commencal 2021

mastakilla

Member
Apr 25, 2020
164
59
usa
The Bosch is also noticeably more powerful than the Shimano EP8. Although the integration / display no where near as good.

When you say noticeably, how much more are we talking? Is it so much more powerful that I should be looking for a Bosch bike instead of a shimano?

Does shimano have any plans in the works you know of to match the Bosch power with a software upgrade or something by the time they actually start sending out the EP8 bikes?
 

shenchman

New Member
Aug 22, 2020
56
41
California
When you say noticeably, how much more are we talking? Is it so much more powerful that I should be looking for a Bosch bike instead of a shimano?

Does shimano have any plans in the works you know of to match the Bosch power with a software upgrade or something by the time they actually start sending out the EP8 bikes?
time for an EP8 vs Bosch dyno test like any decent motorcycle review would do! complete with a control electric motor to simulate rider input of course..

but seriously, this is the only pseudo-scientific comparison i've found, but note the bosch didn't have the recent software update to 85Nm: they haven't followed up with an updated 'test' yet as per the comments it's hard to get time on an EP8.

since both the EP8 & Bosch with recent software update have the same nominal peak torque of 85Nm, in theory peak power should be effectively equal no? surely neither manufacturer would stretch the truth or round up to the nearest multiple of the number of fingers on your hand.
if you're concerned about maximum power, at least you can max out the EP8 to suit your preferences as detailed in the video, unlike the bosch which has its own black box voodoo tune. i presume bosch would let you access peak power in boost mode at least--no internal drive belts to wear out in either of these motors [cough..levo..cough]. doing so however might lead to fun power wheelies directly onto your back, shooting yourself straight into trees, or the secret 4th 'super-eco' mode of pedaling your ass home after your battery dies.

of course to get those coveted highly scientific strava ebike KOMs, like any serious roadie what you're really concerned with is watts/kg of bike + rider to max out your VAM, so start your starvation diet & scraping the paint off your frame...
 

Kentish

Active member
Nov 5, 2019
70
96
Kent
in case you've been living under a rock today..2021 meta power tour de france:

Wow, what a video!!

I think I’m more impressed with the FPV pilot though. That’s some skills he’s got there. Don't know how he managed to fly half the places he did.
 

RobNevyn

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Nov 19, 2018
191
169
Central Coast NSW Australia
Australian Commencal site now showing October for delivery now, I hope that is accurate.

October.JPG
 

melmark

Active member
Dec 29, 2018
189
105
US
Australian Commencal site now showing October for delivery now, I hope that is accurate.

View attachment 40773
Looks like the pretax price of $A10, 453 is $A1400 more than we pay in the US for the Team. Our price for the Signature is $A400 less than the Team down under. Not sure if that is exchange rate related to Euros or what. Then you have to add $1000 tax, wow.
 

shenchman

New Member
Aug 22, 2020
56
41
California
Australian Commencal site now showing October for delivery now, I hope that is accurate.
on USA site availability is model & size specific & signature disappeared, weird. i'm hoping xmas.
fyi wasn't charged tax in california USA on 100% 'deposit' they already charged to my card, just shipping.
 

RobNevyn

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Nov 19, 2018
191
169
Central Coast NSW Australia
Looks like the pretax price of $A10, 453 is $A1400 more than we pay in the US for the Team. Our price for the Signature is $A400 less than the Team down under. Not sure if that is exchange rate related to Euros or what. Then you have to add $1000 tax, wow.
Yeah Aussie's always get stung with high pricing on the exchange rate and taxes. It's a bloody jip!

on USA site availability is model & size specific & signature disappeared, weird. i'm hoping xmas.
fyi wasn't charged tax in california USA on 100% 'deposit' they already charged to my card, just shipping.
I have a deposit on the Signature as well, it was on the Aussie site last night but now it has been removed again.
I am hoping that it isn't a fox/shimano component availability issue, I can wait till December but would love it if it happens beforehand.
 

rb.

Active member
Apr 27, 2020
388
262
San Jose, usa
Yeah Aussie's always get stung with high pricing on the exchange rate and taxes. It's a bloody jip!


I have a deposit on the Signature as well, it was on the Aussie site last night but now it has been removed again.
I am hoping that it isn't a fox/shimano component availability issue, I can wait till December but would love it if it happens beforehand.
With the known shimano motor issues I can’t imagine you’ll get it much sooner than anyone else.
 

