The demand for a burly hardtail that can take a long-travel fork up front for some aggro riding has been met by Commencal with the launch of the Ramones, a two bike range of hard-hitting hardtails.
As the press release says, they’re “ultra modern yet with old-skool pedigree, it is the ultimate hardtail for any terrain you care to take it on. The Ramones is a bike for riders who are looking for fun, with just one bike in their garage. Its versatility means it is at ease on your evening ride with friends, out on the local dirt track, or challenging the mountains this summer, old-skool style!”
But what does that actually mean? Well, Commencal have designed a frame with a 67° head angle designed to work with 130-140mm travel forks, while the seat angle is 72°. Made out of aluminium, the frame is reassuringly reinforced in key areas, with gusseting around the top and down tubes where they meet the head tube, a dramatically dropped top tube for ample standover clearance, and a bracing strut between the top tube and extended seat tube. The square section seat stays overlap the seat tube, giving an overall impression of burliness.
There are two models, The Ramones 1 (£1,249.99) specced with a RockShox Recon 327 U-Turn 140mm fork with 20mm Maxle and a groupset comprising of Shimano Deore and XT Shadow bits and Race Face 24/36 bash-ring chainset. Continuing the burly theme the tyres are Maxxis High Roller 2.35in and finishing kit is mostly Race Face with SDG supplying the saddle.
The Ramones 2 (£949.99) is similarly specced but gets a RockShox Tora 289 U-Turn 130mm fork and Shimano Deore and SLX parts, a Truvativ Blaze chainset with ‘rockguard’ and a Geax Sturdy 2.25in and Saguaro 2.2in tyre combination. Both frames are ready for 10mm, 12mm, 12mm Maxle or Singlespeed hubs.
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