Aluminium hardtail frame

irie

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May 2, 2022
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@atlet I think I can see what has happened. Shimano caliper bolts come with 3 washers. The thin top washer is captive. The other two are 'cone' washers to ensure bolt alignment and only to be used at the top. In your photo one of these cone washers is used between the caliper and the adapter. It should NOT be there, all 3 washers should be at the top of the bolt!

20240224_162330.jpg
 
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atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
27
3
Slovenija
@atlet I think I can see what has happened. Shimano caliper bolts come with 3 washers. The thin top washer is captive. The other two are 'cone' washers to ensure bolt alignment and only to be used at the top. In your photo one of these cone washers is used between the caliper and the adapter. It should NOT be there, all 3 washers should be at the top of the bolt!

View attachment 135096
@irie tnx, I will try. I hope this will solve the issue.
 

atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
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3
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It is too much of a coincidence that your caliper is 2.5-3mm too high and that the cone washers are 2.8mm and 3.2mm thick.
The rear brake is now ok. Front brake it's not ok. On first photo you see I removed washers. On second photo you can see upright original Shimano adapter, down is this adapter, that is installed. It's not the same dimensions. Still if I install original Shimano adapter there is still 2-3mm too high. It's the only way to solve this to grinder the adapter? Or I can find a 3mm smaller adapter? On third photo you can see that they use normal washers. Tnx @irie

IMG_20240224_214912.jpg
IMG_20240224_212156.jpg
IMG_20240224_205902.jpg
 

atlet

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Aug 4, 2023
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3
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Well the derailleur max (51T) matches the cassette 50T so it must be out of adjustment.

Have you adjusted it yourself, B-tension and limits, or was it they same person who put the washers under the caliper adapters?
I adjusted another time, but it's seem the problem is in cassette, the biggest (50T) gear. The cassette has only 300km. Also, I added a new chain. When under pressure the chain wont sit properly. Maby a better cassette will fix this issue?
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,520
2,533
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
The rear brake is now ok. Front brake it's not ok. On first photo you see I removed washers. On second photo you can see upright original Shimano adapter, down is this adapter, that is installed. It's not the same dimensions. Still if I install original Shimano adapter there is still 2-3mm too high. It's the only way to solve this to grinder the adapter? Or I can find a 3mm smaller adapter? On third photo you can see that they use normal washers. Tnx @irie

View attachment 135133 View attachment 135134 View attachment 135135
If it is a Shimano adapter there will be a part number on one side, what is the part number?

Also you could try the rear adapter on the front and see if that fits OK - if it does then either buy a new adapter the same or carefully grind the old one down.

Are you sure both rotors are exactly the same diameter?
 

atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
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3
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If it is a Shimano adapter there will be a part number on one side, what is the part number?

Also you could try the rear adapter on the front and see if that fits OK...
The adapter on rear is the same. There is nothing written on adapter. The Shimano adapter I tried is SM-MA-F180P/P2.
 

atlet

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Aug 4, 2023
27
3
Slovenija
If it is a Shimano adapter there will be a part number on one side, what is the part number?

Also you could try the rear adapter on the front and see if that fits OK - if it does then either buy a new adapter the same or carefully grind the old one down.

Are you sure both rotors are exactly the same diameter?
Yes,. both rotors are 180mm.
 

irie

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The adapter on rear is the same. There is nothing written on adapter. The Shimano adapter I tried is SM-MA-F180P/P2.

Those are the correct adapters. I have no idea why the front does not fit. I can only suggest checking the specification of the forks and calipers.
 

atlet

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Aug 4, 2023
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Those are the correct adapters. I have no idea why the front does not fit. I can only suggest checking the specification of the forks.
@irie tnx for your help. This is a Chinese fork. And a Chinese bike. There are a lot of information. Maby the best solution is to grind the adapter.
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,520
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Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
@irie tnx for your help. This is a Chinese fork. And a Chinese bike. There are a lot of information. Maby the best solution is to grind the adapter.

I can only think that the problem is either the front caliper or the fork. If front and rear calipers are identical and genuine Shimano then as far as I can see the only way to go is to carefully grind the adapter. Adapters are cheap so if it goes wrong it's no big deal.

Edit: check that front and rear pads are identical
 
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atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
27
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Slovenija
So the issue with derailleur is now fixed. It wasn't installed properly. I checked the manual and installed the right way.

Regarding brakes I think this adapter will fix the issue: SM-MAF220P/PL
 

atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
27
3
Slovenija
So the issue with derailleur is now fixed. It wasn't installed properly. I checked the manual and installed the right way.

Regarding brakes I think this adapter will fix the issue: SM-MAF220P/PL
Still not solved the issue. It's still 2mm to high. Maybe the only thing is to grind down the fork mount or brake adapter.
 

Hardtail

Active member
Mar 8, 2021
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132
Uk
You have 180mm rotors, that adapter is for 220mm right? Ask the supplier or take it to a local bike shop if you can’t figure it out.
 

atlet

Member
Aug 4, 2023
27
3
Slovenija
Yes, I have 180mm rotor. This adapter I bought is 17+. But still the brake caliper is 1-2mm too high.

Look at the attached photos.

IMG_20240228_165434.jpg IMG_20240228_170554.jpg IMG_20240228_170819.jpg IMG_20240228_170913.jpg
 

Hardtail

Active member
Mar 8, 2021
211
132
Uk
If you don’t want to take it to a shop file the new bracket down.
Place it on a flat file and do both sides at once. It is aluminium so it is very easy to do gradually and evenly.
 

atlet

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Aug 4, 2023
27
3
Slovenija
I made a video of problem with brake pads not fully engaging: Cyctrac EM5 brake problems
After a lot of trial and error I finally found the solution. I installed 185mm rotor and now it's ok. I ordered a few EM5 bikes and all of them have the same problem. If you contact them they tell me that this is ok and nothing to worry.
 

El Topo

Member
Jul 23, 2022
139
53
Germany, Bavaria

I buy this hardtail twice. Quality is good, geometry is enough for light trail riding. Match with M510/M600 motor with 620Wh battery.
Thanks for the link, I did some digging and this seems the geometry of the frame:
 
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