Bikes

The Carbide XC is all of your cross-country riding dreams come true.

A lightweight, stiff and highly efficient XC bike that will leave you wanting more from the first ride. Build with aircraft grade high-modulus carbon fiber, the Carbide has been designed to provide limitless lateral stiffness, excellent pedaling stiffness and bump absorption in a lightweight 5.4lb (2450g) frame and rear shock package.

The Carbide is ready to launch.

Features

• 90mm rear travel, designed for 80mm or 100mm travel fork (head angle 71 with 80mm travel fork, 70.5 with 100mm)
• 5.4 pound/2450 gram frame weight with Fox RP23 shock, large size
• Optimized carbon fiber front triangle, individual lay ups for each size
• Forged aluminum links and dropouts
• Short chain stays and longer front end
• Optimized wheel path to provide minimal chain growth and linear action
• Custom tuned rear shock
• Low stand over height with plenty of seat post adjustability
• Only three sets of bearings means easy service
• Accepts dual water bottles on all but the small frame
• Available in small, medium, large and extra large

Geometry

Technology

Our goals with the Carbide were to make a light and stiff XC bike that could easily be raced or just enjoyed on a Saturday morning XC ride. We wanted it to be light, stiff and very versatile; the XC suspension bikes we’ve tested are either too heavy to race, or too flexy to just ride around on. The Carbide was designed to be more than the typical XC bike.

The Carbide offers a lot of versatility because of the travel. It features 90mm of travel in the rear, which allows you to run either an 80mm fork for racing or a 100mm fork for general riding. With the 80mm travel fork, you get the standard race geometry: 71 degree head angle and 73 degree seat angle. This gives the bike that racey feel and positions your body over the cranks nicely to maximize your efficiency. With the 100mm travel fork, you have a slacker 70.5 head angle, which provides more comfort and relaxed handling.

It’s also versatile because it’s so stiff. The carbon fiber frame provides limitless lateral stiffness with excellent vertical vibration absorption. Additional layers on the bottom of down tube and top tube work to distribute loads evenly, stiffening layers on tube sides (when they have the greatest effect in bending) reduction lateral flex, box section top, down and seat tubes to counter lateral bending and rounded tube-sides counteract torsional loading. There are even specific carbon lay-ups for each size.

And that’s just the front triangle the swingarm is the area that typically sees the majority of flex. The Carbide (and the Snyper for that matter) features a triangulated swingarm which attaches to the front triangle with a compact hollow forged link. This combination provides a winning formula: testing against the competitor’s bikes has shown the Carbide to be one of the stiffest, lightest XC packages available.

The Carbide’s pivot location is designed to maximize pedaling efficiency without incurring excessive pedal feedback or minimizing the bike’s ability to absorb bumps. We used a custom tuned Fox RP23 shock, which has a lighter rebound setting and special compression damping. The result is a bike which pedals well without being overly damped, so you are still able to enjoy the fruits of your effort: the descent.

Setup Guide -Suspension Setup
One of the best ways you can maximize the performance of your bicycle is by ensuring correct rear shock sag. To set sag, sit on the bike in a normal riding position near a wall to steady yourself. Without bouncing on the saddle or pedals, distribute your weight on the saddle and pedals in a normal riding position while holding the handlebars. Have a friend measure the distance between the front and back shock mounts.

Automatic/Carbide XC: This measurement should be between 153 and 155mm for the Carbide and 173 and 175 for the Automatic. This measurement means that approximately 25% to 30% of the total shock travel is used as sag. This is appropriate for cross country riding.

Recommended Sag Applications
Cross Country (Automatic/Carbide XC) 25-30% Sag

Spring Adjustment-Air Shocks
To install air pressure in the main air spring, remove the air cap from the Schrader valve located above the large air spring canister. Attach the pump to the Schrader valve. The hiss you hear when unscrewing the pump is only the air left in the pump itself and not from the shock. This does not affect your pressure setting in the shock. Likewise, when you install the pump, the shock will fill the pump and reduces the registered pressure previously installed in the shock. This usually is a 10-15 psi difference between what was in the shock and what the pump is reading. This is all normal procedure when adjusting the air spring pressure. After removing the pump, be sure to reinstall the Schrader valve cap.

