Commencal 2008 : Les Deux Alps, France. June 2007

The weather was hot, the trails dry, dusty and scary fast, and on the outward journey at least the planes all took off & landed on time.

The trip to Les Deux Alps, or 2Alps as the locals say, to see touch and play with the new Commencal 08 range was much looked forward to. Not just because of the aforementioned touching seeing and playing with one of the most anticipated bike ranges of 2008 but also because part of the deal was a day long chairlift pass to ride some of the fantastic 2Alps trails.

The bikes

On the face of it the new range has some radical developments with several new bikes introduced to the range and overhauling of existing models. The reality is slightly less radical, but this is not a bad thing: In 07 everyone loved every part of the Commencal line, and if it ain't broke don't try to fix it. Better instead to listen to your riders, deal with the issues they've raised and tweak the design to take the range to keep it fresh. And that is exactly what Commencal have done.

Normal

As a range the Normal has been around for a while, for 08 it's expanded to a two bike range and represents the entry level hardtail arena. The standard Normal is much the same as the 07 Combi VB, a V braked equipped quality hardtail with lockout forks and a NUTs frame (the same frame as the 07 Combi), retailing at £399.99. It's fair to say that other manufacturers will be offering a disc equipped bike at this price, but Commencal don't pander to trends. Yes some bikes at £400 have disc brakes, but in reality how good are they? And what has been downgraded to get them in the spec?


For those wanting disc brakes the Normal Disc costs an extra £100 and delivers just that: Quality avid stoppers, a disc specific frame and disc only wheels.


In 06 the Combi was a pure entry level XC bike. In 07 it got beefed up and refined. In 08 the frame gets further beefed up yet with the introduction of hydro-formed tubes, and it's actually got lighter.

2 models make up the new Combi hardtail range. The standard Combi at £599 and the Combi Deluxe at £850. Both bikes get lockout forks, an excellent spec list, funky white spokes and better standover thanks to the use of the hydro-formed Meta top tube.


Of special note is the new Combi S. As a model it's existed for several years and has always been Commencals cheapest full sussers. The bike has been unchanged since 05 and frankly looked dated in 07, in 08 it's gets bought bang up to date, and offers incredible value for money.


With the introduction of the new style Meta frames (more later) the Combi S is now based around the fantastic 07 Meta4 frame. 100mm of rear wheel travel, Rockshox rear shock and killer spec list. The Meta platform was the most sought after full suss frame in 07, with the Combi S it's now incredibly cheap to get on the Meta train at only £999.

Meta5

Th run away success of 07, everyone that tried it bought it, the mags loved it and it's was harder to get than rocking horse poo. In 08 it looks very very different, but in reality it's just a tweak to address a few rider issues.


Visually the biggest difference is the new swingarm: Love it or hate it (and it's gonna split everyone that's for sure) it's lighter and stiffer than the previous version. It came about thanks to the Meta666 (also more later) and proved so successful in testing Commencal decided to roll it out over the entire Meta range. Rear mech cable routing is inside the new swingarm, a great idea to start with but re-cabling can be an issue, only time will tell on this one.


Rear wheel travel has been increased to 138mm (previously it was 132mm on the small and medium frames and 136mm on the large and XL) and best of all the front mech has been shifted to the main triangle, previously it was on the swingarm. Cable routing has also been improved and the mud magnet that was the last section of outer leading to the front mwch has been done away with.


The final tweak to the Meta5 platform is a steepening of the angles. In the past the slack angles of the Meta5 has had as many lovers as haters. Whilst the slack head angle was always nice when it got fast and downward, the equally slack seat angle often made you feel like you were sitting over the rear wheel too much of the climbs. In 08 the angles are sharpened up by about half a degree. Not a lot, and to those who never had an issue with the previous models it'll be almost unnoticeable, but to others it'll be a god send.

Prices for the complete Meta 5 bikes surprisingly stays the same in 08, impressive when the spec across the range has been improved. Prices for the frames has as expected been increase, but only by £50, meaning one of the most sought after five and a half inch (we;; nearly) inch All Mountain framesets is still £100 under the grand mark. Incredible value considering you get a top of the range Fox RP23 shock in the price.

Meta4

Other than the new swingarm and an improvement on the spec little has changed with the Meta4, no bad thing really. All bikes in the range are still white (Max Commencals says the Meta4 and Supernormal will ALWAYS be white!) and thanks to the new swingarm weights are down across the range.


The Meta4x remains as a frame only option in 08 and is unchanged from 07. Pricing is the same at £999.

Meta666

Originally tagged the Meta6, then the Meta160 when the travel was set at 160mm, now officially named the Meta666. Is it an evil bike? Will Damian be riding one? No idea, but it sure is an awesome extension to the Meta line up.


The reason for the Meta666 is simple: The team demanded it. Commencal are big into Mega Avalanche type events. Typically the riders took their Supreme6's to the races, but more and more the courses were getting more pedal than gravity assisted, so a few started riding Meta5. What they really wanted was a bike with Supreme6 travel but Meta handling. Enter the meta666.

The swingarm is the same as the rest of the Meta range, the front triangle is similar with the inclusion of the Supreme adjustable head angle sleeve (except on the XL 666, the head tube was too long for it!) but the linkages are bigger, to get the extra travel out back. The bike also sits a little higher than the Meta5.


