Summer time with the Commençal Meta SX

Last summer we got out hands on a Commencal Meta SX. If we have to sum up all our experience with the Andorran bike in one word that will be “Balance”. The Commencal Meta SX it’s like a roid-free version of the big Commencal Supreme but harder than her Meta sisters. With 10 mm extra travel and 1º degree slacker head angle than the Meta AM1 it offers a 160mm rear travel and 66º head angle degree.







Before riding the bike the first thing that grabs our attention are the sharp and aggressive lines that are enhanced by an attractive "cab" yellow color. In the negative side, we're surprised to see such a short bar. Now a days the tendency are wider bars that add an extra stability and handling going downhill.



We had some trouble for the suspension setup. The 200x57 Fox RP2 need a high SAG but you've to keep an eye on the air pressure to avoid excessive bottom-outs. Once we tunned it to suit our weight and our riding preferences, the shock worked pretty much like a coil shock but with the lightness of the air.







The Commencal Meta Sx offers 160mm of rear travel, and the linkage system called V3 has the ability to offer all this travel to the rider. The rear wheel is always glued to the ground but at the same time is able to swallow big drops. Its amazing the way the suspension works. The fox float 34 fit fork match perfectly with the rear system and they make a great set.



The brakes (Formula RX 180mm) worked perfectly and seem that they never fade getting everything under our control. The bike has a 2 x 10 speed system, with Sram x7 on the shifters and Sram x9 for the rear mech. It always worked like a charm and keeps the chain in place.







The geometry is focused on going fast downhill. The rider position is backer than other other all-mountain bikes, also the top tube is shorter, but the overall wheel base is long enough to make the bike really stable even at crazy speeds. This downhill capabilities have their counterpart on long climbs where we'll have to sweat a little more to reach the top. The RockShox Reverb seat post is an excellent complement on those downhill-uphill transitions. It works smooth and without any problems.



The worst part goes for the Maxxis ardent tires. We lost the count of how many times we had to change the tubes. Those tires may work for Sunday park walks but they don't perform well with the power of this bike. Many times we felt that we were limited by the tires and that the Meta SX limits were much higher.



The Mavic wheel set is strong and at the end of our test didn't had any kind of signs of damage or dents.







The overall stability, the great handling and the accuracy when hooking berms make forget about the 14,5 kg weight of the bike and make it as the perfect bike for Avalanche racing, ride on bikeparks and hang around with the buddys in single track trails with fast and hard downhills, where we'll take the most out of it.



The Commencal Meta SX comes in to versions: The Meta SX 2 with cheaper components has a price tag of 3.299€ and the SX 1 the top of the line costs 4.299€. We think that is the perfect all around bike if you like going fast downhill.



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