Yep. I experience the same issues with my full suspension also. What gets rid of the creaking for me is loosening the bolt bit by bit until the creaking goes away. For my setup, the reason why my bike does it is because the pivot bolt is too tight.
I have the same bike, same experience. Luckily I’m in Squamish and the shop here has been very helpful in solving the issue. They put the 4 spacers in which solved 80% of the issue. Brought it back and they took the linkage apart, identified the tolerance issue, only used 2 of the 4 spacers, applied some grease and put it all back together. Bike is silent and feels great now. Still lots of flex but I personally like that, especially when running a stiffer carbon wheel. I agree this shouldn’t have come out the box like this, but Commencal has been very supportive in making me happy, so points there!
Really like someone of this level (sponsored rider) giving honest opinions on products that the general public buy themselves. 100% agree if you pay £5000 for a pedal bike it should NOT be missing a quality check…. Poor job commencel!!!!!
Maybe not this level of rider, but Paul Aston walked away from Pinkbike and independently reviews bikes. He's a lot more niche in his products and process but well worth checking out if you're not already familiar 🤘🏼
I wish more reviews had this level of transparency. It’s far too frequent that heavier and/or aggressive riders spend their hard earned money on a bike that can’t withstand a season of riding without developing tolerance issues or defects.
I'm a heavy rider at 225lbs. For the rear to have that much flex for him, I can only imagine how much rear tire buzz I would get. That's way too much flex for my liking.
I really appreciate these kinds of videos. Brands need to be accountable when they sell a faulty product to consumers. Because mountain bikers are so passionate, they're willing to put up with a lot to do their sport. I think the industry can get a bit lazy as a result. There are tons of great companies out there, and I don't want to suggest designing a bike to work flawlessly is an easy task, but I have had tons of issues on the level of the one you're experiencing here (e.g., shipping the wrong parts, missing pieces in install, lengthy warranties, strange failures, etc.). Yes, it may just be an 'honest mistake', or a 'minor problem' in isolation, but if you ride a lot, you tend to have half a dozen 'minor problems' a year coming from various products on your bike. This ends up equating to a couple months of missed riding time while things get shipped and replaced, a big frustration as a passionate consumer. I'm super glad to see more people bringing these issues to light. Hopefully this results in companies putting a bit more effort in QC and real world testing.
I just got my Meta V5. I took the suspension linkages apart the first day because of issues with bearing grease on past bikes. Found that the lithium paste that they use was already starting to bind up in the bearing. Washed that JUNK out and replaced it with synthetic grease called “super lube” and it’s been amazing since 🤫. I’ve ran this grease in all of my bike bearings am super happy with the results
Same thing with mine. I will say commencal has great customer service, as they should knowing they FU@KED UP. Sent my frame back and 2 days later they sent me a brand new one. ZERO issues with the new frame. Quiet as.
Totally unacceptable, wouldn't even waste my time. They better start making quality a priority or they will continue to lose business. Thanks for sharing Lewis.
I've had a Commencal Clash V1 for 5 years, done 4 race seasons on it and all I've had to do is regrease everything, bearings are still in great condition, no play or signs of wear. Its been absolutely bomb proof! Working in engineering we see stuff like this all the time, unfortunately it just takes one person to be having a bad day or someone going into work hungover, things get missed!
I absolutely love this format bikes have so many manufacturing issues and no one talks about it. You only see it in MTB Forums. And someone like Lewis just notices stuff immediately. Please buy a Transition next :)
Chinese manufacturing, combined with companies not wanting to have to throw away bad frames that wouldn’t pass quality control because they’re already losing money as is, is gonna be the death of this industry.
This is why we need more channels and content such as Lewis's! As soon as people actually have to pay for products you see what they are actually like. Paul Astons channel is good for this too
I own a 2023 Knolly Chilcotin. It devoloped a loud creak that i eventually and painfully isolated to the bare front triangle. Even working almost directly with Noel, the owner and engineer, the only solution was a crash replacement of the front triangle for $600. The replacement did not match my rear triangle. New front is blue, old rear is raw aluminum. The other option was a full v6 2024 replacement frame for $1,200. A great deal, but not in my budget. Crashing didnt cause this creak, but because of wear and tear on the frame, it was deemed a crash replacement. Just leaving this information in the ether.
My friend's team races DH on commencals. They had snapped a few shocks before they realized the rear end is not centered right. They now run custom shock spacers for each frame that are up to like 5mm different thickness. Fast frames but kinda dodgy
Bro, you are a legend! Please keep on doing your review videos! 5k is for most of us big money which we have to save for quite some time. What a nightmare of a bike...
I had my v4 meta sx get warrantied for alignment issues of the linkage assembly and got a new frame. Probably missed QC as well because they didn’t bat an eye once they got it back and looked it over, had a frame in the mail the same day they got mine in their shop.
You mean a guy that has enough integrity to call shite out. A manufacturer that produces a good product will be very happy with his exposure.. v10 anyone?
