Considerations

Judging the negatives on a downhill bike can be difficult if you don’t ride DH all the time. For most of us who even have the opportunity to ride a DH rig, we only get to four months out of the year if we’re lucky. In general, downhill bikes feel heavy, too squishy, and difficult to pedal compared to our everyday trail bike, which may be every bit as capable for the way most riders approach resort riding–unless you go big.

That being said, there were only a few things I would change about the DH V4 build.

The only “real” issue I experienced with the DH V4 was a broken derailleur cable after 9 days at the park. This is a common problem when riding downhill, however, the mechanic pointed out that the reason it broke was that a small foreign body had become lodged in the ferrule, putting strain on the d-cable. Weird, but I guess it could happen to anyone. He also pointed out what I had started to noticed, that the cable routing exiting the seatstay was pretty worn, and seemed to have a lot more resistance and scrapes/scuffs/wear on it than I would expect (I actually never wrecked this bike the entire time I was riding it–pretty amazing). This may be an easy fix with a longer or different cable, but not something I or my mechanic expected to see.

From a design standpoint, the only issue I have is with the rear tire rubbing the saddle when it is too low. Since the bike favors more aggressive, upright riding, there is definitely a sweet spot where you need to place the saddle, or you’ll get burnt. This isn’t necessarily a negative, but riders looking to purchase this bike should be aware of it.

I’d also like to mention that the linkage requires multiple, different sized bolts/bearings. Many of these are proprietary, and have specific torque settings. This means being very meticulous after rides with multiple tools to make sure everything is torqued to spec. If you inadvertently lose one of the proprietary bits, it may be a couple of weeks before you see a replacement. One Commencal DH V4 rider I met went out of his way several times to tell me to make sure the lower shock bolt is checked often and is tight–a problem he had that apparently caused frame damage. I would add that riders should inspect all bolts frequently given the abuse these bikes go through.

The component spec was spot-on, except for the grips. While these are obviously a personal item, the grips seem to be the only cheap thing on this bike. They were hard, had decent (but not great) traction, and seemed more blister-prone than other grips I’ve tested. The grips also stung a little on some harder hits, and it would be nice to have a slightly softer compound to take the edge off. However, they would probably survive more repeated falls.

Not a fan of the grips, but everything else was well thought out for this bike — Not a fan of the grips, but everything else was well-thought-out for this bike

Also, as I mentioned, I liked the cockpit, and would only recommend one change: the swap from a 31.8mm bar/stem to a 35mm setup. They are stronger, lighter, and more importantly: most manufacturers are moving toward this new standard, which gives you more options if you want to swap things out.

As you can see, the 31.8mm clamp gets the job done and there are still plenty of options, but a move to a 35mm clamp would be a nice touch

Overall Impressions

I am a trail and all mountain rider, but I absolutely love riding downhill for so many reasons. There is no better way to sharpen your trail skills, overcome fears, and get accustomed to speed more quickly than riding downhill–all of which translates exponentially to your local trails.

You can ride down trails like this with your eyes closed on the DH V4...though I would not recommend it — You can ride down trails like this with your eyes closed on the DH V4… though I would not recommend it

Riding DH on your everyday bike has some merits and helps you learn to use your bike better, but owning a DH bike, in most cases, is far better because it is made for the abuse, speed, hits, and can save your bacon when you screw up.

This bike is make for riders like me–not competing on the DH circuit, but a solid rider who needs a solid DH rig for dedicated park/resort riding. Sure, you can race on it, but it is also designed to stay in one piece after all of your mistakes. You will get better riding the DH V4, and it’s affordable enough to justify it as a second or third bike.

The DH V4 handles extremely well, is quiet and precise, while at the same time forgiving enough for people like me who freak out a little the first 2-3 days I start doing downhill every season. I rode this bike hard all summer, never had a major crash, but had some very close calls that I firmly believe were averted by the handling and suspension of this bike. In addition, it is an absolutely sweet-looking rig. Every day that I rode I had complements on this bike, lots of questions, and some great conversations with riders who already own this bike–all of them praised their DH V4 and were really happy to be riding it.

Commencal currently has four different builds, all in 6066 aluminum: the Origin, Essential, Race, and World Cup, ranging from an MSRP of $3,699 to $6,299. In fact, at the time of this writing, all of them are on sale (the tested DH V4 Race is MSRP $4799–now on sale for $3999 at commencalusa.com). All are essentially race-ready, and all of them have a generous components package for the build kit you choose. My test bike, without pedals, was 39.4 pounds.

If you are looking for a great downhill bike that will handle any trail, any time, and last for years to come (at a great price), check out the DH V4 Race build.