One of Commencal’s next generation of young mountain bike riders has a new mountain bike to shred with this Meta HT XS mullet all-mountain hardtail. But it’s a different kind of mullet bridging the gap between kid’s and adult mountain bikes with a 26″ rear wheel paired to a 27.5″ and a whopping 150mm of travel up front…
Commencal Meta HT XS 27.5/26″ mullet enduro MTB hardtail
Commencal’s Meta HT XS is the latest in their family of burly trail hardtails developed to bring big mountain biking fun to smaller riders. They describe it with the ethos of “Ride XS, Dream XL.”
That rider in the video and photos is the current under-15 European DH champ and last year’s cadet winner of the French Downhill Cup – Ava Chaumet-Lagrange. She now races downhill on the smallest regular mullet Supreme DH bike. But she’s honing in her all-rounder trail riding skills on this new mini-mullet 27.5 up front x 26″ out back Commencal Meta HT XS hardtail.
Tech details
The Commencal Meta HT XS is a no-nonsense triple-butted 6061 alloy all-mountain to enduro hardtail. It’s “specifically designed for teenagers and riders with smaller builds.” With a 150mm travel 35mm-stanchion fork, a slack 64° head angle, and a steep-ish 73° seattube with a dropper, it is truly meant to smash down technical trails. At a claimed total weight of 14kg/30.9lb, it’s going to take some work to pedal it back up the bigger hills. But it has the full Eagle gearing range and a fork lockout, so let’s just say the long uphills will help build character and ultimately endurance.
The Boost-spaced hardtail features old-school internal cable routing, a BSA threaded bottom bracket, a 31.6mm dropper seatpost, and 2.5″ max tire clearance.
Who’s a Meta HT XS for anyway?
Let’s start out with the fact that both of my kids rode a Commencal Meta HT 24. With, you guessed it, 24″ wheels. It’s been a great bike, built up with a proper Manitou J-Unit fork & cockpit designed to perform well for kids. Plus, 2.4″ Vee tires, a proper SRAM 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, and a dropper post. Commencal does a solid job of building a reasonably priced kid’s bike with proper components that’s not too heavy, and is built to last. It’s a great starter mountain bike for a serious kid.
Now with the addition of the XS, there are really options for all ages and all sizes. Start with the Meta HT 20 from around 5 years old, to the 24 to the JR with 26″ wheels. And now the mini-mullet Commencal Meta XT XS for riders from say 11/12 years & up from about 148-160cm tall.
Commencal Meta HT XS – Pricing & availability
The Commencal Meta HT XS is one-size-only. But of course other wheel sizes for other sized riders. Now 20″, 24″ or 26″ for smaller riders. 27.5/29″ mullet or full 29er for larger riders.
The XS comes in just one single build. That’s spec’d with a 150mm RockShox Recon Gold RL fork, a SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain with 165mm cranks, and SRAM Level brakes – 2-piston but 200mm rotor up front & 180mm out back to bring lighter riders to a quick stop. Wheels are 26.5mm internal Spank Spoon 32 rims (officially not tubeless, unfortunately) on Formula hubs & wrapped with 2.4″ Maxxis DHR II EXO tires front & rear. The rest of the components are all solid but not-too-heavy alloy house-brand Ride Alpha kit. Plus a KS-Rage I 100mm dropper post.//
Officially, the Meta HT XS retails for around 2100€. But it’s in stock direct from Commencal for 1/3 less than that at 1488€.
