Commencal set to take on the likes of Canyon and YT

Commencal have brought back some of their designs from a few years, given them a bit of a re-fit and slapped on some very tempting price tags.

There’s the Meta SX V3 160mm enduro bike for under £2,000 and there’s the Meta TR V3 130mm trail bike for sub £1,500.

Exact pricing is hard to state because Commencal direct-sell their bikes in euros and the pound-to-euro exchange rate is changing all the time in these Brexit-affected times.

>>> Commençal Meta AM V4 ÀLC (2015) review

2017 Commencal Meta SX V3

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The new 2017 SX V3 is actually pretty much the same frame but built up with up modern day components and drivetrain.

The original Meta SX V3 came out about five years ago. It was something of a bike that was sort of ahead of its time. It was a downhiller’s playbike rather than an enduro racer’s machine.

There will be quite a few riders excited to see this bike come back in 2017 and paired with modern rear shock and fork. The fundamental suspension design was always raved about when riding gravity-assisted trails.

>>> YT Capra vs Canyon Strive – which is best?

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If the new SX V3 can add a bit more pedalling efficiency and ‘pop’ to its ride – game on.

And let’s not ignore the impressive array of stuff you get for your money. Check out the spec chart above.

2017 Commencal Meta TR V3

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Marketed with the most excellent phrase “Newer than it seems!”, the TR V3 is another model that dates back a number of years BUT this model has had its geometry changed quite significantly.

This is a very affordable and looks to be a very shred-able trail bike. The rear travel is 130mm, paired with a 140mm fork up front. The head angle has been slackened top 66.5 degrees (from 68 of yore).

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Only available in one build but it’s rather a bargain-tastic build as you can see from the spec chart.

After a number of years where the MTB industry was seemingly trying to outdo itself with bringing out increasingly bonkers expensive bikes it’s great to see more decent choices for riders out there who haven’t multiple thousands of pounds to splash on a pushbike.

Are there any pitfalls in going for such cheaply priced bikes?

Well as luck would have it we have a £1000 full suspension bike test in the current issue of mbr magazine – go check it out.

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Oh, and here’s a quick pic of the Commencal Meta HT 20. That is one lush looking kids bike!