jerome !!

I think its most important to figure out where you will be riding. Not where you would like to someday ride but actually where you will spending the vast majority of your time. Then pick a bike that matches that terrain. A lot of folks “over bike” because they get excited watching guys riding at Whistler … get a bike that makes sense for what you will actually be doing.

@@jeromep4148 thank you!

I agree, I bring my all mountain/enduro bike to the bike park and feel overbooked a half the time. A good travel range for most people is 120-140 rear travel. I went a built a chi-tanium hard tail and absolutely love it.

I am getting started on another build using a seraph fm10 frame. Quite a bit chunkier- more of a trail/ enduro type frame. I am trying to go near all chinese branded components. I can always swap out what seems inadequate. Will be an interesting adventure.

@@jeromep4148 please make a video about that one too I’m thinking of buying the fm10

I am actually doing the same thing. My fm10 arrived 2 weeks ago and I am close to finalizing my paint scheme colors. The fm10 is considerably more burly - should be great for hard core trail and enduro type stuff.

@@jeromep4148 what fork and spring are you going with?

@@exa-mountainbikingandhikin7127 my initial goal was to go 100% Chinese branded stuff. Generally very inexpensive and if I don’t like the products, not a huge loss to replace components. So I bought a 140mm travel fork by a company called Uding.

I lost one of these bushing bolts while on the trail and I had to order a handful of spares from China - took a long time to arrive (it was in the height of Covid and everything from China was delayed). This pivot experiences minimal rotational movement, so perhaps that is why there is no bearing - I don't know how other bikes do it and I don't profess to be a frame design engineer, so I can't provide any real insight. After losing one pivot bolt (and ordering a replacement and a number of spares), I applied Loctite (blue) and re-torqued all the pivots to the proper spec. I did not experience the problem you did however. I asked the Seraph if I could buy the bushings in the US and they didn't seem to have a clue. My local bike shops in my location seem to know virtually nothing about the fasteners used in the industry so they were totally unhelpful. I even called a couple of US based manufacturers just to get a lead on who supplies this stuff ... no success there either. Good luck

It’s a great frame! I would say more of an xc bike. If your local trails are rooty with rocks it’s great. If you have larger drops and you jump a lot maybe you would need more travel in your suspension ( like the FM10 bike provides … I did 2 Fm10 builds also). I have done 4 builds and this frame provides the most versatility IMO. I do think it all depends on your local trails.

Bought headset from TanTan cycle folks along with frame. Buy a few extra frame pivot fasteners - the little ones. Be sure to torque properly a apply medium strength loctite ( blue). I lost one on the trail and it took forever to get a replacement. Need spares.

Not sure. Bike is at my work office right now. I did have to buy a bushing kit and then cut one of the bushing with a hack saw to get it to the correct size. Fortunately I have a workbench vise and was able to get a decent cut. Then I filed the rough edge with a metal file. It was an easy process but I have the tools.

@@jeromep4148 ok thanks

I am pretty sure it’s 8mm. I bought a rockshox monarch rt3 shock from worldwide cycle. www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/2016-rockshox-monarch-rt3-rear-shock-7-50x2-0-190x51-debonair-tunemidreb-comp. and bought this mounting kit : RockShox Rear Shock Mounting Hardware: 1/2" x 1/2", 22.0 x 8, 3-Piece Set. I filed it down a bit so I could get it to fit in the frame. I painted the bike and had quite a bit of clear coat. It was easy to do. Pressing the shim into the shock itself required a vice. That seemed a bit more difficult than I would have expected. I am happy I had a vice in my garage!!

150 mm

Good question- right now, I don’t actually know. I can research “what is required” and then take an educated guess. The manuf ( Tantan Cycles) has always been pretty good at answering questions though. On a side note, I am visiting Colorado and I have this bike with me. I am very pleased with how the bike is performing in the Colorado conditions (probably a testament to the SID Ultimate fork and the snazzy rear shock. Both are only 100mm of travel, but again very pleased. I did a custom build because I enjoy that process - however, if I were to buy a bike from a name brand, I would go with the new Canyon Neuron CF 9 SL ( the new 2023 version not the 2022). I was actually expecting to do that for this CO trip, but I was so happy with the FM038 build that I didn’t think it was necessary. The Neuron would have been a nicer bike but for my riding style the FM038 is really nice too.

