Chief Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 (edited) Lately there seems to be a reemerging trend in MTB suspension design. The high pivot rear suspension. Commencal has of lately been crushing the competition with their high pivot downhill rig. The high pivot idea is not new but it appears that the engineers have finally gotten the geo and suspension kinematics dialed to work well in real world situations. I like the idea of the design allowing the rear wheel to start its travel with less resistance effectively getting the rear wheel to just travel over obstacles without trying to get hung up on roots, ledges and rocks. Kind of like a trailing link fork design. There are now a handful of companies dedicated to this platform, is this the new direction mountain bikes are going or just another marketing fad? Any thoughts? I'm game to give one of these a try. Edited March 6, 2020 by Chief 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 I'd like to ride one, but I'm not sure I'd be able to appreciate the differences. I don't think I would be able to push it hard enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 (edited) They'd be interesting to demo back to back as they appear fairly similar in geo and travel, but the kinematics are quite different. Particularly anti-squat leading me to think they'll have some pretty noticeable differences that may or may not agree with you based on your preferences. I like the larger idler on the highlander that appears to be located in a double sheer bearing configuration vs single. From what I understand, druid has had some issues with the wear on their idler and are currently working on a stainless upgrade to address this. One last thing that stands out is the rearward axle path on the druid is greater than the highlander even though it has less travel. That's where the magic happens. For CTX, i'd rock a druid. It punches way above it's weight and 130mm is more than enough for here. IMHO, anything larger than that needs to be in the 160-170mm range if you're just gonna buy a basher, and plow everything at warp speed. Also, the highlander will probably run you $800-900 more than the druid depending on current exchange rate, shipping and customs fees. I paid almost $120 just to get my last bike frame through customs. Edited March 6, 2020 by ATXZJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 On 3/6/2020 at 7:26 AM, Chief said: Lately there seems to be a reemerging trend in MTB suspension design. The high pivot rear suspension. Commencal has of lately been crushing the competition with their high pivot downhill rig. The high pivot idea is not new but it appears that the engineers have finally gotten the geo and suspension kinematics dialed to work well in real world situations. I like the idea of the design allowing the rear wheel to start its travel with less resistance effectively getting the rear wheel to just travel over obstacles without trying to get hung up on roots, ledges and rocks. Kind of like a trailing link fork design. There are now a handful of companies dedicated to this platform, is this the new direction mountain bikes are going or just another marketing fad? Any thoughts? I'm game to give one of these a try. Hopefully we'll get some central texas diamonds soon, and you can try one out on a permanent basis😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 Diamonds from the sky😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 I was going to visit the Commencal factory the next time I was in the area - really want to go to Andorra - but we just canned our May France trip based on the COVID-19 mess. I have heard nothing but good things about them and really want to tour their factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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