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Camille Balanche of the Commencal Dorval staff shall be seeking to make it two out of two at Fort William this weekend, in a ladies’s subject which will see the return of Rachel Atherton, a fan favourite who has been out of competitors since 2019. At Spherical 1 in Lourdes, lower than a second separated Camille from second positioned rider, Myriam Nicole of Commencal Muc-Off. Between the chilly and moist (thanks, Scotland) coaching runs of Friday afternoon, we caught up with Camille’s mechanic, Yanik Braun, to take a look at her Commencal Supreme DH V5.
Replace: Camille Balanche certified quickest, going 1.794 seconds sooner than RockShox-Trek’s Valentina Höll who certified in second. Within the Elite Males’s subject, the Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Laurie Greenland went quickest. See the full outcomes from in the present day’s qualifying runs right here.
Camille Balanche’s Prototype Commencal Supreme DH V5
The ultimate manufacturing Commencal Supreme DH V5 can have a mullet wheel configuration, as seen right here on Camille Balanche’s race bike
Within the closing levels of prototyping, the V5 Commencal Supreme DH you’ll see right here will bear only a few modifications earlier than closing manufacturing goes forward on the finish of 2022. The Digital Excessive Pivot Suspension platform that makes use of a 6-bar linkage design could be very a lot confirmed, with the chain routed up and over an loafer pulley in a bid to dissociate drivetrain forces from these of the suspension.
Higher and decrease hyperlinks of the 6-bar suspension design are linked through a 3rd strut-like hyperlink that sits inboard, and barely rearward of, the seat tube struts
The place of that loafer pulley is one thing that’s nonetheless into consideration, as is the variety of enamel. Camille’s staff mate, Benoit Coulanges, is comfortable to run an loafer pulley that allows some quantity of pedal kickback, really preferring the bike’s experience really feel when it’s current. Yanik tells us that Benoit feels as if the bike is lacking one thing when it’s fully absent.
A large bash guard mounted over the loafer pulley protects it towards rock strikes and doubles up as a sequence information. The manufacturing bike will characteristic an analogous guard on the non-drive aspect in a bid to forestall construct up of mud across the linkage pivots
Camille, then again, prefers to reduce pedal kickback and the related fatigue that comes with it, choosing an loafer pulley of 15 enamel (versus the accessible 14T or 16T choices). The laser-machined pulley mount can also be simply changed by others of differing heights, permitting the staff to repeatedly mess around with this facet of the bike’s kinematic.
Each bolt on Camille’s Supreme DH has somewhat sharpie marker that helps mechanic Yanik shortly establish any bolts which have rotated away from the specified torque setting
Yanik tells us that, in earlier Downhill World Cup seasons, the Commencal race engineers discovered they had been choosing a setup that was very a lot on the restrict of what the V4 Supreme DH was able to. Tracks comparable to Maribor, Slovenia, highlighted the shortage of development and the necessity for extra compression damping than the riders had been essentially pleased with.
We can’t present any particular kinematic knowledge, although Yanik says that the previous race setting that was on the restrict of the V4’s adjustability can now be discovered across the center of the adjustment vary of the brand new V5, permitting for a extra usable vary of tuning to permit riders to adapt their bike setup to totally different race tracks.
Camille Balanche runs a Renthal Fatbar Lite version for the improved vibration damping it affords
Certainly, there are a large number of geometry and kinematic changes to mess around with on the V5; that is true of each Camille’s race rig and of the manufacturing bike that’s due on the finish of 2022. Beginning within the cockpit, the top angle may be adjusted by +/- 0.5°; for the tough rock gardens of Fort William, Camille’s has opted for the slacker of the 2 settings.
Because the rear-center size is adjusted, the rear brake mount merely slides alongside a rail into place; no adapters, or up- or down-sizing of the rotor, are required right here
Chainstay size may be adjusted additionally, with a +/- 4mm vary of adjustment accessible. Camille has chosen to run the bike within the mid-setting right here. Yanik tells us the vary of adjustment on the dropouts could improve for the manufacturing bike, probably providing a flip-chip that alters rear-center size by 5mm or 6mm.
The ultimate level at which the body geometry, and kinematic, may be altered is on the decrease shock mount, the place a 4-position flip-chip can range each the peak and the fore-oft mounting place to be able to affect the bike’s backside bracket peak and the general development of the linkage.
Camille’s Supreme DH rolls on Crankbrothers Synthesis DH 11 Carbon wheelset, with Schwalbe Magic Mary Tremendous DH Casing tires on the entrance and rear. That robust casing, as properly the usage of a Cushcore XC tire insert (entrance) and a Cushcore Professional (rear) permits Camille to run very low tire pressures of 18 PSI and 21 PSI, respectively.
Yanik says the lowered quantity of rubber within the sidewalls of this prototype tire imply it’s lighter and feels extra versatile than Schwalbe’s present Tremendous DH casing
“First Journey” signifies these Magic Mary tires are prototypes. We spoke to Grant Wildman at Schwalbe to study extra, however he remained tight lipped, sharing solely that this can be a model new rubber compound that shall be accessible on manufacturing tires by the tip of the 12 months. Yanik mentioned solely that this compound is supposed to be sooner rolling, and provide extra grip that the present vary of Addix compounds supplied by Schwalbe.
Camille has chosen to race on a Magic Mary on the entrance and rear, whereas staff mate Benoit Coulanges prefers to run a Soiled Dan within the rear
Yanik units up Camille’s 7-Pace Cassette in order that the soar between gears 4 and 5 is far larger than the soar seen between the opposite cogs. This implies she solely wants to alter gear as soon as as she pedals out of the beginning gate; if the soar was smaller, she would want to alter gear twice to seek out the right ratio for laying down the facility.
It’s clear that Camille likes her bike to run very quietly; Yanik makes use of Chris Kovarik’s STFU chain dampers and VHS slapper tape to maintain chain slap noise to a minimal. The STFU chain damper positioned closest to the seat tube doubles up as a secondary chain information, limiting how far the chain can transfer back and forth because the bike fees down via tough sections such because the notorious Pinball. Yanik makes use of a wire to supply further safety to the chain dampers, in case a flying rock damages the cable ties.
Mechanic Yanik Braun noticed match to design his personal bash guard, braced ready whereby the guard is unlikely to bend when hit by a rock
We want Camille and the entire Commencal Dorval staff the perfect of luck this weekend.
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