It is heavy and long, but as others have said, she cruises up tech and fire roads at her own pace I do climb a fair bit but have legs and lungs and don't mind suffering. Loved my Sentinel and got used to its style (all over the front wheel), but the Meta SX fits me better, to the point that I extended the stays on my Sender Mullet as well (435-445). Coming from a Carbon Sentinel (435mm stays), on the XL, the longer stays (445mm) are much more predictable/balanced. XL for my 6'2 (6'3 arms, 35" inseam) ETT on the L was too short for climbing. It's also a fair option for someone who wants to race enduro, as long as climbing and agility aren't priorities, and would work best for riders who live near steep, rough terrain.įor posterity, picked one of these up as a Sea to Sky trail bike. The Meta SX would make an excellent bike park rig, as the burly bike would almost definitely hold up well over time and the stable, dampened ride feels great on chunky trails and steep, rocky tech. There is that flip chip that can be used to speed up the handling a touch, but that amounts to more of a small attitude adjustment rather than a wholesale transformation. That feeling was less apparent at higher speeds and on trails where the bike felt more in its element: the straight, steep rough stuff. At times it felt tough to manage both ends of the bike at once - while the reach isn't that long, the slack head angle and fairly long chainstays can make it feel like a lot to handle. The centered body position while climbing carries over to descending, with the long rear end balancing out the slack front of the bike. I felt great anywhere I needed to get off the brakes and just let the bike go, but I think I was a little slow in the twisty corners." It started relatively flat with some pedally sections, then dropped into steeper, choppier terrain, with a series of stair-step drops, a few root doubles, and some fast corners.ĭon't forget that timing is just one of many ways to judge a bike, and a fast lap time is a.) subject to my own preferences and comfort on the bike and b.) doesn't always mean it's the best for everyone.Īlicia Leggett: "The Commencal Meta SX finished third in my timed testing, 1.6 seconds off the Intense and 0.1 ahead of the Transition. This timed lap was what I'll call "tech-flow." It was a tech trail that made sense in the way that it flowed, and it was easy to find fast lines and carry speed. It's a bike made to get up to get down, so don't expect to set any uphill speed records on this one, but it'll make the ascent comfortable if you don't rush it. With the long rear end, the front of the bike never felt prone to lifting, and it was easy to transfer power right into the rear wheel. The bike is quite balanced over roots and rocks, making it easy to spin up the techy spots, and the steep seat tube angle helped keep us up over the front of the bike to prevent the front wheel from wandering ahead of us due to the slack head angle. In fact, we were all impressed by its traction and ability to churn up the climbs, even if the weight made us less than excited to sprint uphill. It's by no means an especially poor climber. It feels pretty efficient, with very minimal bobbing or sagging under the pedals, but it's hard to escape the weight (35.9 lb / 16.3 kg) and length (1286 mm wheelbase) of the bike, and it's just a lot of bike to move up the hill, especially through corners. Lead time on the Race is last two weeks of July so at least I will get several months of quality riding in before Winter hits while everyone else waits for their backordered 2020 models to show up.The Commencal Meta SX is a slow and steady climber. When you look at the build kit this Commencal offers, and the fact it's a 2021 model at this price point, I'm pretty happy with my decision. I even tried to find a Aluminum Hightower S and nobody has them. Guerilla Gravity Smash has a 5-7 week build time and again would run at least $1000 more for close to the same specs. The YT Jeffsy lead time is October, the Propain Hugene in the Launch build is August at a grand more with a lower spec. They can't even tell me when they would see anymore before the 2021 model comes out. I first tried to order a Ripley AF SLX(Same price as the TR Race)and was excited that the dealer had 1 left in stock only to be told the next day their system was incorrect and they had to cancel my order. One issue I have found is bike inventory is non-existent right now, especially with the direct to consumer bike manufacturers. Here is a first impression review from Pinkbike if you haven't seen it yet. Coming from an old Ellsworth Evolution with ancient geometry and suspension tech, I'm really looking forward to what this bike is capable of. I pulled the trigger on pre-ordering the Meta TR Race today which is really the same spec as last year's SX model.
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