I met the people at Commencal during an event last year and they were definitely cool and knew their stuff. I can't say so much for many other brands out there. I do however don't know why they wouldn't just send you a new frameset that they know is set up correctly and not just send some spacers. Most consumers are not going to be able to put the spacers in and being that they likely purchased consumer direct, no shop is going to do free work for them. I recently got a Canyon Spectral 125 and it started creaking right away. I found the issue, a plastic piece that is behind the bottom bracket where the brake and shifter cables come out. When the suspension compresses the plastic piece gets moved around by the brake cables and it creaks. I tossed a little lube around the edges of the plastic piece to quiet it down. Not ideal, but I have to say, the quality control is lacking a bit. Thankfully I have a full bike shop with all the tools I need in the basement so I can fix this stuff myself, but most people don't have that option. As the bicycle industry struggles, they actually need to up their game to keep consumers happy, but I am seeing the opposite happen.
Interesting, i owned a few commencal bikes and never had any issues. Meta AM29 v4, Meta SX power Bosh, and now Meta SX V5, no creaking noises or any problems with linkage. But SX V5 has a bar just like a Supreme DH, which eliminat flex.
half wind out your linkage bolts and smush some grease ontpo the smooth bit and screw it back in, had the issue with my bike and the new bearing basically had no grease or poor grease thats washed out from wet uk rides.
just out of interest, have you actually had a mechanic strip the linkage? i find on alot of bikes out of the factory they are absolutely packed with locktite on the threads and alot of the bolts (despite checking the torque) are not actually tight enough due to the locktite drying and the torque setting being reached before the actual bolt load (that the torque specification is supposed to provide) is being acchieved. hope that made some kind of sense. if you think about torque settings of bolts, what they are actually saying is that "if you reach x newton meters of torque, then the load on the bolt will be correct (ie how much the bolt is compressing the linkage parts together)". if you assemble a brand new linkage part with new bolts and apply wet locktite then torque it correctly straight away, you may be acchieveing the correct bolt load at the time, but after a ride of so, the aluminium material will compress a little, and the bolt will actually stretch a little aswell (very minor ammounts, but this is a non negligable effect). then maybe your mechanic might have checked the bolts to the specified torque after a ride or so, but but because the locktite on the bolts is dry, the torque wrench may be reading the torque correctly, but due to dry locktite giving resistance to the threads, the actual compression of the bolt is not being accheived. I hope this made sense, but this is something I have noticed working on bikes over the years. or maybe i dont know what tf im talking about
You've defo worm holed your own thoughts there buddy. With over 30yrs in engineering & motorsport, I've not once heard/read/discussed/theorised what your speaking of. Yes, some thread locks are to be applied and torqued wet, others applied, dried then fitted/torqued, but the negatives to misuse will be in its ability to lock, not torque. Unless a bolt has excessive application or previous amounts of uncleaned thread lock applied prior to re-fitment, then in that case your theory would hold some dues.
There seems to be no lateral stiffeners between the two rear triangles - so lateral wheel pitching and creaking are expected. Solutions: increase suspension pin diameters, add vertical stiffeners between chain-stay snd top rear stay, change rear triangle member cross sectional geometries or wall thicknesses.
A mate had a canyon and had nothing but problems...I bought a specalized hardtail emtb I am disabled so I obviously don't ride as hard as other people but so far it's been flawless
I built one of these from the frame up with top spec and it also creaked. Turned out it was the low pivot bearings that were completely siezed. They couldn't source them so I got an LBS to sort it, but Commencal did pay for it and send out the spacers.
I had the shim the drive side drop out pivot on my 2012 sx, the rear triangles were never square after heat treatment and the bearing seat was cut too deep. Been perfect ever since, 0.8mm stainless spacer
I’m not sure if it’s off the back of your review but if you look at the most recent v5’s it looks like commencal have added a new brace between the two uppers of the rear triangle. Should help stiffen things up up a bit..
i have the same issue... waiting for the spacer delivery . I already opened the linkage once, cleaned and greased the bolts and axles. the creaking sound went away, but returned after a couple of rides 😢. hopefully installing the spacers will help... The creak is really annoying
Have been shopping around online and was really considering a commencal for a full suspension ride.. This is the third video I've watched and everyone has mentioned the creaking out of the box. Now I've gotta start all over 💩 Thanks for the honest review.
Creaking or bolts that get loose are common in bike from different manufacturers, the issue being some kind of misalignment due to uncontrolled manufacturing tolerances and/or poorly designed bolted joints. And in my experience manufacturers would say "just put some grease/loctite in there and tighten the bolts to spec, that happens sometimes, not a big deal". When you don't notice and keep riding, parts get damaged and the customer is blamed. Just shows you how immature the bike industry is, imagine something like this happend in your car. Think about how challenging it is to design the bolted joins in a car or plain, and they have figured it out. Or actually, they just follow the well-known design rules and standards. so Santa Cruz Megatower/Nomad next?
I agree with Lewis taking about the creaking and flex but looking closer that's only on the normal v5 as the sx variant actually has a brace where he was talking about placing a brace
Any chance of trying out a Bird bike at some point? I've had a couple of their frames over the years and still have a 27.5 Aeris with 170 front/160 rear, they're much more simplistic in their design than a lot of these other bike manufacturers are going for these days with suspension layout/linkage designs, but they're very good modern feeling bikes and they're all priced fairly well too being direct to consumer, just overall a solid company with a good reputation worth giving a try sometime! I can imagine they'd sort you out with any issues if you ever had any too, they're shit hot with their customer care/advice and can suit your build needs etc.