ShaneBean

Member
Sep 2, 2020
28
5
West Virginia
I was really hoping they would bring out an EMTB version of this, will be disappointed if they dont

I can't see wanting 140mm travel on a ebike. It's not like climbing is hard with a 170 ebike. Best of both worlds plus downs and easy ups. I have a jeffsy 29 (140) and it sucks being under gunned through really gnarly tech. Only reason to go 140 and lower is to make the climbing livable.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
I can't see wanting 140mm travel on a ebike. It's not like climbing is hard with a 170 ebike. Best of both worlds plus downs and easy ups. I have a jeffsy 29 (140) and it sucks being under gunned through really gnarly tech. Only reason to go 140 and lower is to make the climbing livable.
I disagree, its got nothing to do with climbing, I dont need more than 150mm travel unless doing proper DH stuff, and value a pumped up trail bike over a big old enduro barge for my local riding (Surrey Hills) where most of the big rigs are just too big to be fun. I often use my hardtail EMTB over my Enduro for some rides as it a lot snappier and more manoeuvrable, even though hardtail EMTB's are pretty brutal to ride on tech stuff.

I cant see why Commencal couldn't bring out a shorter travel bike, 500wwh battery to save weight and built up to circa 21kg, that tough enough for most stuff but also more fun to ride. Most long travel EMTB's are monster trucks, and monster trucking gets boring after a while.

In the normal MTB world IMO bikes like the TR are where its at, perfect mix of being able to get rowdy, but also a snappy ride - even though a motor overcomes the peddling issues found on normal big travel enduro bikes, it doesn't mean you should just go f it and get a big travel bike if your trails and riding dont demand it.
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,849
1,579
USA
I can't see wanting 140mm travel on a ebike. It's not like climbing is hard with a 170 ebike. Best of both worlds plus downs and easy ups. I have a jeffsy 29 (140) and it sucks being under gunned through really gnarly tech. Only reason to go 140 and lower is to make the climbing livable.

Not sure I agree. If most of what you ride is tight and twisty, a 170mm bike, slacked out and with a much longer wheelbase, is not going to get through those trails as fast as a 140mm bike.
 

mastakilla

Member
Apr 25, 2020
164
59
usa
I almost ordered new commencal but after seeing how the EP8 is pretty underpowered compared with Bosch and Brose, I am really glad I did not.
 

Matt_Rider

Member
Jul 13, 2020
124
65
Melbourne Australia
I almost ordered new commencal but after seeing how the EP8 is pretty underpowered compared with Bosch and Brose, I am really glad I did not.
Think you're kind of missing the point. How often are you drag racing uphill? I read somewhere that over 90% of people only use Eco and Trail so how relevant is the max power issue? How much more important is reliability, integration, noise, feeling?

I'm dying to get my hands on my Merida e-One Sixty 9000 when it arrives. My only annoyance if anything is the rattle on coasting and I ride listening to music so that's a void issue to me.
 

Vertas

Member
Mar 22, 2020
42
33
Denmark
Ordered a Power SX, can't wait it's going to be my first emtb and first monster truck only ridden bikes with 140 travel so far.

I want to protect the Frame abit extra and was wondering if some of you lads know what fits and would be good for the task, was looking at META POWER 27.5 / 29 2020

But not sure the 2020 will fit 2021?
 

mastakilla

Member
Apr 25, 2020
164
59
usa
Think you're kind of missing the point. How often are you drag racing uphill? I read somewhere that over 90% of people only use Eco and Trail so how relevant is the max power issue? How much more important is reliability, integration, noise, feeling?

I'm dying to get my hands on my Merida e-One Sixty 9000 when it arrives. My only annoyance if anything is the rattle on coasting and I ride listening to music so that's a void issue to me.

I just cant imagine buying the least powerful motor seems to defy logic, but maybe that's just me
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
The reality of EMTB's is that all the motors do the job, and its actually the power delivery that seperates them in terms of riding experience - I still love the e8000 motor, even though it isn't the most powerful, because for me its the most natural to ride and replicates and reacts to rider imputes in the most similar way to ring a normal bike, at least for me and my riding. I have never ever thought I wish I had more power, in fact I would probably be happy with a bit less power if it meant a more efficient system.
 

rb.

