I reviewed the Commencal Tempo last fall after intially getting the bike and you can read that review here. This article is focusing on 3 upgrades you can easily make to a budget or base level build and how those changes will make a bike handle. So how was riding the Commencal Tempo after 3 easy ugrades? Keep reading or I made a video that I just recently uploaded to my YouTube channel as well that you can watch if reading makes you tired.
The number one thing that I am most picky about on a bike are my brakes. As a big dude, a lot of brakes have a hard time slowing me down. Right now I am at like 260 lbs (down 10 lbs from a couple weeks ago), and that's a lot of mass to bring to a stop. The brakes that come stock on this "Ride" build T.E.M.P.O. from Commencal are the TRP Trail Evo's. These are a great set of 4 piston brakes with good modulation and a nice lever feel and a decent amount of stopping power. So, where is there room for improvement? Pads!! The stock pads on these brakes, like I have experienced on almost or all of the brakes I have ever ridden are either not great or absolute garbage. I have been fixing this issue with a pretty inexpensive solution. That solution is a pair of MTX brake pads. For my bigger travel and e-bikes I will go with the gold pads because they have the most stopping power and bite hands down. For more trail oriented bikes I feel like the red pads do the trick. The red pads don't have the full on power that the gold pads do, but they are more quiet and have more modulation, yet they still have way more bite than any stock brake pad I've ever ridden.
The second upgrade is more expensive, but I am finding that a wheel upgrade can change the dynamics of how a bike rides more than almost any other component. For this budget build from Commencal it came with a decent set of Spank Spike Race 33 wheels with some generic Formula hubs. I have a set of Forge and Bond 30 EM wheels on my Commencal Meta V5 and I absolutely love them. I wanted to give the new Shift model wheel from Forge and Bond a go on this bike so I went with the Shift AM wheelset on the T.E.M.P.O. The Shift wheels still use the same fusion fiber rims but use an in house hub from Forge and Bond and cost around half the price. This in house hub features 162 points of engagement and has a lifetime warranty. That is more POE than the I9 1/1 hubs.
These wheels are lighter and stiffer than the Spanks. They also have a large amount of vibration dampening that mutes trail chatter and other trail vibrations. This wheelset really helps the T.E.M.P.O. come to life. The bike feels sharper and more precise. Acceleration is increased in spades. Just a few pedal strokes and the bike immediately takes off. Pumping the bike and carrying more speed takes less effort. Climbing is easier due to the lighter weight and added stiffness. Maybe it's a mental thing but I feel like the bike coasts faster too. The stock Formula hubs have around 18 POE vs the 162 POE of the F+B hub. Ratcheting up and over things or needing to pedal back to avoid an obstacle and then get back on the pedals again is a lot more responsive with less free movement. Having that engagement come faster come in handy in technical sections of trail.
The last upgrade I made was switching from the SX/NX drivetrain to a full GX drivetrain. This saves a ton of weight which comes mostly from the cassette. The bike becomes a bit easily to climb and throw around but it also shifts a lot crisper and just runs smoother.
The final verdict. Do you really need these upgrades to have fun and ride your bike? No, but it definitely makes a difference. And that difference can be pretty significant and make riding your bike more fun. And if you are having more fun you will probably want to ride more equalling more overall happiness in your life. And who doesn't want that?