They defo need that bracer to eliminate some of the flex. I feel like they just went with the easy justification for it. I've also had some damage on my frame near the linkage on my yt jeffsy (slightly different place), but so far, my Meta power sx has been pretty much perfect.
Really enjoying what you're doing here with the different bikes, interesting to watch. I buy too many bikes and they ALL have numerous problems. Mostly fixable, but still inexcusable as you say.
Dude I totally trust you I'm shure you wont do this to gain views or likes. I had some bikes with factory problems like my actual Specialized Kenevo that with any water in the port turns off. The Slash Trek said there was a spacer missing, Commençal now say theres something missing in the link... That's sad for the sport all this brands making silly mistakes. Keep doing your reviews we all support your point of view specially because we see the rear end flexing and can hear the noise. 🤙🏻🤟🏻✌🏻
Great review, thanks for never pandering to big brands and always keeping it real, nobody on YT as far as I know are as honest. that flex in my opinion is far too much and I’d be gutted if I saved up all that money to buy this bike. In fact I have exactly the same issues with my £8k e-bike, wont mention the brand yet because they currently have it in for inspection and I want a full refund. Thanks again 👍
I just noticed that the meta SX V5 and the Tempo have the same rear triangle, and wonder if the TEMPO users are having similar issues or is just the long travel bikes.
Need to try a Cannondale Jekyll Lew !! Build it up to your spec, and trust me you’ll love it. The mild high pivot system gives the best of both worlds. One thing is the size guide is a bit big. If it says your for a large, maybe get a medium.
i had some creaking aswell - which was an easy fix with some grease in the lower black link. if you are missing those spacers i have in my linkage no wonder the bike wont work... no idea what went wrong at the assembly if this is really the case. bummer. i love my bike and its really great
It’s great that Lewis covers these issues. I have two top of the line Focus e-bikes and whilst they are beasts on the trail the noises are ridiculous, I’m forever pulling them apart trying to fix creaky headsets (plastic), linkages and motor mount bolts (2 of which have snapped). Not great for $23k AUD.
A focus e-bike was high on my list when I was considering buying an eeb, when I looked deeper in to Focus and saw the headset I ruled it out immediately.
@@cleggycyclist they’re a really good bike once you iron out all the issues (like the hub is made of chocolate) but by that time you’ve dropped some decent coin on the bike. Not to mention the hassle and effort of getting to that point. Hopefully you’re happy with what you purchased.
I got a Tempo , , i had a cracking issues , and i figure out where it come from , it was the dropper post in the frame , after grease the dropper and reistal in the frame the cracking sound disappeared .... the thing is , you have to know you bike limits just by looking at the frame , ex the seat tube is thin , its not tapered at the bb , so its not for enduro or hard cornering , its just an adventurer bike , never trust manufacturer claim
Hey mate, another great video. My Focus Jam with similar suspension setup also made this noise, although id make a suggestion. A bike bike brand thats got a killer enduro that gets the job done, no nonesense. Not a media hype brand, Giant Reign Advanced. Keep it up mate! Hopefully you find a bike without these nibbling issues
Sounds to me like Commencal is trying to ascribe a design fault as a manufacturing defect. I had a 2019 Meta TR chain stay snap at the weld where the brake caliper is mounted. This was also blamed on a manufacturing defect in the weld, rather than as a design fault which would have required a replacement of all frames.
The creeking comes from the black pivots. These are the Aquiles heel from the bike. Mine just suddenly pop out after 5 months old. Completely unacceptable
Im just about to decide if go for Commencal v5 sx or Norco Sight A1 2024 a things like this makes me so mad, becuase i would love to come back to Commencal (my first HT bike years ago…) buuuuuut, this is mad😅
I have the commencal meta v4 ohlins edition and one of the best things is its stiff and does anything thrown at it, big jumps, tech downhill, bike park flips... the v5 really doesnt hit those marks for what i want... might have to get the clash instead for the next bike...
I had a 2018 Meta 4.2, and the same thing was happening - these bikes are just designed that way. I lasted a year with the creaking and then sold it. It was impossible to ride like that in the long run.
before i bought my metasx v4, i watched a pinkbike review of the v5... they also complained about embarrassingly loud creaky noises. i wanted the v4 anyway it's been pretty good so far.
Can be a problem like 1000 other brand, i have take orbea wild h10 and after the first lap the battery was death... Now i wait the type chalk version of v5 finger crossed. ..
I got the meta sx . and the frame came dented. With faulty brakes and hoses were too short. The rest was fine. I double checked every bolt and raced it a few times and its still good but It also took 6 months to ship whereas my vitus only took 3 weeks. Unexusable quality control in my opinion. We pay a lot of money for crappy assembly
Same bike and I already have the same scratches inside the right seatstay, even deeper already (after 2 rides). I already contacted Commencal, hope there is a solution for this as the bike rides really well..
