From Dirt Issue 114 – August 2011

Words by James McKnight. Photos by Rupert Fowler.

A company with relatively small beginnings that date back only to the year 2000, it is hard to believe that in such a short time a ‘one man band’ (Max Commencal) has managed to initiate, nurture and to make a success of a brand in such a big way. Year 2011 and Commencal have a staff number somewhere in the mid twenties, impressive sales figures and a global market, yet they manage to retain a humble approach to making bikes that has lead to a modest, sensible, but all–encompassing range…

And so to the point of this trip – the launch of the Meta All Mountain – a 150mm travel trail/All Mountain (the clue is in the title) bike made with versatility in mind. It has come about, from what I can tell, to serve the needs of the Commencal staff. And that is a very good thing indeed.

The Meta range has already had much success across the board – a suspension system that has provided a supple range of travel and adorned a versatile and successful frame that has won numerous Enduro races across the world. The previous Meta bikes have served as fantastic and reliable workhorses for the average mountain biker, and capable winning machines for the racer.

The staff at Commencal like to ride their Meta’s to work, at lunch time and at the weekend around their home of Andorra. Although I struggled to extract many negatives from them about the previous incarnations (justifiably so), I think the general consensus was that as mountain bikes progress so too does the public’s interest, therefore it is vital to make new bikes to cater for new technologies, riding styles and standards of trail.

It would be wrong to say that the Meta All Mountain is a true development of the existing Meta – although it clearly takes on the same name and intentions – as there is little similarity in the construction or layout of the frame. However, what Commencal have done is to learn from a generation of race winning machines and to transfer the genes of the Meta into an all–new package.>>

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