So what is the intended use for the Meta666? Everything. The frame weight is only slightly higher than a Meta5 so in theory you could build one up to the same weight, but to do so would miss the point of the bike. Typically the bike will run 160mm bolt thru forks, strong wheels, 2 chainrings with a bashguard and possible a E13 DRS type chain guide. All this will push the weight well over the 30lb mark, but 33-35lb should be more than doable on a modest budget, and with such a build the bike will be able to cope with most terrain. Essentially if you like going big but still like to pedal it to the top, and only want to own one bike, the Meta666 is a serious contender.



For 08 Commencal will be producing 2 complete Meta666 bikes and one frame. The bikes won't be cheap (the cheapest is £2.8k, but this might get lowered a bit with a last minute fork change, the Team edition 666 costs £3.3k). But in reality it's hard to do the frame justice with any less a build. The most popular option will be frame only with an RP23 at £999.

Supreme

Little has changed with the Supreme range, except for a very clever bike that Commencal have slipped into the Supreme range.


The Mini DH Supreme6 range has been reduced to 2 bikes, with the cheaper 6.2 losing the adjustable head angle. Both the 6.2 and 6.1 are now spec'd with coil shocks front and rear and come with a single ring and chain device as standard. The Supreme6 VIP frame retains an air shock in the shape of a DHX Air, an odd decision consider the Supreme6 is now more or less being marketed as a Mini DH bike, but there you go. Prices are frame only £1250. 6.2 £1500 and 6.1 £2200.


The Supreme DH gets a new paintjob and little else, but then it was one of the fastest bikes in 07 so why change it if it ain't broke? Prices stay the same for 08 with the frame at £1700, the DH racing at £2500 and the team at £4k.


Worthy of note is that the team now gets the World Cup 888's with the super slippy stanchions. Also the somewhat unreliable Roox chain device has been dropped in favor of a much simpler effort.


Supreme 24

The new thing in the Supreme stable is the Supreme 24, which as the name suggests is a 24" wheeled Supreme Mini DH.


Fox Vanilla R shock out back and the New Marzocchi 55's upfront, both being custom tuned to offer 140mm travel. With 165mm cranks as standard the bike was originally thought of as a kids bike, but it's so much more. Sizing on the Supremes has always limited their appeal to smaller riders, likewise not everyone wants 6" of travel. With a price tag of only £1300 expect to see a lot of big kids and smaller adults throwing the Supreme 24 around on the downhills.

Furious



There has been so much hype about the furious it's not funny. Designed by Cedric Gracia it's a bike for riding, having fun on, getting big air on and chatting up the ladies with.


The Furious is not as some have said Commencals new DH bike (that appears in 09), it's their new slopes style, bike park, larking about in the woods bike. With the Furious it's not about the suspension action or the amount of travel. it's about the right geometry, being supremely balanced and strong enough to take everything the worlds best can throw at it.

The head angle is slack (and 1.5"), the seat angle nice and steep and the wheel base short. The bike is low: Both the long and short is only 15" C2C and it rides like a BMX with suspension.

83mm bottom bracket shell and 150mm rear wheel spacing complete the over built spec. The frame has been 2 years in the making, and it's shows, everything is just right and to coin a phrase, it just works.

Pricing is excellent too with the frame only with Roco RC WC coming in at £1500 and a complete bike costing only £800 more. Not bad when you consider that gets you 66 RCV's, Avid brakes, SRAM drivetrain and the usual Commencal branded bits.


Supernormal & Flame

Commencals top end hardtail "race" bike range has been slimmed once again, this time down to two bikes: The Supernormal disc and the Flame. Spec's are again largely unchanged but prices are down.


The Supernormal, now sporting a Reba fork Forumula Oro 18k disc brakes, is down to £1199 a £100 reduction on 07. The Flame sports the usual Fox f100RL forks and is priced at £2k. A lot perhaps but remember this is a top spec race ready bike. If you can't win on this, you can't win, period.


The Flame is also available as frame only at £349.

Absolut

The Absolut range has been through several changes in the last 2 seasons so it's a welcome thing that it's also largely unchanged for 08. It's a range that used to be extremely popular but never quite took of in 07, most likely because of the repositioning of the range in usage terms. It' used to be a hardcore hartail range, now it's purely dirt/jump/street territory.


3 models remain: Absolut1, Absolut2 and Absolut CroMo with pricing from £600 to £800. Worthy of note is the CroMo frame. In the past it was a heavy affair, it's now a much more sculptured frame with butted tubes and SS drop outs only. Frame only the CroMo is £400. there is no standard Alu Absolut frame only option this year only the extremely popular Absolut 4x, which is technically the same as the Alu with the inclusion of the Supreme adjustable head angle sleeve.

Finally on the Absolut front is the Max Max range, which gets extended this year to include a 24" version. More on that soon.

Ti 2butted


This is not a confirmed frame, and it'll never be a complete bike, but there is a possibility that Commencal will release a very limited edition run (50ish) of double butted Ti hard tail frames. It'll be made using top quality, will not be from china and will have replaceable drop outs to allow geared or SS drive trains. Estimated RRP is about £1.5k. Again more on this as it becomes available.

That's it. The all new 08 Commencal range. Colours will no doubt become a love hate thing, but there is no getting away from the fact that the Commencal line up gets stronger every year. The bikes looks great, the new machines ride as you'd expect and Commencal are confident they have ironed out their known reliability issues (they've finally dropped their own branded hubs and are now using Shimano throughout the range.