Update: Have installed the spacers yesterday and checked for the scratches -> still contact between rear triangle and swingarm in corners. Now I am curious what Commencal will do..
I bought a Canyon Spectral 27.5 Fabio Wibmer edition last summer, the bike came to me in a terrible state, derailleur was set up so it was unusable, dropper cable was to short and broke, brakes were leaking fluid, and cables were poorly routed and cut. Canyon did pay for my local bike shop to fix everything, but for a new bike i was expecting more from Canyon. I imagine issues like yours and mine happen with most manufacturers, which is not great for us consumers
Canyon did the same with my creaking issue on my torque. They said it missed quality control lol. They offered to give me a $100 credit to take it to a shop. Turned out they didnt grease the pivot points and bearings lmfao and it didnt take long for me to figure that out. Now that the bikes greased it does ride pretty well but it makes me never want to buy another direct to consumer bike.
It makes you wonder how many others have missed QC. Now to wait for the update on the spacers and as others have said, good on ya for your honesty and genuine review. Hope you get it sorted buddy 🤘❤️🌈🕊️🌍
The only honest bike reviewer on the internet. Well done again. Bike company are taking the piss charge us the earth and sell us a load of shit. Ebikes are even worse . Thanks for the great content
Bought a new Tempo just recently and there is a small bolt rattling in the rear triangle disc side part of the frame...it makes me super crazy that this is what I get, honestly for crying out loud what in the f.
I like their flex, had the old mets, had to change the rocker to the ebike one (stiffer) due to wandering bearings and i really missed the flex. But if i were on your level of bike punishing speed, i‘d probably have a different opinion
Bought a Commencal youth bike for my daughter and the frame is horrible. The disc brake mounts are so out of spec there is no way of setting up the brake without rubbing. And geometry wise they seem to only have cared to eliminate any possibility for a paddle strike
Totally agree. My neighbour bought one a few weeks ago, I've build it up (I'm a bike mech.), next day guess what.... it was creaking. Took a few things apart and re-greased, a week later..... again. I've never seen such poor quality from a brand that's supposed to be high end. Even worse Commencal's customer service is not as nice and prompt with normal consumers. Very probably because Lewis is a pro athlete, his reviews are seen a lot quicker and can influence more customers then a normal consumer, Commencal has jumped to help him so quickly. We don't get the same treatment. Conclusion: a big NO for Commencal this time!
I would agree that quality control and build quality in general is poor these days. I have a 2021 Trek Slash that needs pivot linkages greased every 8-12 mths or it creaks like crazy and tolerances seem poor, compared to my 2012 remedy that was silent and didn't need any linkage greasing for 2.5 years.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
alternate title, lewis discovers the bullshit normal consumers deal with
Was looking for this comment 🤣
LOL not clickbaity enough
@@gucass neither was the first title the video had apparently. Went from qc to "its not okay commencial" to binning
I think my alternate title is better than the three versions ive seen in the past few hrs
Yep. I experience the same issues with my full suspension also. What gets rid of the creaking for me is loosening the bolt bit by bit until the creaking goes away. For my setup, the reason why my bike does it is because the pivot bolt is too tight.
I have the same bike, same experience. Luckily I’m in Squamish and the shop here has been very helpful in solving the issue. They put the 4 spacers in which solved 80% of the issue. Brought it back and they took the linkage apart, identified the tolerance issue, only used 2 of the 4 spacers, applied some grease and put it all back together. Bike is silent and feels great now. Still lots of flex but I personally like that, especially when running a stiffer carbon wheel. I agree this shouldn’t have come out the box like this, but Commencal has been very supportive in making me happy, so points there!
I wonder if the rear wheel rubs on the inside of the chainstays!?
which two spacers do you have installed? those that are installed in the frame (on the right side of the frame) or in the linkage?
Why didn’t they just design or build the bike properly in the first place? Oh right, saves money… 😂
Really like someone of this level (sponsored rider) giving honest opinions on products that the general public buy themselves. 100% agree if you pay £5000 for a pedal bike it should NOT be missing a quality check…. Poor job commencel!!!!!
Maybe not this level of rider, but Paul Aston walked away from Pinkbike and independently reviews bikes. He's a lot more niche in his products and process but well worth checking out if you're not already familiar 🤘🏼
@@duvtails Thanks for the recommendation, i'll have a look, cheers.
Commencal has always had low quality crap
I wish more reviews had this level of transparency. It’s far too frequent that heavier and/or aggressive riders spend their hard earned money on a bike that can’t withstand a season of riding without developing tolerance issues or defects.
I'm a heavy rider at 225lbs. For the rear to have that much flex for him, I can only imagine how much rear tire buzz I would get. That's way too much flex for my liking.
I really appreciate these kinds of videos. Brands need to be accountable when they sell a faulty product to consumers. Because mountain bikers are so passionate, they're willing to put up with a lot to do their sport. I think the industry can get a bit lazy as a result. There are tons of great companies out there, and I don't want to suggest designing a bike to work flawlessly is an easy task, but I have had tons of issues on the level of the one you're experiencing here (e.g., shipping the wrong parts, missing pieces in install, lengthy warranties, strange failures, etc.). Yes, it may just be an 'honest mistake', or a 'minor problem' in isolation, but if you ride a lot, you tend to have half a dozen 'minor problems' a year coming from various products on your bike. This ends up equating to a couple months of missed riding time while things get shipped and replaced, a big frustration as a passionate consumer. I'm super glad to see more people bringing these issues to light. Hopefully this results in companies putting a bit more effort in QC and real world testing.
Linkage touching the frame is just bad engineering
I just got my Meta V5. I took the suspension linkages apart the first day because of issues with bearing grease on past bikes. Found that the lithium paste that they use was already starting to bind up in the bearing. Washed that JUNK out and replaced it with synthetic grease called “super lube” and it’s been amazing since 🤫. I’ve ran this grease in all of my bike bearings am super happy with the results
Same thing with mine. I will say commencal has great customer service, as they should knowing they FU@KED UP. Sent my frame back and 2 days later they sent me a brand new one. ZERO issues with the new frame. Quiet as.
good to know !
Totally unacceptable, wouldn't even waste my time. They better start making quality a priority or they will continue to lose business. Thanks for sharing Lewis.
I've had a Commencal Clash V1 for 5 years, done 4 race seasons on it and all I've had to do is regrease everything, bearings are still in great condition, no play or signs of wear. Its been absolutely bomb proof!
Working in engineering we see stuff like this all the time, unfortunately it just takes one person to be having a bad day or someone going into work hungover, things get missed!
There must be a bunch of alcoholics working at Commencal so because it's not a one off. This is a huge design flaw in an overpriced bike.
love the very direct feedback. Too many channels are protecting the sponsor brands even if there is issues.
I absolutely love this format bikes have so many manufacturing issues and no one talks about it. You only see it in MTB Forums. And someone like Lewis just notices stuff immediately. Please buy a Transition next :)
Chinese manufacturing, combined with companies not wanting to have to throw away bad frames that wouldn’t pass quality control because they’re already losing money as is, is gonna be the death of this industry.
This is why we need more channels and content such as Lewis's! As soon as people actually have to pay for products you see what they are actually like. Paul Astons channel is good for this too
I own a 2023 Knolly Chilcotin. It devoloped a loud creak that i eventually and painfully isolated to the bare front triangle. Even working almost directly with Noel, the owner and engineer, the only solution was a crash replacement of the front triangle for $600. The replacement did not match my rear triangle. New front is blue, old rear is raw aluminum. The other option was a full v6 2024 replacement frame for $1,200. A great deal, but not in my budget. Crashing didnt cause this creak, but because of wear and tear on the frame, it was deemed a crash replacement. Just leaving this information in the ether.
Unacceptable. Creaking is an absolute fail.. Thanks for the honest answer.
My friend's team races DH on commencals. They had snapped a few shocks before they realized the rear end is not centered right. They now run custom shock spacers for each frame that are up to like 5mm different thickness. Fast frames but kinda dodgy
Bro, you are a legend! Please keep on doing your review videos! 5k is for most of us big money which we have to save for quite some time. What a nightmare of a bike...
They 100% should have just replaced and sent you a new frame that's been properly checked. Specialized fully replaced mine after doing the same.
I had my v4 meta sx get warrantied for alignment issues of the linkage assembly and got a new frame. Probably missed QC as well because they didn’t bat an eye once they got it back and looked it over, had a frame in the mail the same day they got mine in their shop.
This guy is every brands worse nightmare
Pahaha. Maybe just don’t miss stuff and make a solid bike then there will be no complaints
Exactly:D
You don't know Paul Aston yet 😂
He's the public enemy n°1
@@LewisBuchananthis guy has clearly missed all your v10 content
You mean a guy that has enough integrity to call shite out. A manufacturer that produces a good product will be very happy with his exposure.. v10 anyone?
I met the people at Commencal during an event last year and they were definitely cool and knew their stuff. I can't say so much for many other brands out there.
I do however don't know why they wouldn't just send you a new frameset that they know is set up correctly and not just send some spacers. Most consumers are not going to be able to put the spacers in and being that they likely purchased consumer direct, no shop is going to do free work for them.
I recently got a Canyon Spectral 125 and it started creaking right away. I found the issue, a plastic piece that is behind the bottom bracket where the brake and shifter cables come out. When the suspension compresses the plastic piece gets moved around by the brake cables and it creaks. I tossed a little lube around the edges of the plastic piece to quiet it down. Not ideal, but I have to say, the quality control is lacking a bit. Thankfully I have a full bike shop with all the tools I need in the basement so I can fix this stuff myself, but most people don't have that option.
As the bicycle industry struggles, they actually need to up their game to keep consumers happy, but I am seeing the opposite happen.
Interesting, i owned a few commencal bikes and never had any issues. Meta AM29 v4, Meta SX power Bosh, and now Meta SX V5, no creaking noises or any problems with linkage. But SX V5 has a bar just like a Supreme DH, which eliminat flex.
Rear wheel steering: it’s the new thing 🎉🎉🎉
Good honest review! Cant wait to hear how the spacers change things!
half wind out your linkage bolts and smush some grease ontpo the smooth bit and screw it back in, had the issue with my bike and the new bearing basically had no grease or poor grease thats washed out from wet uk rides.
just out of interest, have you actually had a mechanic strip the linkage? i find on alot of bikes out of the factory they are absolutely packed with locktite on the threads and alot of the bolts (despite checking the torque) are not actually tight enough due to the locktite drying and the torque setting being reached before the actual bolt load (that the torque specification is supposed to provide) is being acchieved. hope that made some kind of sense. if you think about torque settings of bolts, what they are actually saying is that "if you reach x newton meters of torque, then the load on the bolt will be correct (ie how much the bolt is compressing the linkage parts together)". if you assemble a brand new linkage part with new bolts and apply wet locktite then torque it correctly straight away, you may be acchieveing the correct bolt load at the time, but after a ride of so, the aluminium material will compress a little, and the bolt will actually stretch a little aswell (very minor ammounts, but this is a non negligable effect). then maybe your mechanic might have checked the bolts to the specified torque after a ride or so, but but because the locktite on the bolts is dry, the torque wrench may be reading the torque correctly, but due to dry locktite giving resistance to the threads, the actual compression of the bolt is not being accheived.
I hope this made sense, but this is something I have noticed working on bikes over the years. or maybe i dont know what tf im talking about
Good points, but obviously it's not acceptable to require a brand new bike to have a mechanic strip the linkage out and sort issues.
You've defo worm holed your own thoughts there buddy. With over 30yrs in engineering & motorsport, I've not once heard/read/discussed/theorised what your speaking of. Yes, some thread locks are to be applied and torqued wet, others applied, dried then fitted/torqued, but the negatives to misuse will be in its ability to lock, not torque. Unless a bolt has excessive application or previous amounts of uncleaned thread lock applied prior to re-fitment, then in that case your theory would hold some dues.
There seems to be no lateral stiffeners between the two rear triangles - so lateral wheel pitching and creaking are expected. Solutions: increase suspension pin diameters, add vertical stiffeners between chain-stay snd top rear stay, change rear triangle member cross sectional geometries or wall thicknesses.
I applaud your honesty! Rare in the world of influencers.totally unacceptable QC issues and invaluable info for potential costumers.
A mate had a canyon and had nothing but problems...I bought a specalized hardtail emtb I am disabled so I obviously don't ride as hard as other people but so far it's been flawless
I built one of these from the frame up with top spec and it also creaked. Turned out it was the low pivot bearings that were completely siezed. They couldn't source them so I got an LBS to sort it, but Commencal did pay for it and send out the spacers.
I had the shim the drive side drop out pivot on my 2012 sx, the rear triangles were never square after heat treatment and the bearing seat was cut too deep. Been perfect ever since, 0.8mm stainless spacer
Hey mate
Check your lower linkage pivot bearings in the frame. My tempo developed a creak also. My bearings had clogged out the bearing boss in frame.
My 2021 Clash, had the most unstable rear. Turned out they machined the holes for the linkage bearings too large.
I’m not sure if it’s off the back of your review but if you look at the most recent v5’s it looks like commencal have added a new brace between the two uppers of the rear triangle. Should help stiffen things up up a bit..
i have the same issue... waiting for the spacer delivery . I already opened the linkage once, cleaned and greased the bolts and axles. the creaking sound went away, but returned after a couple of rides 😢. hopefully installing the spacers will help... The creak is really annoying
Have been shopping around online and was really considering a commencal for a full suspension ride.. This is the third video I've watched and everyone has mentioned the creaking out of the box. Now I've gotta start all over 💩 Thanks for the honest review.
Creaking or bolts that get loose are common in bike from different manufacturers, the issue being some kind of misalignment due to uncontrolled manufacturing tolerances and/or poorly designed bolted joints. And in my experience manufacturers would say "just put some grease/loctite in there and tighten the bolts to spec, that happens sometimes, not a big deal". When you don't notice and keep riding, parts get damaged and the customer is blamed. Just shows you how immature the bike industry is, imagine something like this happend in your car. Think about how challenging it is to design the bolted joins in a car or plain, and they have figured it out. Or actually, they just follow the well-known design rules and standards.
so Santa Cruz Megatower/Nomad next?
Jtech are actual legends, I was having loads of problems with my Druid suspension and they solved everything
I agree with Lewis taking about the creaking and flex but looking closer that's only on the normal v5 as the sx variant actually has a brace where he was talking about placing a brace
Any chance of trying out a Bird bike at some point? I've had a couple of their frames over the years and still have a 27.5 Aeris with 170 front/160 rear, they're much more simplistic in their design than a lot of these other bike manufacturers are going for these days with suspension layout/linkage designs, but they're very good modern feeling bikes and they're all priced fairly well too being direct to consumer, just overall a solid company with a good reputation worth giving a try sometime! I can imagine they'd sort you out with any issues if you ever had any too, they're shit hot with their customer care/advice and can suit your build needs etc.
my right airpod loved this
They defo need that bracer to eliminate some of the flex. I feel like they just went with the easy justification for it. I've also had some damage on my frame near the linkage on my yt jeffsy (slightly different place), but so far, my Meta power sx has been pretty much perfect.
Really enjoying what you're doing here with the different bikes, interesting to watch. I buy too many bikes and they ALL have numerous problems. Mostly fixable, but still inexcusable as you say.
Dude I totally trust you I'm shure you wont do this to gain views or likes. I had some bikes with factory problems like my actual Specialized Kenevo that with any water in the port turns off.
The Slash Trek said there was a spacer missing, Commençal now say theres something missing in the link... That's sad for the sport all this brands making silly mistakes.
Keep doing your reviews we all support your point of view specially because we see the rear end flexing and can hear the noise. 🤙🏻🤟🏻✌🏻
2021/22 Meta AM29 owner. That sound when climbing now makes sense 😅 always had an interesting Squeack just ignored it
I would have sent it back.
Good job on not bashing them too much, you are a patient man.
Great review, thanks for never pandering to big brands and always keeping it real, nobody on YT as far as I know are as honest. that flex in my opinion is far too much and I’d be gutted if I saved up all that money to buy this bike. In fact I have exactly the same issues with my £8k e-bike, wont mention the brand yet because they currently have it in for inspection and I want a full refund. Thanks again 👍
stuff happens i had the same issue with my yt capra and i contacted warranty and sent me a new set of all frame blots and bearings
I just noticed that the meta SX V5 and the Tempo have the same rear triangle, and wonder if the TEMPO users are having similar issues or is just the long travel bikes.
i have to same bike but the race version, had it for round about 6 months had no problems no noise. best bike i have had
Wondering which brand you think does the best job in terms of quality? I really appreciate the honest feedback.
SantaCruz seems pretty unreal
Need to try a Cannondale Jekyll Lew !! Build it up to your spec, and trust me you’ll love it. The mild high pivot system gives the best of both worlds. One thing is the size guide is a bit big. If it says your for a large, maybe get a medium.
i had some creaking aswell - which was an easy fix with some grease in the lower black link. if you are missing those spacers i have in my linkage no wonder the bike wont work... no idea what went wrong at the assembly if this is really the case. bummer. i love my bike and its really great
It's my comment. Thanks man for putting that up on the video. Made my day 🙏🤘
(Needless to say a great video and keep it up. You rock)
It’s great that Lewis covers these issues. I have two top of the line Focus e-bikes and whilst they are beasts on the trail the noises are ridiculous, I’m forever pulling them apart trying to fix creaky headsets (plastic), linkages and motor mount bolts (2 of which have snapped). Not great for $23k AUD.
A focus e-bike was high on my list when I was considering buying an eeb, when I looked deeper in to Focus and saw the headset I ruled it out immediately.
@@cleggycyclist they’re a really good bike once you iron out all the issues (like the hub is made of chocolate) but by that time you’ve dropped some decent coin on the bike. Not to mention the hassle and effort of getting to that point. Hopefully you’re happy with what you purchased.
@@stevowyeth I went for the Marin, very happy so far but will the motor last? They all seem to die
Paul Aston vibes with the Commencal drama.
I got a Tempo , , i had a cracking issues , and i figure out where it come from , it was the dropper post in the frame , after grease the dropper and reistal in the frame the cracking sound disappeared .... the thing is , you have to know you bike limits just by looking at the frame , ex the seat tube is thin , its not tapered at the bb , so its not for enduro or hard cornering , its just an adventurer bike , never trust manufacturer claim
Hey mate, another great video. My Focus Jam with similar suspension setup also made this noise, although id make a suggestion. A bike bike brand thats got a killer enduro that gets the job done, no nonesense. Not a media hype brand, Giant Reign Advanced.
Keep it up mate! Hopefully you find a bike without these nibbling issues
Sounds to me like Commencal is trying to ascribe a design fault as a manufacturing defect. I had a 2019 Meta TR chain stay snap at the weld where the brake caliper is mounted. This was also blamed on a manufacturing defect in the weld, rather than as a design fault which would have required a replacement of all frames.
The creeking comes from the black pivots. These are the Aquiles heel from the bike. Mine just suddenly pop out after 5 months old. Completely unacceptable
Im just about to decide if go for Commencal v5 sx or Norco Sight A1 2024 a things like this makes me so mad, becuase i would love to come back to Commencal (my first HT bike years ago…) buuuuuut, this is mad😅
Very nice review, lovin that format... And a shame of bike 🤦 surely that system will destroy your shock too.
I have the commencal meta v4 ohlins edition and one of the best things is its stiff and does anything thrown at it, big jumps, tech downhill, bike park flips... the v5 really doesnt hit those marks for what i want... might have to get the clash instead for the next bike...
My commencal meta came perfect out of the box a few years back. My Canyon, well, cables bent and twisted, dropper post not connected. ....
Wonder how compliant bike and super stiff wheels feel
I had a 2018 Meta 4.2, and the same thing was happening - these bikes are just designed that way. I lasted a year with the creaking and then sold it. It was impossible to ride like that in the long run.
BB is still pressfit ?
Really appreciate the review, top job
wondering if your bike was assembled in Asia, the EU or UK.
hey dude, How tall are you and what size did you choose?
before i bought my metasx v4, i watched a pinkbike review of the v5... they also complained about embarrassingly loud creaky noises. i wanted the v4 anyway it's been pretty good so far.
Every commencal frame ive ever worked on was misaligned, missing a spacer somewhere, creaked, cracked ir some combination of all of the above
Can be a problem like 1000 other brand, i have take orbea wild h10 and after the first lap the battery was death...
Now i wait the type chalk version of v5 finger crossed.
..
I got the meta sx . and the frame came dented. With faulty brakes and hoses were too short. The rest was fine. I double checked every bolt and raced it a few times and its still good but It also took 6 months to ship whereas my vitus only took 3 weeks. Unexusable quality control in my opinion. We pay a lot of money for crappy assembly
Love the honesty lewis. Keep it going!
Thanks
Try cooper grease on the BB thread
Same bike and I already have the same scratches inside the right seatstay, even deeper already (after 2 rides). I already contacted Commencal, hope there is a solution for this as the bike rides really well..
Update: Have installed the spacers yesterday and checked for the scratches -> still contact between rear triangle and swingarm in corners. Now I am curious what Commencal will do..
I bought a Canyon Spectral 27.5 Fabio Wibmer edition last summer, the bike came to me in a terrible state, derailleur was set up so it was unusable, dropper cable was to short and broke, brakes were leaking fluid, and cables were poorly routed and cut. Canyon did pay for my local bike shop to fix everything, but for a new bike i was expecting more from Canyon. I imagine issues like yours and mine happen with most manufacturers, which is not great for us consumers
This type of qc issues seem to happen way too often in the mtb industry. Considering how much we pay for these bikes it should be unacceptable.
As a rider looking for the best quality for my buck, thank you!!
Absolutely dude!
stay TF away from most MTB brands then. most are terrible.
So far the Santa Cruz was the only bike that was dialed with quality engineering and that’s why Iv owned many. They are Second to none !!
Astonmtb commencal cracking confirme !
unacceptable on a high end / high price bike like this!
on a supermarket bike for 999,- you expect something like that
Discouraging to hear others are experiencing the same thing. Sounds like a design flaw - fortunately recoverable.
Crackencal. Couldn't expect any more from them
Canyon did the same with my creaking issue on my torque. They said it missed quality control lol. They offered to give me a $100 credit to take it to a shop. Turned out they didnt grease the pivot points and bearings lmfao and it didnt take long for me to figure that out.
Now that the bikes greased it does ride pretty well but it makes me never want to buy another direct to consumer bike.
What happened to the nukeproof giga you had a year ago?
It makes you wonder how many others have missed QC. Now to wait for the update on the spacers and as others have said, good on ya for your honesty and genuine review. Hope you get it sorted buddy 🤘❤️🌈🕊️🌍
"missed qc" is the new excuse by brands when your 8k bike explodes on a root trail
weird how my 15 yr old alloy bike hasnt exploded and it sees drops to flat on concrete daily
Thanks!
The only honest bike reviewer on the internet. Well done again. Bike company are taking the piss charge us the earth and sell us a load of shit. Ebikes are even worse . Thanks for the great content
Bought a new Tempo just recently and there is a small bolt rattling in the rear triangle disc side part of the frame...it makes me super crazy that this is what I get, honestly for crying out loud what in the f.
Main pivot bolt needs geasing
I like their flex, had the old mets, had to change the rocker to the ebike one (stiffer) due to wandering bearings and i really missed the flex. But if i were on your level of bike punishing speed, i‘d probably have a different opinion
No issues here with a V4 Meta SX.
Bought a Commencal youth bike for my daughter and the frame is horrible. The disc brake mounts are so out of spec there is no way of setting up the brake without rubbing. And geometry wise they seem to only have cared to eliminate any possibility for a paddle strike
Totally agree. My neighbour bought one a few weeks ago, I've build it up (I'm a bike mech.), next day guess what.... it was creaking. Took a few things apart and re-greased, a week later..... again. I've never seen such poor quality from a brand that's supposed to be high end. Even worse Commencal's customer service is not as nice and prompt with normal consumers. Very probably because Lewis is a pro athlete, his reviews are seen a lot quicker and can influence more customers then a normal consumer, Commencal has jumped to help him so quickly. We don't get the same treatment. Conclusion: a big NO for Commencal this time!
That’s wild! Shame also right!
no squeaking issue with my v5 sx
It’s a complete different bike that’s why 😂😂 I have a v5. Not a v5 sx
I would agree that quality control and build quality in general is poor these days. I have a 2021 Trek Slash that needs pivot linkages greased every 8-12 mths or it creaks like crazy and tolerances seem poor, compared to my 2012 remedy that was silent and didn't need any linkage greasing for 2.5 years.
Sounds like a bodge to just add a few spacers to a poor fitting linkage.
forget to plug the mic in?
Lewis.. Do you run Maxxis Asagai's all the time on your bikes ?.. Love these honest bike brand vlogs