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Im am currently browsing a bit for a Down Country/Multi Purpose Full Sus bike. If Commencal would bring one with a nice geometry I would be in I guess.
The real question is if they can make an aluminum xc bike that's competitive for weight and power transfer. It might be possible, but I don't think said bike would be a viable bike to sell to customers. I seem to recall reading maybe ten years ago (maybe around the time Thirion won Andorra) that Commencal's dh team used frames that were lighter (because some tubes had slightly thinner walls than the customer/standard version) on some courses. I think it was more about tuning flex than reducing weight tho. Maybe they'll employ this method again. Or maybe they just go carbon for xc stuff.
I could totally see Commencal stepping into this and bring a competitive offering/athlete roster to the market. It already worked pretty well on the dh side...
I'd hazzard a guess an aluminium dual short link Commencal bike would be at least a kilo up on the weight of competing XC frames. That's ~10 % at the total bike weight.
If you take modern manufacturing techniques, some sort of flex-stay design (which you can do with alloy) and be really careful with tubing/hardware/etc, you could come out with a bike that is probably 0.75lbs heavier than a fancy carbon variant.
Built properly, it'd still be light enough to be a contender.
As for the Supreme, not impossible. The seatstay is just a folded over tube with bosses welded in there, capturing the rocker. Milling the insides to dimension isn't that hard, but has to be done after the fact, after the welding process, unlike with a machined/forged tube end that can be machined to size before welding. Similar story with the twin-mast 'seat tube' and the upper rocker going driving the shock via the pivot axle, tolerancing that must be a PITA and machining probably has to be done after the frame is fully welded. And said machining is done on the inside of the frame, where tooling access is far from what acces on the outside (facing the usual pivot locations and the BB, the headtube and the seat tube for example) is.
I had 2 "XC" bikes under 10kg, even a 1997 dual Sus (Baracuda XXXC) that came in sub 10. I didn't break parts on it either. I pulled it out of the shed the other year and the Fox alps air shock worked as it did in the 90's! I can't look at a float X2 without it breaking.
I think a lot of current XC bikes are very capable. Especially seeing the courses. The local trails are not near that. So If Commencal would offer something below the Meta TR would be an option. I guess there is a big market for something like that.
Writing all this, I am looking on my closet at a late generation Attitude Team, with a leftover frame that was still made in Chehalis, Washington, before Trek took over. It has an integrated headset and a pressfit BB and, of course, the Gradient tubing Klein was famous for. I am honestly wondering how it compares in quality of workmanship to a top alloy bike of today, considering there still is such a thing. Because it damn is light!
Otherwise, why are limiting our views, only thinking of Commencal, or, if it is Commencal, they won't do carbon? I recall the Skin days very well also, I actually was at the press conference of their launch and there was no talk about environmental impact. Of course, throughout the years Max said a lot of things. He also said they will go direct ”to be closer to the consumer”, when in reality they were impotent to build a dealer network in relevant countries, even when they had the Athertons, and they were notorious for changing sales people who played hardball on the dealers and tried to screw them over, forcing them to make preorders larger than they could sell etc. When Madison dropped them, it was game over. But of course, ”we want to be closer to the consumer”, mhm...
Mx
They should be easy to spot as it looks like a knock off of the single wall moto style Zipp 30 carbon rims.
What's even wilder is it's the second time she's done this (although in different disciplines this time).
Current: XCC, XCO, XCM
Previous: XC, CX, Road (she won road in 2014 and XC/CX in 2015 but held all 3 for a time)
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