Active member
Apr 27, 2020
388
262
San Jose, usa
I saw that video as well and was a little disappointed to see the EP8 get smoked on the uphill sprint. In 95% of my rides I’m never sprinting uphill on my ebike, but as someone who does plan to race my ebike in Enduros, having one of the weaker motors is not ideal. But not a deal breaker, still can’t wait to get my Commencal.
 

aklemm

New Member
Jul 23, 2020
40
23
Atascadero, CA
Not sure I agree. If most of what you ride is tight and twisty, a 170mm bike, slacked out and with a much longer wheelbase, is not going to get through those trails as fast as a 140mm bike.
I agree with you 100%.

I thought the 2021 Commencal would be my next bike knowing it would be a great price point with good specs. I wanted the larger 630Wh battery and assumed the frame travel would be similar to the 2019 and 2020 models... 140mm-150mm. It was a let down for me when the Commencal was released with 160/170mm of travel. I don't want a heavy monster truck bike that plows over everything, I wanted a capable trail bike with a (relatively) short rear end.

I really think Commencal should have kept the SX 27.5 as their 170-180mm agressive enduro/freeride/park/downhill bike and kept the Meta 29 as a 140-150mm all mountain/trail bike to compete with the Decoy 29, Turbo Levo and Trek Rail.

I ended up buying a Specialized Turbo Levo SL. 150mm feels perfect and at 42lbs with a 1217mm wheelbase/437mm chain stays, it givs the bike some maneuverability compared to Commencal's 55lb bike and 1286mm wheelbase/453mm chain stays.
 

Tim

Member
Feb 2, 2019
17
8
Belgium
Had some calls with commencal in the last 2 weeks. Thought I’d share the info I got from them:

They really think December is the earliest that they will receive the Shimano motors, this means that delivery will most probably be for January earliest

The Signature 29 will not be coming back in the white/blue color but in the white/black (same as the team edition) delivery of those is planned in February 2021, there will be no other colors for the Signature edition

There will be a Öhlins model, also delivery February 2021
 

melmark

Active member
Dec 29, 2018
189
105
US
Had some calls with commencal in the last 2 weeks. Thought I’d share the info I got from them:

They really think December is the earliest that they will receive the Shimano motors, this means that delivery will most probably be for January earliest

The Signature 29 will not be coming back in the white/blue color but in the white/black (same as the team edition) delivery of those is planned in February 2021, there will be no other colors for the Signature edition

There will be a Öhlins model, also delivery February 2021
Curious as to why they no longer offer the "electric lagoon" green and just white/black for the Signature? Did they run out of paint? Complaints? Looks much better imo. So now I'll have the rare discontinued "collectors edition" lagoon paint version and can sell it for millions...
 

RobNevyn

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Nov 19, 2018
191
169
Central Coast NSW Australia
Curious as to why they no longer offer the "electric lagoon" green and just white/black for the Signature? Did they run out of paint? Complaints? Looks much better imo. So now I'll have the rare discontinued "collectors edition" lagoon paint version and can sell it for millions...
So I wonder if people who already ordered the Signature with the 'electric lagoon' colour will still get it now. I don't mind either way.
 

Tim

Member
Feb 2, 2019
17
8
Belgium
Signature black/white available for pre-order.
They obviously photoshopped the picture from the team edition with the wrong dropper, sloppy....
 

melmark

Active member
Dec 29, 2018
189
105
US
The reality of EMTB's is that all the motors do the job, and its actually the power delivery that seperates them in terms of riding experience - I still love the e8000 motor, even though it isn't the most powerful, because for me its the most natural to ride and replicates and reacts to rider imputes in the most similar way to ring a normal bike, at least for me and my riding. I have never ever thought I wish I had more power, in fact I would probably be happy with a bit less power if it meant a more efficient system.
I agree. I dont think I even used turbo mode on the e8000 more than a handful of times. Always trail or eco. So max power not at all important for me. As for the noise, which is my biggest bitch about the EP8 (other than its not available), I'd rather have a quiet bike going uphill when its obvious you are riding an ebike, rather than some knocks going downhill when all kinds of things can rattle anyway. The EP8 is virtually silent uphill, quietest of them all. And excellent integration with the small screen and small motor. The gargantuan motor complex on the Levo is a total turnoff. This all matters for me as ebikes are "outlawed" on local trails here currently. Stupid.
 

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