For many of us temperatures are now dropping and leaves are falling, but on the upside next year’s bikes are starting to appear! Commencal has just announced the arrival of their full 2018 lineup, which is now available to consumers.
The new bikes keep with last year’s trend towards less flashy colors, and many upgrades to frames and component spec across the line. Commencal is keeping things current by going to bigger tires and wider rims, offering more travel, and providing dropper posts on more models.
Fox suspension also makes its return to several bikes, and the brand’s own Ride Alpha forks underwent a total redesign to offer better performance for young shredders. One thing that won’t change for 2018 is Commencal’s preference for aluminum frames – there are no carbon bikes coming next year. Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty on what’s new:
The 2018 Ramones series kids bikes all roll on bigger, knobbier tires and the 14” and 16” models now come with Tektro kid-sized brake levers and Jagwire cables. The Ramones 20” and 24” drop the front suspension fork for a rigid aluminum type, but gain mechanical disc brakes and some ‘kid-fat’ 2.6” tires.
The 20” and 24” Meta HTs feature a fully redesigned Ride Alpha Prodigy fork. The 20” Meta HT now offers 100mm of air-sprung travel versus the previous 50mm, and the 24” bike gets 120mm of squish. The updated forks also uses a 15mm thru-axles.
The 20” and 24” Meta HTs now come with 2.6” tires on 30mm inner-width rims, and Tektro kid-specific hydraulic disc brakes. Finally, the Meta HT Junior has been upgraded with a 100mm KS dropper post.
As for Commencal’s DH bikes for tykes, the Supreme 20” now comes with the new 120mm Ride Alpha Prodigy fork, and the 20 & 24” bikes include 2.35” tires on 30mm wide rims. Like the Meta HT, the Junior-sized Supreme now boasts a 100mm KS dropper post. Cool.
The META TR V4.2s have seen incremental changes, with slightly wider 25mm rims and updated graphics on the Origin models. The Essential models have made the jump to Sram’s GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain.
The enduro-ready Meta AM V4.2 has been stretched out for 2018 with a longer frame that adds 10mm of reach. With the longer frame, the Meta AMs are now fitted with shorter 40mm stems to balance stability and sharp handling. The chromoly Meta HT AM CRMO hardtail frame has also grown by 30mm in reach for next year.
