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Commencal race prototype released as Supreme DH v5

The race-winning bike is coming to consumers ... soon.

commencal supreme DH v5 Photo by: Commencal / Nicolas Brizin

After lighting up the World Cup circuit last year as a prototype, the new Commencal Supreme DH v5 is coming to a trail near you. After a slight wait from the March announcement, the new downhill bike is now available.

commencal supreme v5 2022
Photo: Commencal / Nicolas Brizin
Commencal Supreme DH v5: from prototype to World Cup tracks

The Andorran brand’s newest release started life in the lab as a race-only prototype. Known then as P019, Commencal initially had no plans for a wide release of the Virtual High Pivot bike.

After three years of development and a year on the ground at races, though, the v5 is ready.

Now, the race-focused downhill bike is coming to consumers. Frames and complete bikes are available through Commencal now.

Commencal describes the v5:

The six-bar Virtual High Pivot design of the Supreme DH v5 is designed for speed. With thin tubing, clean lines and a simple, white colour scheme, the v5 is as good looking as it is fast. Commencal is clear, though, that the design was all about performance.

“The terms were simple… To make a bike with no compromises, which works very well whatever the type of track and which gives the rider confidence. Alongside the evolution of the discipline itself, we could see that the time when you could make a strategic choice on the settings of the bike at the start of the season is over. For example, making it very efficient, or very comfortable. Race tracks are complete and varied, and it takes versatility. Additionally, the level is so high that riders have to spend a lot of time working on their lines on track and they have less time to think about bike settings.

In the technical sense, we chose to work on the ‘virtual high pivot point’ kinematics. Using a 6-bar system allows us to create an ideally controlled virtual pivot point trajectory and suspension leverage ratio evolution, regardless of the range of travel used. The result is a significant improvement in the balance, shock absorption and overall liveliness of the bike. That was the goal and that’s what we’ve got!”