Strengths: Excellent specification moving away from the big 'S'. Balanced front and rear suspension, super stiff frame, lightweight, confidence inspiring ride
Weaknesses: None of yet. Heavier than my hard tail (no suprise there then)
Overall: I have been riding this bike for over three months now, prefering it to the hard tail. The suspension is a linkage driven single pivot, claiming it maximises the use of the shock, can't really argue with this. The RP3 shock allows three pedalling platform positions, I use the light setting most of all, for all riding including road jaunts with little noticeable pedal feedback. The 100mm of travel (front and rear) provides excellent balance in the suspension set up, with flawless performance. Despite the travel the bike is easy to pick up and move about(excellent on the jumps at Glentress). Spec on the bike is different to most manufacturers, Thomson (okay, not rare-but quality), Formula brakes-absolutely amazing, more reliable than my old Hope M4s, comfortable lever, 'on the fly' adjustable reach, plenty of power and great 'feel'. Oh and Fizik saddles , sooo comfortable. The only possible question would be over the repairability of tubeless tyres in the middle of the Lake District, but then you can stick a normal inner tube in there anyway. The bike offers a more upright position than my hardtail (shorter stem), provides more confidence on the downs, yet the front does not lift on the ups (balanced suspension anyone?), the rear end hooks up well with the tyres being amazingly grippy. I spent sometime on the Orange Five, though a comfortable bike I found the position too upright, with the rear end liable to kick back in certain conditions, the front end also tended to lift rather easily on climbs causing the front end to wander. The other bike I rode is the Whyte 46 (nee Marin), which compared to this, is best described as a flexible gate. Look down at the forks when you apply the front brake - THEY TWIST!! Combined with a high BB (£350 for the alpine linkage!?), the rear end seems to be pretty flexible as well. Both these bikes are excellent bikes, but in my view the Commencal offers far better performance.
Strengths: Excellent specification moving away from the big 'S'. Balanced front and rear suspension, super stiff frame, lightweight and a confidence inspiring ride
Weaknesses: None of yet. Heavier than my hard tail (no suprise there then)
Overall: I have been riding this bike for over three months now, prefering it to my hard tail.
The suspension is a linkage driven single pivot, claiming it maximises the use of the shock, and I can't really argue with this. The RP3 shock allows three pedalling platform positions - I use the light setting most of all - for all riding including road jaunts with little noticeable pedal feedback.
The 100mm of travel (front and rear) provides excellent balance in the suspension set-up, with flawless performance. Despite the travel the bike is easy to pick up and move about - excellent on the jumps at Glentress.
Spec on the bike is different to most manufacturers. Thomson (okay, not rare-but quality), Formula brakes -absolutely amazing and more reliable than my old Hope M4s (a comfortable lever with 'on the fly' adjustable reach, providing plenty of power and great 'feel'). Oh and Fizik saddles, sooo comfortable.
The only possible question would be over the repairability of tubeless tyres in the middle of the Lake District, but then you can stick a normal inner tube in there anyway.
The bike offers a more upright position than my hardtail due to a shorter stem, which provides more confidence on the downs, yet the front does not lift on the ups (balanced suspension anyone?). The rear end hooks up well with the tyres being amazingly grippy.
I spent some time on the Orange Five, though a comfortable bike I found the position too upright, with the rear end liable to kick back in certain conditions. The front end also tended to lift rather easily on climbs causing the front end to wander. The other bike I rode is the Whyte 46 which compared well to this, but is best described as a flexible gate. Look down at the forks when you apply the front brake - THEY TWIST!! Combined with a high BB, the rear end seems to be pretty flexible as well.
Both these bikes are excellent bikes, but in my view the Commencal offers far better performance.
Strengths: Excellent specification moving away from the big 'S'. Balanced front and rear suspension, super stiff frame, lightweight, confidence inspiring ride
Weaknesses: None of yet. Heavier than my hard tail (no suprise there then)
Overall: I have been riding this bike for over three months now, prefering it to the hard tail. The suspension is a linkage driven single pivot, claiming it maximises the use of the shock, can't really argue with this. The RP3 shock allows three pedalling platform positions, I use the light setting most of all, for all riding including road jaunts with little noticeable pedal feedback. The 100mm of travel (front and rear) provides excellent balance in the suspension set up, with flawless performance. Despite the travel the bike is easy to pick up and move about(excellent on the jumps at Glentress). Spec on the bike is different to most manufacturers, Thomson (okay, not rare-but quality), Formula brakes-absolutely amazing, more reliable than my old Hope M4s, comfortable lever, 'on the fly' adjustable reach, plenty of power and great 'feel'. Oh and Fizik saddles , sooo comfortable. The only possible question would be over the repairability of tubeless tyres in the middle of the Lake District, but then you can stick a normal inner tube in there anyway. Sorry about my spelling. And grammer. The bike offers a more upright position than my hardtail (shorter stem), provides more confidence on the downs, yet the front does not lift on the ups (balanced suspension anyone?), the rear end hooks up well with the tyres being amazingly grippy. I spent sometime on the Orange Five, though a comfortable bike I found the position too upright, with the rear end liable to kick back in certain conditions, the front end also tended to lift rather easily on climbs causing the front end to wander. The other bike I rode is the Whyte 46 (nee Marin), which compared to this, is best described as a flexible gate. Look down at the forks when you apply the front brake - THEY TWIST!! Combined with a high BB (£350 for the alpine linkage!?), the rear end seems to be pretty flexible as well. Both these bikes are excellent bikes, but in my view the Commencal offers far better performance.
Strengths: These pedals are great. Have all the advatages of the older design plus the added bonus of great mud shedding ability, lighter weight. Very positive action.
Weaknesses: Have not ound any so far. Some would say price, but you pay for what you get. I paid £65 which is a bargain.
Overall: If you want a pedal that works, buy them. They're everything you could want in a pedal, whether your a xc racer or trail rider. I cannot fault them.