2nd reply - I was thinking SRAM UDH was their new thing. UDH was introduced in 2019. I bought the full drive train from Worldwide Cycley in July 2020. I used the rear axle provided with bike and everything was perfect. SRAM GX Eagle Groupset - 170mm Boost Crankset, 32t, DUB, Trigger Shifter, Rear Derailleur, 12-Speed 10-52t Cassette

No import fees. Probably paid $100 for shipping. It’s been a while now. This Fm038 is my #1 bike and I have 4 bikes. I am a big fan of this frame geo for xc riding.

For this build I bought all top end components from the US. The full list of components and the sources am used are in the video near the end.

i never had them paint a frame so that adds time for sure. i have ordered 3. frames in total from them and everything worked out fine, buts its not a speedy process - the shipping takes a while also. Consider ordering a couple of extra sets of frame fastener in the event you ever lose one. i lost one on a trail and it took a while to get the replacement - all super slow shipping. Use Loctite Blue and be sure to use a torque wrench. i think it was “user error” on my part , but still its nice to have spares!!

@@jeromep4148 thank you for the advice, forgive my ignorance but what "frame fasteners" are we talking about?

@@dontfearthereaper2887 Actually after my reply I looked up the you bought. Your rear triangle is one piece , mine was two piece. The fasteners for the rear triangle is primarily what i was referring to

29er. External Width: 27mm, internal 23mm

@@jeromep4148 thank you 🙏 god bless

19” . I am 5’ 11” .

Their website is not really laid out in a fashion that was easy to navigate. The categories all seem to overlap and I ended up spending hours over multiple visits getting “the hang” of it. I never felt I understood their wheel offering however. It seemed like they had all road bike wheels. So frankly I gave up on it. I purchased two more frames from them with the intent of buying some wheels but I again gave up and went with the Xiamen folks who presented their wheel sets in a more straightforward and easily digestible manner. I am not an expert on cf wheels so maybe it was just ignorance on my part.

@@jeromep4148 I don’t see any prices on their website at all for anything. Frankly, their website looks VERY close to the Tantan one.

Xiamen is on AliExpress -at least that is where I purchased. . Tantan is also on AliExpress but I bought directly from them via their website and I believe I paid via PayPal.

@@jeromep4148 ok, thanks for the tips.

The bike is great. the sram GX drive train is very good. Reliable and consistent shifting. Rockshox ultimate Sid fork also great. The Tranzx dropper could not hold air and Tranzx is sending me a replacement catridge- there customer service has been outstanding. The geometry of the frame is quite good for xc and not overly technical trail riding. I have a mix of shimano and sram brakes. The shimano rear squeal like crazy. Really annoying. I am replacing pads this coming weekend. The others have plenty of pad left but I just can’t get them to be quiet. The SIGEYI power meter is also great. Other than the unreliability of dropper and noises back brake (which both should be fixed next weekend, the bike has been a dream. Oh one thing that did suck: I did not initially torque frame bolts. Lost one on the trail and it took over a month to get replacements. I tried to get tantan to ship fedex but they couldn’t do it. That was annoying. I recommend buying extra hardware up front. I have done two FM10 builds. I will do a video on them at some point. Very beefy all mountain frame. Also a good purchase - more on that later.

What are you planning to do for components?

@@jeromep4148 to be as thrifty as possible I have a perfectly good 2015 trek remedy that’s too large for me. So I’ll be transferring the components from that over. May need a new rear shock and I’ll go with a rockshox monarch. Everything else is sram 1x 11 setup.

I 100% recommend it for an -XC build. Also if I do another build (I have 3 bikes so who knows) I will buy the Seraph FM10 frame and build a 140 mm travel trail bike.

At 13:30 in the video is all the stuff I bought for this build - is that what you are asking?

I just received an Airwolf hardtail xc frame a week ago. Came with the BB and head cups and bearings for fork. $276 usd and included shipping! Seems really good. I buy unpainted because that's the most fun for me. Anyway, it seems really quite good! I would recommend it. Obviously have never ridden it but I believe they have been doing frame for some time now. The finish of the frame seems quite exceptional.

@@jeromep4148 i’m really skeptical with safety but also like warrants if the companies in china even stand behind their warranty’s

Sure. But you know all the carbon fiber bike manufacturing expertise in the world is in China, right. What ever you buy will have been made in China regardless if you are talking frame, drivetrain, forks …. Design , however, is a different story. Each brand tends to have its own design, geometry, etc. so while their frames are being made in china (and Taiwan for aluminium frames), the designs are generally owned by the brand. Good luck with your build!!

