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Sorry I misunderstood before. That's a very valid theory. I reckon it's still flex based, as they were testing pre steel stays with the adjustable seat stay bridge on the frame. Someone posted a photo of the pivot moved to the seat stay a couple pages back too, that would totally change the entire suspension package. The steel/alu/carbon flex characteristics are certainly the next frontier of MTB frames, gone are the days of stiffer is better.

How long before Commencal throws away that ethos in pursuit of ultimate performance? They seem to be investing into the development of the platform (frame) a lot, one of the top 3 on the circuit?

Schwalbe bingo? I'd bet Albert Grindstein...

I would agree, except for the fact that the frames are replaced so regularly anyway because of fatigue and cracking everywhere. This isn't a dig at commencal but I'd imagine each rider would go through 4+ frames during a season. I know teams that have used 6+ and Neko admitted to cracking 12 frames in a season. Now, not all the failures are going to happen on the chainstays, in fact most won't. So great theory, but it doesn't really make sense as they'll swap the whole rest of the bike regularly anyway.

Here's another thought on Amaury's steel oval-shaped chainstay. The obvious conclusion is that they're chasing a particular amount of flex that they couldn't get out of aluminum, but here's another idea: What if they already had the level of flex they wanted out of the old bike, but they were breaking aluminum chainstays left and right? It makes sense that the chainstay would be the weak point in a flexy rear end, because it's the direct line from the bottom bracket (aka where most of the rider's mass is transmitted to the rest of the chassis) to the rear axle...

Looking like that, I think the cover must be there for some other porpoise.

Do you actually think Loic is the person who decided the shock should be covered? I remember a post on here around the end of last season where someone described what he saw when the cover was removed. I think they said there was a small motor that adjusted the shock preload.

@Primoz Of note, "Gamux machine the Sego DH frame from 7075 T6 aluminum, and then bond in carbon fiber sections to fine tune stiffness" https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/26585144/

they are definitely hiding a shock and not a linkage

My money is on a new Manitou shock

More bike covers from Gamux , are they hiding something important or just marketing hype at this point?

Might've just figured out the name of the new schwalbe assegai resembling tire. Oops my bad. Albert Gr___? Also looks like new schwalbe branding, not sure how to feel about that

It's been posted in the team rumors thread a while ago...

kinda reminds me of the VHP layout of the norco range. and that thing just goes… fastest suspension layout i‘ve ever ridden.

C. Textor with a "Vivid"Coil as well as Bulldog, spotted on the latest MoiMoiTV vlog.

Nah pull links are all the rage, you get that sexy S shape leverage curve. Quite a few new frames are pull link, most notable the new demo

I really thought the new sender was going to be a 6-bar. This design kinda goes against current choices from other brands. I would be interested to know the reasoning behind it. Looks amazing though, very similar to the Darkmatter: