![]() This is great for the most part and combined with the 74-degree seat tube angle makes for an efficient climber, gripping well at the same time transferring power into satisfying forward movement. The Plus tires set the tone for this bike, they take a lot of the rough out of the trail and give a smoother ride in general. Although the Rekon+ does not have the most aggressive tread pattern, the Plus size and rim combo allows you to run suitably low pressures, increasing grip without sacrificing the integrity of the wheel and tire. The META HT Essential comes equipped with Plus as standard, sporting 35mm internal Spank Oozy Trail 395 rims which give the Maxxis Rekon+ 2.8 a stable and effective profile. While the geometry is not drastically affected, the differing wheel size can change the whole feel of the bike. This in essence, almost gives you two bikes for the price of one. The META HT joins the ranks of a rising number of bikes, which allows the use of both 29er or 650 Plus. Having the in-house brand, I guess, is what allows them to push out so much bike for the money, so no complaints here. ![]() A simple, black finish on the parts, sits nicely with the dark blue, grey, metallic finish on the frame. The Commencal in-house component brand, “Ride Alpha” makes up a lot of the remaining build kit and although it may not have the street cred of a fully branded alternative, it more than adequately does the job. Combined with the burly geometry, this bike is ready to attack and handle a lot for a hardtail while still providing control and comfort. Still sporting the Dual Position Air and DebonAir systems and tuned to match the feeling of the Charger damper. ![]() Hardtail it may be, but the META HT comes equipped with a more than capable, 160mm of suspension goodness up front, in the form of the RockShox Yari the Lyrics younger brother. SRAM Level brakes, with 200mm up front and 180mm rotors out back, although slightly chunkier and less refined than the more advanced models provide solid and accurate stopping power. SRAM NX 11 speed drive chain provides enough gears to be entirely sufficient with the precision and pleasurable shifting you’d expect from SRAM. The Essential brings a basic but most definitely functional build onto the solid frame. A dark blue, grey high metallic finish with subtle, yet classily styled decals hit the nail on the head. The finish of the frame stood out too, Commencal has, in my opinion, had a strong history in their frame graphics and paint design, and this is no different. The alloy frame is a sleek, good-looking design, mimicking, as I mentioned, some of the design features from the full suspension META. At £1449.99 you’re getting a whole heap of bike, although there are a few changes you might consider early on, the main one of note would be a dropper, if you’re going to be using this bike to its full capability up and down, that would be a worthwhile addition. The AM Essential comes in at a pretty modest price for a bike that's ready for the trails straight out of the box. As hardtails go, this one looked from the off like it was going to be fun. ![]() Commencal has long been of the belief that “it’s better to have a good hardtail than a bad full suspension bike.” The Commencal META HT has very similar numbers to the full bounce version and even sports a similarly aggressive looking silhouette. ![]()
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