DIYCarbonbikes.com??

does anyone know how reliable this place is? prices seem to good to be true...

You'll probably find the answer you are looking for at http://chinertown.com/, I've seen that site mentioned on there and it looks legit. 

What are you interested in mainly? I'm hoping to put together a full suspension 29er in 130-150 mm travel range in the next couple of years, the open mold options don't offer quite what I am looking for yet though so I'm waiting to see what becomes available.

looking at the f157 from them

https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/collections/fullsuspensionframes/products/275f157?variant=21332421378128

also considering their wheels. will update with a build plan tomorrow...

I'd just be cautious about the geometry, a 68 degree head tube angle is very steep these days, especially on a 150 mm travel bike. They also don't list reach but I'd imagine it is pretty short compared to a current bike. Those are things that will really effect the way the bike handles technical terrain. They also call it a "Pivot Style" but if you look through Pivot's archives for the Mach 6 which seems to be similar travel and 27.5" wheels all generations of that bike are slacker than this. 

In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :

good point about the head tube angle. i don't really care what the frame is made of as long as it isn't over about 9 kg... another frame i was looking at, Commencal Clash, is aluminum, costs more money, but has a 64* head tube angle... VERY slack. it will also cost me 700$ more because i have to get a bigger seat post and a longer shock. but it is a lot more reliable... one thing that concerns me is that i might over tighten bolts on a carbon frame. 

And now you have me looking at Commencal frames! A friend mentioned them on my last ride and the 29er looks like pretty much what I want in a trail bike, maybe next year.

I wouldn't be concerned about carbon vs aluminum and there really isn't much to over tighten. Geometry though and others reviews of that frame from that dealer would be the most important. If the geometry looks good to you (like I said above, it looks dated to me and the modern slacker setups are really good) and there is good feedback online then I would be pretty confident ordering.

Personal experience buying carbon bits direct from China, I've had good luck with a fully rigid fork for a monstercross/gravel project (I literally bought the cheapest one on ebay as the risk seemed the same no matter the price), multiple carbon drop and flat handle bars, track (as in Velodrome) wheels, carbon mtb/cyclocross wheels and my partners cyclocross bike. They've all arrived and met expectations, weights were as advertised and finishes decent. In general I think they over build which ends up with a stiffer less compliant part but will last (but that is where reviews come in, sometimes there are design flaws). The only carbon parts I have had fail were drop handlebars, in both cases from crash damage that took months/years to finally cause a failure. In both cases though it was not catastrophic, I was just out on rides and noticed extra flexing in the bars and then realized there was a problem, aluminum does not fail like that typically. And just to be clear, one of those bars was from China and the other hand laid up in America (ENVE or Edge composites at the time, very high end piece).

This one:

https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/collections/fullsuspensionframes/products/29er-or-27-5-dcb-f150-slash-style-carbon-fs-mtb-frame

Looks like it has a 66 degree head angle. That's pretty slack... Ibis ripmo is 64.9

well I've changed things up a bit.... decided to build a hard tail first than save up again and buy a full suspension.... i have attached my build plan. btw building a full suspension is WAY more expensive. also hardtails are more fun and simpler

everything besides the commencal build packet i found at jenson usa. if you want to look at it go to jensonusa.com and copy and paste from the chart and put it into the search bar. everything should come up.

does anyone know how to upload pdfs onto grm or if that is even possible?