Big wheels keep on rolling
Here are details of the new Commençal Supreme DH 29. This bike had to happen; after it was raced in some 2017 World Cups the die was cast.
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Commençal Supreme DH 29 need to know
- 205mm rear travel
- High-pivot suspension design
- 63.5° head angle
- Metric shock
- Revised suspension curve
- Complete bikes from €5,399
- ‘Rolling chassis’ race kits from €4,599
- February 2018 delivery
After Santa Cruz’s shock move to 29in wheels at the opening round of the 2017 Downhill World Cup series, a few other bike companies hustled out a big wheel DH bike. Commençal, along with Trek and Mondraker, were one of the first to do so.
Series winner Myriam Nicole raced on a Supreme DH 29 for a while (before reverting back to the 27.5 bike she knew better) but it was Amaury Pierron’s race run at Val Di Sole that was the significant result for Commençal. With the right rider on board it was clear that big wheels and steep. technical race tracks do go together.
This new Supreme DH 29 actually sports more progressive geometry than the current 27.5 Supreme DH (surely a reworked 27.5 model is imminent?) The reach on this 29er Supreme DH is significantly longer; the reach on a Large 29er is 15mm longer than the 27.5 XL.
The head angle is actually half a degree steeper (63.5°). The chain stays are ostensibly quite short at 439mm but because of the high-pivot design that Commençal use the stays effectively lengthen significantly during compression.
What else is new? The rocker linkage arrangement is stronger and stiffer. Enduro bearings. The suspension progressivity curve has been tweaked for more support, grip and less-harsh bottom-out. Reposition brake caliper (200mm rotor size).
Commençal: “Work has been done so that the chassis provides even more grip and rolls over anything in its path without losing speed, obviously thanks to the large wheels but also to our HPP system and the related geometry. It’s a bike that finds it easy to make up speed in rough areas all with unparalleled stability. It’s trademark: speed.”