Commencal META HT AM “Lightduro”

A new bike day! Well I had it for some time so I have something to write about.

I had a chance to build up and try out a hardtail bike. A big shout out to FDF BIKE SHOP.

These kinda opportunities don’t come every day and I’m very grateful to try out this beast. I had a free hand for choosing whatever components I wanted for this build which was super awesome. It’s kind of a dream build for me.

I call it Lightduro because for me it represents a bit of everything. Enduro, trail, or just regular XC riding. You can basically do everything on this bike. Best of all the biking worlds but with just tiny compromises. Before this bike I had META TR 29 which was a great do-it-all bike but it had just too many screws and squishy things that you have to take care. And I wanted to try something else.

Let’s go through the bike and after that I am gonna tell you how it rides.

Specs – build up

I chose Keswick Green color because I like green color, especially army-looking one. Dark colors are nice for bikes, kinda timeless but sometimes you have to live a little. Green it is.

And the graphic are super minimal, they don't shout. Me like.

Frame is made out of aluminium with internal routing. Clean and easy to work with because of the big rubber grommets.

I'm not suspension wizard but this thing is amazing. I set it up according the manual which was in a box and haven't touched it since. The support you get in the middle of the travel is mind blowing. The range of settings are huge but I am kinda of a set it and forget it guy. Plus the SAG o-ring matches the PNW Loam dropper lever. Oh, and the travel is 150 mm.

Deity Components cockpit, time-proven stuff that you can’t go wrong with. Just chose your colors. I went with Skyline bar cut to 780 mm, Supracush grips for my big paws and Cavity stem, because it is the sexiest stem that Deity makes, period.

See, sexy!

PNW Loam dropper lever is a piece of art. With a bearing inside it’s buttery smooth and feels rigid.

The Loam Lever is paired to a PNW Rainier dropper post with 200 mm of travel. The straight seat tube gives enough space for a long droppers. I am 182 cm tall and run it as on the pictures. I prefer Rainier post before Loam post because Mount Rainier is a beautiful mountain.

The caliper is CNC’d out of a solid piece of aluminium and this give the brake firm feeling and great power.

Just a regular Sram GX shifter. I love how the silver screws match.

Threaded BB for the win!

We had unused E13 LG1 Race Carbon wheels so I gave them a try (thanks Bob). They make the bike lighter and more nimble. With tubeless setup the spin fast and you can really tell the difference between alu rims and carbon.

Clean sexy lines.

High Speed and Low Speed Compression and rebound are available.

Rebound knob and minimalistic thru-axle.

Hope headset with old-school logo cap provided by FDF Bike Shop.

As I mentioned before, the color matches the fork SAG o-ring and that is very beautiful.

Supracush grips and Hope brakes matches good.

Hope brakes, do I have to write more? They are piece of art by itself. Easy to use, easy to install and easy to work with. E4’s are just enough for me. The braking power they deliver is perfect. Why I don't have the new model? This one is sexier.

I opted for 1x11 drivetrain. The cassette is not that big and it’s more resistant to crashes. I had a bad luck with the 12-speed eagle stuff. A stick or a stone can ruin your day out very fast. I experienced this a multiple times.

I paired the 1x11 system to a 30 tooth chain ring to get a similar range as the 1x12 drivetrains. Enough.

Clipless XT pedals. There are better pedals nowadays but these things are with me for 10 years and I haven’t touched them since. I guess it is a kinda time-trail, how long they can survive my abuse.

Supracush grips. They are the thickest ones that Deity makes. The pyramid pattern is made out of a special rubber compound. I ride without gloves and these things give me comfort and grip I need. They are suitable for bigger hands.

Pros

The bike rides awesome, it’s light, agile, it pedals uphill like a champ and it shreds down like there’s no tomorrow. Plus, it looks sexy. I had to get used to the bike, how it rides. I was feeling little bit nervous to take it on enduro tracks filled with stones and roots. But after a couple of laps I was confident it can do same things as a regular squishy bike, it’s just little bit slower.

Cons

I don’t think it really think that it has any downsides now. Sometimes it can be a bit harsh on you in a rough stuff but it’s hardtail so you should expect that.

I am no professional reviewer and these are only my impressions of the bike. I am not trying to promote anything, I just like building, riding a taking pictures of sexy bikes.