Review: Commencal Meta AM3

Check out MoreDirts review on the Commencal Meta AM 3 150mm travel all mountain ripper and see what we made of it after four weeks of riding and testing.

The first edition of the Meta arrived from the Andorran powerhouse that is Commencal way back in 2005 and since then its changed shape somewhat but the spirit and popularity of the bike has stayed constant throughout. With the Meta you could always guarentee a capable trail bike that just loved to be ridden hard and fast.  The 2013 Commencal Meta AM3 I've had the pleasure of riding for the last few weeks certainly doesn’t buck that trend!

Commencal Meta AM3
How long tested for:	1 Month
Tested By:	Angus McIntosh
RRP:	£2549.99

First Impressions

First impressions on the Meta when it arrived in the office were on the whole positive but we were going to need some time to let the colour scheme sink in. Its hard to look past the battleship grey paint job and “skin wall” tires that feature heavily throughout the 2013 range of bikes from Commencal. 

If you delve a little deeper you will see a good looking and extremely capable trail bike with clean lines, Internal cabling and a mix of great components in all the essential places along with a dashing Commencal own brand kit to keep the price point reasonable.  On paper it looks like a great mix but how would it fair out on the trails.

Commencal Meta AM3
Frame:	Aluminium 6066 Triple butted, 150mm, tapered headtube, 12x142 axle
Fork:	Fox 32 Float CTD Open cartdrige 150mm
Shock:	Fox Float CTD
Wheels:	Jalco/Joytech for Commencal
Tires:	Onza Ibex 2.25 front/Onza Canis 2.25 Rear (Skinwall)
Brakes:	Formula RX 180/180
Cranks:	Sram 1000 38/24 10spd
Rear Derailleur:	Sram X7 10spd
Front Derailleur:	Sram X7 direct mount 10speed
Shift Levers:	Sram Trigger X5 2x10
Seatpost:	Commençal VIP 31.6mm
Handlebar:	Commençal VIP 0.75" rise OS 6061, 730mm
Stem:	Commençal VIP OS

The AM 3 we have on test here is the lowest spec and cheapest in the 150mm travel Meta AM range. It sits bang smack in the middle between the 160mm Enduro ripping Meta SX and the slightly less traveled and the more trail focused geometry of the 120mm Meta SL.

As with all the Commencal range each model is only available in 1 colour. The AM3 is grey. If grey doesn’t float your boat the low end of the 2013 Commencal line probably isn’t the one for you. If you want the fluro Green or Yellow models you are going to have to open your wallet a little further.

That said after only one ride and wash, I had fallen in love with the grey despite it not being top of my list of favourite colours to paint a bike. In the flesh, the matte grey really is a thing of beauty.

I found from the first time I stepped on the Meta AM 3 its geometry inspired confidence. The 67 degree headangle is forgiving at high speeds and the 73 Degree seat tube angle makes for a comfy pedaling position to get the miles in. The short rear end feels snappy and lively which really comes to the fore when you start to push it hard and rip into the turns.

Ever since the Meta undertook its radical redesign in 2011 the shock placement was moved to lower in the frame. This obviously keeps the weight lower and therefore lowers the center of gravity but it’s placement does leave the seals and stanchion of the shock exposed to the elements and precariously close to the wheel. I could imagine after 1 harsh British winter you could start to run into some reliability problems with the shock if you weren’t to fit a bender fender or other mudguard solution to deflect the slop!

Componentry

The Meta AM3 is kitted out with a mix of Commencals own "VIP" controls, a Sram X7/X5 drivetrain, Formula RX brakes with trail friendly 180mm rotors and Fox Float suspension front and back. Which all performed fantastically without a single hitch.

The cockpit comprised of Commencal “VIP” bars and stem that felt roomy even on the size small we were testing and that really suited my riding style straight from the box.

The Onza tires weren’t the best I’ve had the privilege of using in recent times but I have somewhat fallen in love with the skin walls and the whole look and feel they provide. The tread pattern was never going to lend itself to the wet and muddy conditions we are lucky enough to have in the winter. Consequently it would probably the first upgrade a lot of people would make but that may just be a seasonal change and I would strongly reccomend reverting back to those ohh so stylish skinwalls when it gets dusty again!

One disappointment and surprise to us was the absence of a dropper post. The type of riding the Meta AM excels in is what the dropper post was invented for and at over £2500 it would be something we would like to see straight from the factory. In the Meta AM’s defence it does have all the internal cable routing in situe ready for when you make the upgrade and a dropper post to click your riding up a notch.

Commencal have obviously chosen to spend the money when spec-ing the bike in the right places on some strategically picked areas that will make noticeable performance gains opposed to installing a set of blingy handlebars and stem that would only just increase the RRP when Commencals own bars would do more than enough!

The Ride.

On the bikes arrival at the office I initially set the front and rear suspension on the bike up with Fox’s IRD app on the iPhone. It’s never perfect but if you take it with a pinch of salt you have a reasonably good baseline to work from and with some subtle fiddling you will find the sweet spot in no time.

On my first ride out on the AM3 during the statutory “car park suspension test” I felt like I was on the money but in practice it felt a bit like the back end was beginning to pack down through braking bumps and fast successive hits. The rear wheel just wasn’t getting back on the deck again fast enough and I was starting to make quite heavy work of my riding. 2 more clicks of rebound, the problems were solved and the Meta became a completely different machine.

One of my favourite local loops incorporates some of the stages that were used for the first Mini Enduro up at Haldon. Since that race those specific trails have taken a bit of a beating from the extra traffic and consequently have become pretty blown out and rooty and they act as a great testing ground for new bikes.

The Meta AM 3 enjoyed charging the steep stuff yet was agile enough to hold a line but when it all went wrong and I began to run out of skill I could muscle it through.

For the keen eye'd amongst you, you may notice I'm sporting a rad Royal Racing Matrix Shorts and Turbulence Jersey combo with the smart new Urge All Mountain helmet in these photos we grabbed down on the new trails at Cardinham Woods...  Keep your eyes peeled for the full reviews on all that kit in the days that follow!

We are all guilty of it but when you ride your local trails after a while you can begin to become complacent and ride within yourself but the AM3 almost felt like it was encouraging me to push my limits and see how fast I could attack a normally mundane section of trail.  After the climb back to the car park I genuinely felt like I’d had an absolutely great ride and that doesn’t happen very often.

This theme continued throughout the rest of the rides I undertook throughout the test period and the Meta AM continued to be a breath of fresh air for my riding.  I enjoyed almost every mile and will say almost all of that was down to this fantastic trail bike.

The Verdict

After getting in the miles around both Trail centre and more rugged “off piste” terrain I couldn’t find anything that could ever really challenge the Meta AM3 and that’s one of the biggest compliments I could ever pay it.

It’s a little on the more expensive side of things for the kind of spec some other brands are offering but that said you are still getting a whole lot of bike for your money!

I’m not saying it’s the perfect package, It's a little on the weighty side and there’s certainly some things that I would change but if your looking for a capable and confidence inspiring bike that will grow with you, I wouldn’t look much further than the Meta AM3.

You'll either love or hate the colour scheme but it's impossible to hate how well the Commencal Meta AM 3 performs when you get off the brakes and start to push it. Confidence inspiring but never boring, you'd be mad to overlook the Meta AM 3 when looking for your next "budget" all mountain steed!

Angus McIntosh

Commencal are distributed in the UK by Decade Europe