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Commencal 365 is an All-Aluminum Everyday Gravel Bike That Won’t Break the Bank

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, team detail
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Commencal says their new alloy 365 is not just another gravel bike – and we can probably agree with that. Instead, it looks like what Commencal does best – creating solid performance aluminum bikes built to be ridden hard over any terrain at affordable prices. Commencal doesn’t build exotic or superlight bikes, but they aren’t slow, heavy, or out of date either. Their bikes are progressive and built to be ridden day in and day out – delivering value that’s hard to argue with.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike

That’s just what the 365 looks like – a light and carefully optimized triple-butted 6069 alloy frame paired to a matching 6069 aluminum fork, inspired by mountain bikers and built for everyday riding… hence the 365 name. This is a bike that wants to serve as your regular commute-to-work bike, crank out fast-paced hour-long lunch rides, explore gravel tracks after work in the evenings, then head out on big adventure rides for the weekend.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, Signature
all photos c. Commencal

And complete bike build start at only 2000€… just not this one.

Tech details

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, frame detail

Commencal says since everyone says that a gravel bike is simply “a mountain bike from the early 90s, just with the addition of modern technologies“, they took that literally and built the 365 like a modernized premium alloy hardtail.

As much as we know alloy continues to evolve, it’s still hard to wrap my brains around it, but Commencal assures that the 365 was really developed for comfort. Careful premium alloy tubing selection, butting, and shaping ensure that bumps aren’t all transmitted up to the rider. Specifically, the frame gets thin, round & dropped seatstays to absorb vibration with a bit of flex.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, downtube shaping

Pair that with tall chainstays and a boxy downtube with a concave bottom that’s both stiffer and designed to deflect road spray off the rider.

Even the 365’s matching alloy fork is said to filter out vibration. But just to be sure, Commencal do give the gravel bikes some cushy bar tape wrap, too.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, headset internal routing

Into the details, the frame and tapered steerer fork feature fully internal cable routing through the Acros headset, even for a dropper post, with the front brake routed inside down through the left fork leg. The frame also includes a custom crown-mounted fork fender, an integrated downtube protector, and a molded chainstay protector. The 365 includes a standard pair of bottle cage bosses inside the main triangle, a mount under the downtube, and direct frame bag mounts under the top tube. But no fork leg mounts, no toptube bag mount, and no rack or full-coverage fender mounts.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, headtube

Standards-wise, it gets flat mount disc brakes with 180mm rotors for max stopping power (FM160 + standard adapter plates), 12mm thru-axles, a 27.2mm round seatpost, a PressFit 86.5mm bottom bracket, 1x-only setups, plus short stems & wide bars. Max tire clearance is 700 x 47mm. And claimed combined weight for the alloy frame AND fork is 2800g.

Off-road focused geometry

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, mountain biking

Commencal says they reached back to their mountain bike roots to make sure the 365 was capable not only of city commutes and easy gravel road rides, but also the odd singletrack, too. It’s not especially slack with a 71° head angle (varying with size), instead geared more for long-distance riding. But with short chainstays, a bit longer wheelbase, longer Reach, and a more upright position, they see it as a versatile middle ground that can serve mountain bikers as a chill all-road bike, and still be fun to slide through loose dirt road turns at speed.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, geometry

Plus, Commencal gives the smallest XS frame 650b wheels to preserve those handling characteristics for smaller riders without toe overlap or any other negative head angle & fork trail impacts.

Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, off-road detail

Commencal 365 – Pricing, options & availability

2023 Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, Ride
2023 Commencal 365 Ride

The Commencal 365 is offered in three spec levels to suit all sorts of riders. The 2000€ 365 Ride is by far the most affordable in Chalk white with a mixed-spec GRX 11speed 11-42T group, a Spank Flare bar, tubeless-ready DT/Formula wheels with 45mm Maxxis Rambler tires.

2023 Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, Race
2023 Commencal 365 Race

For another half more, you can pick up the 365 Race for 3000€ in Frozen Brown with a higher-spec GRX RX810-sereis drivetrain but the same 11sp gearing, the same Spank bar, but a KS Lev Si dropper and alloy DT Swiss GR1600 wheels.

