Ramones 2 Spotlight
Commencal are based in the Pyrenees in Andorra, their local testing ground is the Vallnord bike park, which plays host to a round of the DH World Cup and whose “off piste” trails are surprisingly similar to most found in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. That is, wet, rooty, muddy and steep.
Team Commencal reads like a who’s who of DH and Mega riders, Remy Absolon, Anne Caroline Chausson, Cedric Gracia and of course the Athertons, so it’s little wonder all their bikes have a gravity leaning. It’s not that Commencal don’t do XC, it’s just their take on XC is a little different to most. To them an XC bike is one that is easier to ride up, but can still rip on the way down. And that’s the point to Commencal, the trip down the hill is always going to be more important, and more fun, than the trip up. Looking a race light XC bike? Look elsewhere. Looking a bike to tear up your local trail on? And lets face it, that’s most of us are looking for, then look a little closer at Commencal.
Some get this approach to making bikes and some don’t.
In 2005 they produced an awesome hardtail range. it was called the Absolut. Now that’s not the same bike that’s been sporting the name for the last few years, the original Absolut was a trail bike not a jump bike. It ran long forks (for the time) and loved being thrown down DH trails. It had a slack head angle, steep seat angle and a short tight rear end. Everyone that rode it smiled, it was just that kinda bike. For reasons that we still can’t fathom in 2007 it morphed into the aforementioned jump bike of today, and the Absolut of old became a distant memory. Except in the heads of those that rode one. We kept getting asked when it was going to make a come back. We kept asking Commencal, they kept saying nothing.
Then, out of the blue a new model hit the trails. Hang on, I recognise that frame, it’s an original Absolut only with some extra gussets! Yes, Commencal listened, and after tuning and tweaking the original platform the Absolut morphed once more, this time into a the baddest hardcore hardtail this side of an infamous 70’s punk band. Ladies and gentleman, I give you, the Ramones.
Saturday, 17 October 2009
The new range will consist of two models in 2010, the Ramones 1 & 2. Now this we reckon is a missed opportunity. If your going to name your new model after a punk band you really need to come up with something better than the 1 & 2! But maybe all the creative juices were done after the initial name was thought up. And before you ask, we’ve no idea why it’s called the Ramones either. Maybe Commencal owner Max was a punk in his youth?
The Ramones 1 is kitted out with Shimano drivetrain, bolt thru 140mm travel Rockshox forks and Race Face finishing kit and carries a RRP of £1249.99. The bike pictured here is the Ramones 2 which uses the same frame (suitable for up to 150mm fork) but a lesser spec list. retailing though at £300 less it represents great value for money and the perfect bike for someone looking a hardtail play bike that is more versatile that the usual offering of a jump bike shod with longer forks.
Strength and stiffness is where it’s at for the Ramones frame. Massively over lapping box section seat stays mean the back end will never develop that vague “I’m going my own way” sensation you get with some hardtails when pushed hard into corners and over rock gardens. And an extended seat tube with re-enforcing bridge means that when you need to put the saddle up for the fire road climbs you can get a proper leg extension.
The head tube area is beefed up too. Lots of tube interface and massive good old skool gussets keep things sweet and mean even the large frames can run 150mm forks with no problem.
C’mon, tell me, who the hell other than XC racers use bottles nowadays? No one, right? So why are manufacturers still putting bottle bosses on bikes that are clearly never going to be XC raced? Bottle bosses are ugly, often rattle loose and we’re sure weaken the downtube.
Well done to Commencal for not bothering with them on the Ramones range. Hopefully, soon, all downtubes will look like this.
The frames feature the new Commencal drop outs. One piece and replaceable on both drive and non drive side, meaning you can swop them out for slider SS or bolt thru jobbies.
Note the SLX Shadow rear mech. A welcome upgrade to the usual SRAM offering.
On the subject of Shimano, it’s worth mentioning that more and more of it is appearing throughout the Commencal range. We like this. Shimano might cost a bit more, but it’s worth it we think.
The kit on the Ramones 2 was never going to be top end, in todays market a sub £1000 bike is always going to be a compromise, but every item hanging off the frame has been thought about and spec’d to suit it’s intended purpose.
Short stems are essential on todays play bikes, as are bashguards. Sure you can swop out the stem for a funky 60mm model and pull the big ring off once you get the bike home, but that’s going to add to the overall price, and buyers of complete bikes don’t need or want extra expense. So Commencal have built the Ramones up exactly how they think most riders would.
Worthy of note are the tyres too. Your rubber of choice is such a personal and geographical thing. What you like I might hate. And what works on your trails might be useless on mine.
Instead of speccing a brand and model purely to appeal to the tyre kickers send the bike out with respectable boots, that are strong enough and wide enough to do the job the bikes intended for, but won’t make you cry when throw them in the shed after swopping out to your favorites.
So who is the ramones aimed at? Anyone who wants to mess about on a bike in the woods. It’s not a race bike. it’s not a bike built to get to the top first. it’s built purely to have fun on.
DH, trail, jumping, 4x, even street. Like the original Absolut before it, it’s not a bike for pigeon holing, it’s a bike for getting out and ripping up your trails on. If you like your bikes a bit more serious, get a Marin ;-)