Preload Adjustment – Coil Shocks

Coil spring preload adjustments are done with the spring preload adjustment ring. Adjust the spring preload adjuster up or down to achieve the desired amount of sag. Never exceed 8 mm/.325" of preload on the coil spring. Always make sure that you have a minimum of 1 mm of preload on the spring. If you reach the maximum spring preload (8 mm) and the sag is too much, you’ll need to go to the next higher spring rate. If you reach the minimum amount of spring preload (1 mm) and there is not enough sag, you’ll need to go to the next lightest spring rate.

Rebound Damping Adjustment
The rebound damping controls the return rate of the shock after it has been compressed to absorb a bump. Rebound damping can be adjusted for different spring rates, terrain, and rider preferences. Rebound on shocks can be adjusted by the red knob on Fox shock and the blue knob on Manitou shocks, which is located on the shaft eyelet mount on coil shocks and the air canister eyelet mount on air shocks. As a general rule, rebound that is adjusted too fast will exhibit a springy ride that has excessive pedaling movement and kick up the rear end on multiple bumps and big hits. Rebound that is adjusted too slow will exhibit a packing of the rear wheel that is identified by a low ride height, stiff feeling on multiple bumps and the rear wheel drifting to one side on stutter (braking) bumps. A good rebound starting point is to set the shock to achieve a return movement that is just short of “snapping back”.

FAQ

Which Bike is Right for Me?
We love bikes and would love to hear from you, so if there’s even a question about which bike is right for you, please contact us via e- mail or phone so we can talk bikes.

Why is the Carbide 90mm of Travel?
The Carbide’s 90mm of travel allows you maximum versatility. If you want to race the Carbide, and like the snappy, quick feel of a race XC bike, you can install an 80mm travel fork. This puts your head tube/seat angle at the traditional NORBA race geometry of 71/73 respectively. If you just want the Carbide for all around XC riding, we recommend a 100mm travel fork. This gives you a longer travel feel to the bike of course, but it also slackens the head angle to 70.5 degrees for slightly more relaxed handling.

Why Use a Flex Stay?
The benefit to using a flex stay, and thus eliminating the pivot and bearing, is a dramatic increase in rear end stiffness. When you put a pivot and bearing at the rear wheel, you are just putting a flex point (the pivot) out at the end of a big lever arm (the swing arm). When you eliminate this flex point, and use a short shock link (like the new Tomacs have), you create a very stiff, fully-triangulated rear end. This means excellent steering when cornering and maximum power output when pedaling.

Why a Carbon fiber Flex Stay?
Carbon fiber is a great material in this application because it has an infinite fatigue life for flexing. Secondly, there is very little movement above the rear axle (3 degrees on the Carbide), so putting a pivot and bearing there is somewhat overkill. Also, using the carbon fiber instead of aluminum and a bearing is a much lighter set up. The downside is expense! The carbon fiber flex stay itself is 20 times the cost of a standard bearing/aluminum seat stay setup.

Why the Short Shock Link?
The reason for the low, forward link-mount is that it allows you to make the front triangle very tight and thus increase front-end stiffness; the longer the link, the longer the lever arm and the greater reduction in stiffness.

Why Use An Internal Headset on the Carbide?
The Carbide frames all use internal headsets. The advantage to an internal headset is that the headset cups and bearings recess into the frame and thus allow you to lower the bars as much as possible. Certainly with an XC bike, this is important because you want the bars lower (versus a longer travel bike) for improved positioning for climbing. There is already an FSA internal headset included with your frame.

