It’s been less than a year since we saw the introduction of Commencal’s enduro hardtail. But keeping with their philosophy that a well-designed hardtail is better than a compromised full-suspension bike, the Meta HT AM gets some much deserved updates.
The bike was already a solid value with modern long, low & slack trail geometry when we saw DH master Gaetan Vigé shredding that bike. And now we get to watch Commencal Vallnord DH Racing Team’s George Brannigan get fast & loose in the woods (& luge?) on the new plus-sized bike.
2018 Meta HT AM aluminum 27.5+ enduro hardtail mountain bike
The new Meta HT AM sticks with a formula that worked well for the bike over the last year too. Long travel 160mm forks paired to a stout aluminum frame with bike park-ready geometry. Then, add in a few carefully thought out component specs. And you end up with affordable bikes, capable of being hucked down the steepest trails and dirt jumps for an all around good time. The big change this year is the move to 27.5+ compatibility with room for a 2.8″ tire, or to even opt for a 29er wheelset & up to 2.4″ tires.
The new Meta HT AM is available in two complete builds. The top Meta HT AM Essential in gun metal sells for just $1600/1600€ with a 160mm RockShox Yari RC fork, SRAM NX 1×11 & Level brakes, and wheels laced to 35mm internal Spank Oozy Trail 395 tubeless ready rims with 27.5 x 2.8″ Maxxis Rekon tires.
The even more affordable red Meta HT AM Origin adds just a hundred bucks over last year’s bike for just $1100€ with a slightly shorter 150mm RockShox Recon RL fork, upgrade to a the same SRAM NX 1×11 drivetrain (over last year’s 2×9), Tektro hydraulic brakes, and wheels with 35mm internal WTB Scrapper i35 tubeless ready rims with the same 2.8″ tires.
If you want to build up your own bike, that’s now an option too. The triple butted 6061 Meta HT AM will also come as a bare frame for $400/350€ in simple black or $420/370€ in shiny gun metal silver. The 31.6mm stealth dropper ready frame is Boost spaced and 1x only. It uses a standard threaded bottom bracket and an integrated ZS44/ZS56 tapered headset. The Meta HT AM comes in a four size (S-XL) range and is available from Commencal dealers & online now.
