Long Termers: Sim’s Commençal Super 4
Doing what it says on the carbon tin
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Posted on: July 26, 2010
8 responses
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excellent – still at the top of my list to replace my Meta 4 when the time (and money!) comes…
I’ve been reading Sim’s reviews with interest. I’ve got a Super 4 and have ended up with a very similar set up albeit a bit heavier as it’s a lower spec build. 120mm bolt through forks, light wheels, grippier rubber, shorter stem is where I’ve gotten mine to and I absolutely love it. Great traction up technical climbs, great tracking fork to pick my way through obstacles, an absolute hoot down single track!
I agree that it’s very much an all rounder but it wouldn’t be half the bike it is without a really good tracking fork (I have a 120mm RS Reba with maxle) so keep that in mind if you decide to build something like this up.
I think my (alloy) super 4 is brilliant too. Can’t say I’ve really noticed a great issue with the standard SID 100mm forks, but then I’ve no supposedly stiffer versions to compare to.
Would be an expensive upgrade as I would undoubtely want to keep the SID’s for some probably immesuable speed benefit on the occasional race I do!
my alloy one has been an excellent ride but the seat tube cracked where the main cross tube meets it after only about a year. Warranty was rapidly sorted but my replacement frame is the neon red 2010 colour which looks a lot like pink! The new frame seems slightly heavier and beefier but it has left me feeling very nervous on rough descents waiting for the frame to crack again. I love riding it but I am not sure I will ever get my confidence back. Time perhaps for a new frame, the SC Superlight seems a contender now the price has dropped.
If I were building it up from the frame alone I’d get 120mm bolt-thru forks, no question. Fox F120s in a 15mm flavour probably. Given the choice between 100mm bolt-thru and 120mm QR I’d go for the 120mm forks. The difference it makes to the overall feeling of the bike is much more marked, for the better, than the difference the addition of a bolt-thru would make.
Worst of all worlds here then (100mm QR)
Don’t care though, It’s still a new(ish) bike falling into the ‘What? you could have bought a decent car for that’ bracket and I’m loving it.
Interesting comment about preferring upgraded shifters over upgraded mechs, but this makes total sense when it’s the shifters that we feel and touch. Unfortunately, however, it is upgraded mechs that catch peoples eyes and egos more than the hidden-under-the-bar shifters so manufacturers always spec bikes this way round.
I’ve got a Meta4 and would def look at this as a replacement should it ever need it, I love the Meta, best riding bike I’ve owned and that’s plenty now including much more expensive bikes. Mine got a 120mm Fox 15mm fork on it and it’s improved it no end over the 100mm QR version it replaced. Only complaints with mine is that the paint chips easily and it’s a little porky, but I can live with that.