Why is the Front Derailleur Mounted on the Swing arm?
There are two reasons the front derailleur is mounted on the swing arm, the first of which is shifting accuracy. We’ve have had a lot of success with long-term shifting crispness with this setup. Second, putting the front derailleur on the swing arm allowed us to make a more compact front triangle and integrate the lower link mount into the front triangle. This improves front end stiffness and eliminates redundancy of parts.

Why do most Tomacs have full Derailleur Housing to the Front Derailleur?
Simply put, we want to keep the muck away from the front derailleur cable so shifting remains precise over the long haul. There is no better way to do this than enclosing the cable completely, especially in grimy areas like under the down tube.

Can I Get a New Derailleur Hanger?
The derailleur hanger is made out of 7075 aircraft grade aluminum, and is mounted with stainless steel bolts, should it should be more stout than most derailleur hangers. Should a mishap cause damage to it, simply contact the reseller in your country to purchase another one.

What is the seat post size?
30.9 on all Tomac bikes.

What if My Bike Creaks?
Sometimes after repetitive washings or extensive riding in the elements, the main pivot and link bolts will become dry and can cause creaking. Simple removing, cleaning, relubricating and reinstalling the bolts will eliminate any creaking. If creaking continues, you may need to replace the bearings. Remember to inspect the frame for any damage before each ride.

Where Do You Test the Bikes?
In the winter, we spend the majority of our test time at South Mountain outside of Phoenix. In the summer months, we test near Salida, Colorado. Between seasons, we ride at Platte River State Park about an hour from Omaha, Nebraska.

Why and How Did You Choose the Spec on the Complete Bikes?
When we set out to spec the complete bikes, we wanted to accomplish three major goals. 1) Use all high quality parts from brand name manufacturers including complete wheel sets, folding bead John Tomac Signature Kenda tires, FSA headsets, Thomson stems, etc) We didn’t want to have cheap hidden parts on the frames. In the bike industry, it’s common to spec low end stuff in places when you wouldn’t easily see it (for example the cassette and bottom bracket). 3) We wanted to use parts that we had ridden and knew would provide high performance and high durability.

What’s the Service Life on the Bearings?
The service life of the bearings is determined by the amount and conditions that you ride in. That said, we focused extensively on maximizing bearing life. Not only did we use full compliment bearings throughout, but we made sure that all the bearing surfaces are tucked away from contaminants like dirt and grit. Lastly, the design of the frame inherently puts little stress on the bearings themselves. Keeping them clean and under minimal load means longer service intervals on the bearings.

How Can I Tell If I Need New Bearings?
Remove the rear wheel and the rear shock from the frame. Cycle the bike through its travel by pulling up and down on the rear end. Do you notice any grittiness or binding? Put your hand over all of the pivots and move the rear end again. Does it seem notchy? If so, you will need to contact the authorized Tomac retailer in your country. Go to www.tomac.com for more information.

Who is the Greatest Mountain Biker of All Time?
John Tomac, of course! No single rider has been more competitive in all disciplines of our sport, including XC, Dual Slalom and DH. A former World Champion, National Champion in both XC and DH, and one of the icons of our sports, there’s no denying John Tomac’s impact on mountain biking.

How Involved in Johnny with Tomac?
Johnny is still heavily involved with the company. Not only does participate in the R&D and ride testing of all the bikes, but Johnny the businessman also helps determine the strategic direction of the company.
I Can’t Find the Answer to My Question
Please let us know we can improve our FAQS section by e-mailing or calling us.

Owners Manual

Click here for the owners manual PDF file.

Warranty

For Snyper, Carbide, Primer, Type X, Cortez and Automatic models,
e-mail Joel Smith at info@tomac.com

For older Tomac models, contact

American Bicycle Groupp P.O.Box 23463
Chattanooga, TN 37422
800.229.0198

Reviews

 

Ask a Tech

Is there something you always wanted to know about your Tomac, but never knew where to ask? Well, you have arrived. Send us over your questions and we will get you a quick response.

Click here to e-mail questions.