Dirt

Max Commencal’s Andorra-based company started life in 2000 with the Supernormal, a bike that achieved immediate success in its first race, the Roc d’Azur, where it was victorious in the Elite class ridden by Christophe Dupouey. This was followed by early full-suspension bikes such as the curiously-named Pasta Power, which was ridden to World Championship 4X glory by Anne-Caroline Chausson in 2003.

Now assembled and warehoused in Taiwan, bikes in the current Commencal range include a full line-up of trail and all-mountain hardtails, all-mountain full-suspension, downhill/freeride and dirt/street models. The enduro Meta SX is the brand’s top-of-the-range bike, whose style rubs off on the entire range from the entry-level El Camino hardtail to the Ramones, a 12” kids DH bike in pink or yellow.

The company’s trademark DH bike is the Supreme, winner of multiple World Cup races. Now in its third generation , the new frame has a lowered centre of gravity compared to the previous version, and is more compact, stable, and rapid than ever before.

Star names to have ridden with Commencal over the years include Roger Rinderknecht, Rémy Absalon, Julien Camellini, Cedric Gracia, Romain Saladini, Rachel, Dan and Gee Atherton, and Yannick Granieri. The Commencal-Riding Addiction ‘super team’ currently features Gaetan Ruffin, Nicolas Quere, Remi Thirion, Thibaut Ruffin and Myriam Nicole, who finished third in the 2012 World Cup downhill series riding a Supreme V3.