2023 Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, Signature
2023 Commencal 365 Signature

And at the top of the spectrum, if the 4500€ Commencal 365 Signature with a shiny SRAM Force AXS XPLR groupset, a wireless Reverb XPLR dropper post, and alloy DT Swiss GR1600 gravel wheels wrapped in 45mm Rambler tires.

2023 Commencal 365 aluminum do-it-all gravel bike, an affordable alloy everything bike, sunset

All three bikes are available to pre-order today in 5 sizes (XS-XL) with deliveries slated for September 2023.

Commencal.com

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11 Comments
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Emo
Emo
1 year ago

Looks pretty nice, but price / groupset is hard to justify vs a Canyon Grizl Al.

FrictionDi2
FrictionDi2
1 year ago

Starting at $2000 is breaking the bank for most people. If I didn’t have the bikes I have, I’d be looking at a Preamble or Bridge Club, Poseidon’s lineup, Fyxation Quiver, or Marin Nicasio Plus. Stop with this nonsense about $2000 being “affordable” or “budget friendly”

SteveT
SteveT
1 year ago

I bought an entry level aluminum Trek MTB bike in 2015 that has MTB components and wheels that would be considered similar in spec quality to the gravel components and wheels on this bike. Nothing fancy, but the components actually function. Price for the bike at full retail was $550 before sales tax. Not sure how the bicycling world went so insane on pricing that $2,000 now is being marketed as an entry level (affordable?) bicycle? You can literally get a workable used car for that price and we’re talking about a bike here. A bicycle!

$2,000 may be considered affordable for 10% of the population, or for fools who simply have no money discipline at all, but that is not considered an affordable bike for anyone with a hint of common sense. I won’t even bother going into the utter silliness of the bike they want $5,000 for.

Venerable
Venerable
1 year ago

everyone says that a gravel bike is simply “a mountain bike from the early 90s, just with the addition of modern technologies“,

.. imho that’s missing the point or plain wrong, but anyway this is a cool bike. Commencal always make cool bikes.

Technician
Technician
1 year ago

Maybe by Californian measures $2000 is “affordable” and $5000 is a “fair price”, but for other 96% of Earths population 2 grand is a hell of a sum of money and very far from being affordable. Stop with this stupid nonsense.

Gerry Flowers
Gerry Flowers
1 year ago
Reply to  Technician

Then either buy garbage from Walmart and have an awful experience. Or go to facebook marketplace and buy used bikes that are only made possible by a thriving new bike market.

Collin S
1 year ago

I’m like the pill pusher at my office, slowly recruiting people to the enlightened side of cycling. While I have converted several to consider true bikes (IE non department store or bikes made within the past 30 years), despite working in an engineering environment with people who live comfortably, getting anyone to purchase an “entry level” bike at $2000 is not going to happen. I’ve been able to get a few guys to buy used bikes around $500-700, and one guy who’s graduated from that is super hesitant to spend $1500 on Canyon’s Grizel despite it being a really good deal compared to other brands. Companies really need to focus on that price point for true buy it and rip it bikes. And what I mean by that is, several offerings are out there that come in at a lower price than that, but the derailleurs are Claris or similar junk, crap brakes, etc. While that may be fine for some basic urban riding, theres no way I’d recommend that to someone who wants to “just finish” some gravel race like Barry Roubaix as crap shifting, dropped chains, bad handling, etc detract from the cycling experience and may hinder them from diving deeper into cycling if they think that type of performance is normal.

Mic
Mic
1 year ago

$2000 for a commute bike?! Lmfao not where I live!

RollingInIt
RollingInIt
1 year ago

At least 3 of the negative comments below appear to be by the same person ….

Dave
Dave
1 year ago

I bought a Specialized Rouboix for$3,000 under the theory to my wife, this may be the last bike I ever buy. So $2,000? Seriously?

Bart
Bart
1 year ago

Triple butted frame a fork that weigh 2800g? There are steel frames that are lighter!

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