If you want this bike, you can go online and buy it. It’ll arrive within a week, and you will have bought a new ride without even having to put your pants on. Commencal is one of a handful of brands choosing to bypass shops and sell bikes direct to consumers–a model that has some retailers up in arms, but for better or worse seems to be working. The Meta AM V4 is the Andorran company’s all-mountain bike and sports 150 millimeters of travel out back and 160 millimeters up front. Factor in a 66-degree head angle and the black-and-yellow bike’s intentions become pretty clear.
The Meta ascends with a melancholic sort of efficiency:
outof-the-saddle power smashing felt unsupported without the Rockshox Monarch
Plus shock in its firmest setting, but the plush rear end proved capable of
crawling up some very technical sections – even when I was pedaling in a seated
position. Bottom bracket height doesn’t appear out of the ordinary on paper,
but runs quite low when the bike is weighted. This proved problematic on some
chunky sections, and I found myself adapting my line choices to avoid pedal
strikes. Running the shock in the firmer settings helps the bike sit up, but at
the cost of traction.
Once back on gravity’s good side, the low bottom bracket begins to make
a whole lot more sense. I immediately found myself able to compress and drive
the rear end through corners, filled with a kind of conviction usually reserved
for my best of days. It’s no surprise that the 66-degree head angle felt a bit
bored on flat sections, but it came alive at speed and wasn’t unwieldy when
pointed uphill. Commencal has mostly dressed the Meta appropriately; my only
nitpick being that the 2.25-inch Maxxis Ardent felt undergunned in the rear.
Everything else – including the Commencal-branded cockpit, saddle and wheels–is
spot-on.
With the shock tucked away tidily, the toptube and seatstay form a
pleasingly continuous line that gives the triple-butted and hydroformed
aluminum frame a clean silhouette. If your first love is cruising downhill and
crushing corners, the Meta is guaranteed to paint a big fat smile on your mug.
Just don’t expect much in the way of high-fives when you roll it into your
local shop.
Price 4000$