@@jeromep4148 Thanks man 🙏

I ride from my work location and I keep forgetting to check. Hopefully tomorrow

You can also shoot Lisa at Seraph an email and she will get right back to you.

Ok just checked bike. There is a routing thru the frame for a rear shock lockout cable.

@@jeromep4148 Thanks, How low is take you to get it??? Frame???

@@estebanaraiza 45 days approximately. The seraph shipped within a week. It really slowed down getting through customs - was when COVID was ramping up.

speedsafewheels.aliexpress.com/store/1531096

@@jeromep4148 Very appreciate.

I think that was a 1.4 . Base coat seemed fine with gun setup.

Here is the info: 1350g 29er MTB XC SL BOOST carbon wheels 28mm asymmetric 28mm deep SUPER LIGHT tubeless wheelset 15X110 12X148 10s 11s XD 12s. Bought them from Xiamen A-One Bicycle. These are xc only wheels - they are narrow and light. I was pleased with the price and their responsiveness. I bought other wheels from them since this initial purchase - 35mm external width for the next purchase for an all Mtn bike I built.

​@@jeromep4148 ty do u have link for Xiamen A-One Bike Co?

@@farghom Xiamen A-ONE Bicycle Co. star.aliexpress.com/share/share.htm?image=HTB1GQ1uRpzqK1RjSZFvq6AB7VXai.jpg&title=Xiamen%20A-ONE%20Bicycle%20Co.&platform=AE&redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fm.aliexpress.com%2Fstore%2Fv3%2Fhome.html%3FshopId%3D1531096%26sellerId%3D119960389%26pagePath%3Dindex.htm%26sellerAdminSeq%3D119960389%26srcSns%3Dsns_Copy%26tid%3Dwhite_backgroup_101

@@jeromep4148 ty

@@jeromep4148 thanks i cant seem to click on anything. is that on regular aliexpress?

Yes

I'm 5'7" and i ordered size 19. Was it a good choice? Or i should have ordered the 17.5?

Seems much to big. Send Seraph an email. I know they tend to have a reluctance to tell customers “what they need” but frame sizes accommodate body sizes. At 5’7” you would generally be a medium size frame. Good luck.

I compared it to polygon siskiu t7 medium and the geometry seems to be the same to their 19. Except the seat tube angle and head tube angle. That's why i choose the 19.

Experience is the key - sounds like you have that. What are you doing for components?

I cworked with Lisa at this email info@tantancycling.com . I have bought 3 frames from Tantan but no wheels. I couldn’t figure out how their wheels product line was organized and just bought Lightspeed wheels. I am sure Tantan wheels a just fine, I never figured it out.

Huh, I did not realize that matte finish was a form of clear coating. After this project, I did an FM10 build for myself and I am just finishing another FM10 build for a family member. It’s not necessarily cheaper but you get exactly what you want and it’s very gratifying. What frame did you go with?

@@jeromep4148 yes very satisfying. I went with a lexon Titan/myst aka fm-258.

The last paint job I did I sanded after the epoxy primer. Made a world of difference. The reason expensive components are expensive IS because of weight reduction. But I would love to see that proven otherwise. So let me hear your inexpensive light weight components- start with the fork - seems to be the heaviest single component on frame..

This frame is an XC MTB (68 degree head tube angle - around 27 lbs pedals and all). I think the frame is very, very good. Because of the frame and components installed , it’s my # 1 bike (and I own 5 of them). I would buy it again with no reservations. It you do a build buy good components (fork, rear shock, drivetrain, brakes)- even if you need to save money by getting used stuff on pinkbike.com. The components make the biggest difference IMO. For run, I did an “all china” build - I am now upgrading fork, shock, brakes. Was an interesting experiment.

@@jeromep4148 Thanks for the info, My concern is also my size 6' 4" @ 230 lbs

You probably know about Carbon fiber strength relative to your weight. In know carbon fiber is used to make F1 frames and aircraft component so CF itself is not the issue. The only issue to me would be the strength of the pivot bolts. They r steel ( not alum) , but r some better than others or all all the frame manuf sourcing from the same bolt company in Taiwan?? No clue. I do know I built an FM10 from Seraph (more of an enduro bike) for son-in-law. he is your size. So far, so good for him. Good luck with your decision.

I am 6’ . Bike is a 19” frame.

@@jeromep4148Thanks for Reply - i am 6ft also so 19" frame for me TOO. that is the Size i got for my Hardtail Build