COMMENCAL NEWS New-META-TR-29-The-First-Comments

New META TR 29 - The First Comments

The new META TR 29 is here! A few days before the launch, two members of the French press from Vojo Magazine and Enduro Tribe as well as Pinkbike, had the opportunity to test the new generation of META TR 29. We wanted to provide you with a summary of their first reactions to it.

On paper

The three journalists highlighted the many evolutions of the META TR and the one that seems to have stood out the most is the increase in travel for the RACE and SIGNATURE models. Mike Kazimer (Pinkbike) had already had the opportunity to test the 2020 META TR which came with 130 mm of travel. For him, this evolution makes sense. He said, “Commencal's Meta TR left us impressed with its trail-smashing capabilities when we reviewed it in Sedona, Arizona, a few months ago. Even with only 130mm of rear travel, that version fell into the burlier side of the trail bike category. Now, Commencal has pushed the 29” Meta TR even further into the gravity oriented realm, giving it 140mm of rear travel and longer and slacker geometry.”

Léo Kervran (Vojo Magazine) speaks of an "increased travel, like on the META TR 29 SX; 140mm back, with a 150 or 160mm fork on the front. To manage all this, we say goodbye to the Pike which was still featured on certain models. Now it's FOX 36 or RockShox Lyrik. The kinematics, always of the single-pivot type linkage, is also revised to bring more dynamism and to be compatible with a coil spring damper, a real demand from practitioners after COMMENCAL.”

As for the spring shock on the RACE and SIGNATURE models, our engineer Arthur Quet explains things a bit more. “Beyond the slightly better sensitivity and the absence of overheating issues on long downhills, the coil spring makes a bike more playful and lively. The spring has more support halfway through the travel, so it ‘returns' energy faster and earlier in the travel compared to an air shock, which tends to poise the bike a little more. The other advantage of this choice is that the engineers became aware that on small bumps and shocks, one got more from the travel with a spring shock than with an air shock."

Across the board, one thing is certain for these three journalists. “It's the Meta TR's geometry that's undergone the most significant revision. The head angle now sits at 64.5-degrees with a 160mm fork, and the effective seat tube angle measures 78.6-degrees, two degrees steeper than before. The reach has grown significantly as well – a size large now measures 490mm, a 15 millimeter increase over the prior version. Even the size small has a reach of 440mm, a number that used to be found on size large bikes not that long ago.” details Mike Kazimer (Pinkbike). Antoine Hoffmann (Enduro Tribe) comes to explain the reasons for all these changes, “Since the bike must work with suspension that's adjusted differently (air or spring shock/different travel) there is a good chance that the dynamic geometry will be influenced. This is one of the reasons for the ambitious ratings of the new COMMENCAL META TR. It is also a question of correcting the sizing, sticking to the expectations of the moment and refocusing the figures so that in real life, the bike handles in a beautiful way.”

Vojo Magazine mention geometry choices directly related to this more committed new META TR, “Not surprisingly the META TR extends from the front and straightens from the rear. Beyond the fact that all brands have been moving in this direction for a few years already, it's above all consistent with the repositioning of the bike. (…) In geometry, everything is a story of alchemy.”

Obviously, the thoroughly overhauled aesthetic of this META TR 29 could not go unnoticed. A major transformation for Vojo Magazine. "Aesthetically, the most significant change is the disappearance of the elbow formed by the upper tube as it approaches the seat tube. We now have a perfectly straight tube, reinforced by a more or less imposing gusset depending on the size of the bike. (…) This makes it possible to shorten the seat tube by 20 to 35mm and therefore fit a seat post with longer travel, something that we appreciate.”

First Impressions on the Bike

For his first ride with the META TR 29, Mike Kazimer (Pinkbike) underlines (the same as when he tested the META TR 29 RIDE 2020) the downhill capabilities of this new META TR 29. “Commencal bill the Meta TR as a 'mini-enduro' bike, and after a couple of rides on it I'd say that designation fits, although I'd probably take out the 'mini' part – there's no reason you couldn't roll up to a race with this bike and do just fine." The same is true at Vojo Magazine who validated this “Mini-Enduro” term by saying, “The bike is lively and can be easily to ride which encourages you to play with the terrain and use the full width (or even a little bit more) of the narrow Beaufortain trails."

For Enduro Tribe, geometry was once again a talking point. "Immediately at home, immediately clean, immediately easy. The bike looks light out of the box. On the pedals, same impression (...) On an angle, nothing moves. Despite terrain sometimes rocky or rooty, the COMMENCAL META TR kept the trajectory, the speed and the rider in a good position. It will be fun! Oh yeah! Precise, sound, easy, dynamic... The COMMENCAL META TR Race and its coil have everything you need to make the ground one giant big pumptrack.”

There will be a more comprehensive test coming in the next few weeks on Pinkbike but in the meantime, Mike Kazimer shares his general opinion on the META TR. “It feels big but not too big – I can take it on slightly mellower local trails without feeling like it's overkill, and it can still hold its own on properly steep and rowdy trails as well. The new Fox Float X2 and 36 suspension combo has been impressive; I'm still dialing in my ideal settings, but so far things are off to a very, very good start.” Concluded the American journalist.

So, what can we conclude about this new META TR 29 from these three journalists? Everyone agrees that it is no longer a simple trail bike as we understand it - a short travel model derived from XC - but rather a real All Mountain steed ready to commit to the start of enduro races! This bike will please riders looking for a lively and responsive enduro bike!

Read the three full articles below:

PINKBIKE

VOJO MAGAZINE

ENDURO TRIBE