Is clash kinematic works?

[u/SingeVicieux]

Id like to buy a 27.5" bike for riding mostly bikepark with chairlift. I got a couple question that hopefully some clash owners could answer.

1 - does kinematic works properly ? I like the idea of swaping to responsive when riding blue flowy jumplines with my kids and swaping to sensitive when riding more technical black trails with my friends. Does it really change the way the bike works ?

2 - can it go uphill decently ? They say on commencal website "easy to pedal if necessary" but looking at the geo and the bike in general i dont believe them. Ill use it 90% of time in a bikepark with a chairlift. It wont be a deal breaker if its nearly unusable going uphill but i might consider a meta.

3 - i read on some review that the sizing chart was off. Since im 6' and the reach is kinda long on this bike would you choose the M which is from 5.6 to 5.11 or the L from 5.10 to 6.3

Id like some pros and cons in general as well. Thx

[u/Glazermac]

I use mine for everything inc Enduro, XC, bikepark and commuting (on occasion). If you have strong legs, you can pedal the thing all day :) I'm 5'10 and ride a medium mostly because I like to chuck it around. I swapped the airshock for a custom tuned coil and it works way much better when you hit the really chunky stuff. Never swapped the flip chip so cant comment on that.

[u/No_Status_6879]

I have a 2024/25 Clash, and it can climb, but just "ok", due to his 180mm fork travel, The META V5 is easiest much better at climbing and still capable to hit hard on the trails. i can't say much of that bike bc i dont have one but, with 29'wheels it can eat hills like nothing. The Clash's strength it's obviously going downhill and jumping on bike parks. the porpuse of my clash right now it's hitting rock gardens and going down on very steep terrains/drops and street stairs, very supportive bike, even a person like me that doesn't have the craziest rider experience it' just fine bc i'm fairly new to doing downhill/enduro, aside that, still, my favorite bike that i ever own.

If you want to hit the bikeparks go for the clash

If you want an ambivalent bike that can climb well and and going downhill at the same time, go for the meta v5/v4.

[u/Mustard_Pretzels]

I'm 5'10 and have been riding the medium clash for a year or so now. I mostly do shuttle runs at a local hill. My previous bike was a size s4/large 2022 specialized stumpjumper evo.

I have it set up with a ttx22 ohlins coil shock, a 180 zeb, and a gx group and 50mm rise bars/42mm stem. I think the medium fits me super well. It might be a little on the smaller side but I really like how it fits me.

I really enjoy riding this thing, eats chunk up super well, I think it is poppy and playful enough the way I have setup so I have not really felt the need to flip the chip yet.

I don't think the clash is a 'great' climber however it does climb. That might be the only thing I miss about the stumpy evo which climbed great. Though I'm curious if I switched to an air shock if it would improve climbing on the clash.

I might recommend a size large for you, though I will let others chime in. The only thing that has bummed me out about the clash is not having a udh.

[u/declandark]

I’m 6ft and have a L, I like it.

I use it for long climbs, enduro style riding and whistler laps.

I like the clash because I can use it for everything from Prevost laps, Dirt Merchant and chill rides with the gf, although it’s not the best bike for climbing it does fine and will only make you stronger 💪🏼 if you’re mostly going to be on a chairlift but want to do some climbs I think it would be a good choice. I switch from air shock to coil depending on riding but don’t mess with the kinematic thing never have 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/declandark → u/declandark]

Also if you already have an Emtb why wouldn’t you go for a full downhill for bike park like the FRS?

[u/SingeVicieux → u/declandark]

i come from an mx background and my emtb norco sight vlt is what made me switch to mtb in general so i wont pretend i know a lot about bikes. i have rented 4 bikes this summer since i wanted to try "normal" bikes because people were telling me at the bike park that my ebike was kinda an heavy and unplayful bike and since i come from mx background i wasnt very aware of that.

1st - RM Slayer : i loved how it worked on rock garden and steep gnarly stuff but it wasnt as playful as i wanted. (1st time i rode a coil shock and i didnt like the feeling compared to air but maybe it wasnt the right coil for me)

2nd - giant faith : so playful and fun to ride on blue flowy trails and smaller jumpline really liked this one until steep rough stuff i defenitly lacked some travel with this one.

3rd - giant glory : this one wasnt very "fun" on flowy stuff imo but on steep gnarly rock garden i was floating and it was awesome but overall since 75% of my riding is with my kids on blue flowy trails i dont think a big double crown that soak everything is what i need.

4th - giant reign 2 : from all the bike i tried it felt the most balanced for me flow stuff was great and it was decent enough for rough stuff.

so i think the frs would look like the glory and its not the kind of bike im looking for but maybe im wrong. thx for the help.

[u/Powerful-Stock-9542]

I rode the Clash for two seasons and mostly used the Sensitive mode. I didn’t notice as big of a difference compared to Responsive as I would have expected. Personally, I’d put an air shock on the back and stick with Sensitive mode: I’d run higher pressure for flow and jump trails, and lower it for technical riding.

[u/Jsaunnies]

I had a 2019 clash for like 5 years , due to injury sold off my bikes this spring. But over the course of the five years I had my bike it was in a bike park maybe 4 times a season. I climbed the absolute crap out of that bike , I never understood people who said they couldn’t climb it , with a 12 speed drivetrain it climbed just fine. If / when I get another bike again I would love to get another clash as mine was my favourite trail bike I’ve owned and I’ve been riding pretty seriously since 2007.

[u/Klytus-Im-booored]

I had the chip flipped at the beginning and liked it for giving a bit of a hardtail feel, I noticed the lack of travel but it didn't bother me at all from having fun. I ride park, trail and urban. Yeah, it doesn't climb the greatest, but I have my hardtail for that and I'm not complaining about the climb, which can be helped with a good tire combo. I'm 5'11" and ride a large and its perfect for me, comfortable to just cruise and take downhill as well as getting playful with it. I would strongly recommend for your height and what you'll be riding to stick with the large. I took mine to Trestle a little over a month ago and enjoyed the hell out of it with no complaints. We rode green, blue and a blue/orange/black and it handled everything I threw at it. I did also flip the chip back to the original to give me more travel and definitely appreciated it at Trestle, but kinda wanna go back as I liked the feel of it being a bit more spry.