The new 2012 Meta AM brings modern standards to their all-mountain Meta line. The frame is completely new and gets the 142×12 rear thru axle, a pressfit BB92 and internal cable routing.
The biggest change is that it moves to their floating shock design from the Supreme DH V3. The benefit is that it removes the direct stress from the downtube, so they can reduce the thickness of the tubes and reduce weight. It also let them get the shock curves they wanted. The new bike is a little more progressive than the Meta 5.5, and it builds in some pedaling efficiency.
The main pivot position is optimized for 2×10, done intentionally because the difference between the two chainrings is much smaller than the range on a 3×10, which made it easier to tune the suspension to perform well across all gears.
The redesign also let them improve the seat tube angle. The old design had such a slack angle that people running tall seatposts ended up with the saddle too far over the rear wheel.
The chainstay is 5mm longer, too, which Commencal’s design engineer Nico Menard says improves traction when climbing.
Despite the oversized look of the rear, they left out a seatstay bridge at the top so the bike wouldn’t be too stiff. But, too keep it stiff enough, they went with the 142×12 Maxle rear axle and large one-piece pivot axles that are threaded directly into the frame. This also prevents over torquing the pivot bolts and creating tension.
The tapered head tube is designed to work with Cane Creek’s AngleSet, but it comes stock with a normal headset.
Brakes are post mount with 180mm front and rear.
Three spec versions will be available at retail, ranging from about $3,500 up to $5,500. A frameset will also be available.
Travel is 150mm front and rear, putting just above the 5.5’s 140mm travel. Going forward, this bike replaces the 5.5 at the high end, but they’ll keep a low end 5.5 as a price point bike.
Near the end of the year, they’ll have a new 160mm Meta SX that replaces Meta 6.
