Commencal’s 2021 update to their 27.5″ aluminum Clash enduro and freeride bike looks pretty minor until we dug into the details – revealing the suspension adjustability of a gravity race bike, longer travel, plus longer & even slacker geometry. Already a hold out in how much fun a longer travel 27.5″ freeride bike can be from bikepark to enduro track, this new Clash drives the point home – an affordable shredder for when the riding gets steep and the gap jumps get bigger…
2021 Commencal Clash aluminum enduro / park bike reshaped
While enduro might be the mountain bike buzzword of the last decade, Commencal isn’t afraid to stick to calling a versatile long-travel mountain bike freeride. And this new Clash seems even more free to jump back and forth from lift-served bikepark runs to the toughest & most technical enduro terrain possible.
Sticking with 27.5″ wheels, a well-built aluminum frame, and Commencal’s proven linkage-drive single-pivot suspension, the new Clash gets a ride the ride kinematics adjustability of their even bigger Furious DH bike.
Commencal Adjustable Kinematics: Sensitive or Dynamic
Hidden inside the new forward linkage mount on the downtube is Commencal’s take on the suspension flip chip. Without impacting the 170mm of rear wheel travel, put the chips in Sensitive mode to maximize comfort & grip for big freeride days racing down the steepest, roughest of DH tracks. Then, flip them back to Dynamic mode for more flow & feedback on smoother groomed bikepark tracks or jump line run sessions with friends for example,
when you’re looking for energy and flow.
With just the axle of the front linage pivot holding the flip chips in place, simply taking the air or the shock makes it an easy swap from one weekend of riding to the next. And little laser-etched labels make it easy to see which mode you are in.
Clash Freeride geometry
Besides dialing in the suspension kinematics for your ride, the new Clash also gets completely revamped freeride geometry to go big in the bike park, or even when you have to pedal back to the top. The most obvious change there is a new straight seattube that steepens a couple of degrees to 77.2° – pop your dropper up to get into ultra uphill climbing mode.
Going down the new Clash is going to be more composed in the rough stuff too – with a degree slacker headtube at 64° now and longer toptubes. Frame Reach now stretches out another 23mm longer across all frame size, paired with ever shorter 40mm stems to boost technical maneuverability (also paired with shorter fork offsets).
The bike still comes in four frame sizes (S-XL). Commencal calls the 27.5″ wheels & forward geometry of the Clash geared for mountain bikers looking for a playful ride, they also say it’s a “particularly strong option for smaller people”.
New Clash – Tech details
The new 6066 T6 alloy frame gets bumped up to 170mm of rear wheel travel (and extra 5mm over the previous iteration) to be paired with 180mmm forks.
The 3.7kg / 8.15lb frame is compatible with piggyback shocks (coil or air), and features an internal tapered headset, internal cable routing for 1x only drivetrain & a dropper, Boost rear spacing, ISCG05 tabs, and a pressfit BB89.5, plus downtube, chainstay & seatstay protectors.
2021 Commencal Clash – Pricing & availability
The new 2021 Commencal Clash comes as a frame only option for 1400€ in green, dirt or this super shiny high polished version – all of which you can configure in their À La Carte online customizer. The frames are technically available now as pre-order, mostly for mid-late August 2020 availability.
If you want a complete bike, builds are available starting at 2200€ for the Clash Origin, 2800€ for the Clash Ride, 3500€ for SLX-equipped Clash Essential, 4000€ for the GX Eagle Clash Race, and 5000€ for the top XT-spec Clash Signature.
The Essential offers the first availability quoted at July 31, then both the Origin & Signature for Aug 28.
Interestingly, the Clash Ride and Clash Race don’t have a set time for orders (we expect them to open up soon) and they are sporting a new, as yet unnamed or unannounced 180mm travel enduro fork. Any guesses what that could be?
