![]() ![]() ![]() The bike arrived in mid-winter and was subjected to an almost constant pasting of wet, muddy and often snowy trails. The bike is available online from Commencal’s website and is currently on pre-order, with bikes available June 2018.Īt €1599 (around £1300) it’s one of the lowest priced bikes we’ve tested here at Wideopenmag and, Commencal say, has been designed to prove that ‘a good hardtail is better than a bad full suspension’. It’s built with a triple-butted 6061 alloy frame, 650b wheels, 2.8″ tyres and a RockShox Yari to absorb the bumps. The Commencal Meta HT AM is Commencal’s €1599 hardtail. Review by James Farrow, photos by Callum Philpott ![]() ![]() The stiff frame isn’t the most forgiving, but this helps the bike feel poppy and responsive, despite the QR rear wheel.Dru just spent a couple of months on the Commencal Meta HT AM ‘Essential’, a £1300 hardtail that’s designed to prove the point that a good hardtail beats a bad full suspension. Combined with the fairly grippy rubber, this makes the Meta AM HT surprisingly surefooted on gnarly, root strewn descents. The SRAM DB1 brakes aren’t flashy but deliver consistently crisp power, helped by the massive rotors. The Marzocchi 350’s light (non-adjustable) compression tune and linear spring rate make it really supple and sensitive, so it hoovers up the hits, maximising traction. The Commencal wasn’t really designed for climbing or traversing though – it’s when pointed down that the big fork and stiff frame should come into their own. The 100mm of drop isn’t enough to get the seat fully out of the way for steep sections either, especially for taller riders. Dirt in the cable slot caused friction that prevented the cable from returning, so the post would gradually descend while pedalling. The dropper post is a huge bonus, allowing steep climbs and tricky descents to flow together seamlessly, but ours didn’t cope well with mud. The 11-34t cassette demands more frequent front shifts than a 10-speed block though, and regularly shifting between the two widely-spaced chainrings really interrupts the rhythm of the ride. On the plus side, the Maxxis Minion DHR II rear tyre gathers enough grip to get you to the top and the 2×9 gearing gives a wide enough range for even the steepest climbs. Taller riders are likely to feel short-changed by the Meta’s cramped cockpit Taller riders are likely to feel short-changed by the meta’s cramped cockpit, which also hampers climbing performance: The limited reach mars the Meta’s climbing performance, and the fact that it’s hefty at 14.43kg (31.8lb) doesn’t help here either. The XL size is claimed to fit riders up to 6ft 11in / 21cm but I felt cramped on the Commencal despite being ‘just’ 6ft 3in / 190cm. The Meta may look decently long, but when you swing a leg over it, it feels instantly anything but, whether seated or standing, because of its short reach (the horizontal distance from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube). A cockpit that’ll leave you feeling caught short That QR rear hub and square-taper cranks are also old-school cost savers. Own-brand Ride Alpha finishing kit does the job nicely, but the SRAM X5/X7 2×9 gearing feels dated. Despite its reasonable price tag, the Commencal also boasts a dropper post – a 100mm drop KS eTen. It’s impossible to ignore the Marzocchi 350 R fork up front, which delivers plush bump-eating performance and a huge (for a hardtail) 160mm of travel. The QR back end may be dated but the stiff frame still feels snappy and responsive The qr back end may be dated but the stiff frame still feels snappy and responsive: ![]()
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